Q3 2021 Newsletter
There is always a need to stay optimistic in life. Bad times will come and they will also go. And so will the effects of the pandemic, eventually. There are signs that conditions are improving with the relaxation of lockdowns and the gradual return of students to schools in Cambodia.
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The impact of school suspension for the most part of the year goes beyond children missing out on education. Children have also not been able to socialise with each other, not just in schools but in the neighbourhood. The negative effects of the epidemic are far reaching especially on the welfare of families who are poor. In this newsletter, we will also highlight two cases of our students who were confronted with unenviable outcomes at our local community school in the village of Anglungkuki.
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Education
Physical attendance in school classes have recommenced although with a smaller number of students in each class due to SOP protocols. As a result, we are now conducting extra lessons to accommodate the fewer students allowed in a class. This, however, is much more manageable compared to having to operate online lessons via Zoom and Google Meet which have been found to be more challenging due to limited broadband facilities and children not having access to handphones.
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In September, our two mobile libraries recommenced visits to several schools in Kampot and Kampong Speu. This service enabled more than 500 students to borrow books for reading. The visits by our mobile libraries are highly anticipated and bring much joy to the children, almost akin to attending a fair. Perhaps, this is also because we have picture drawing time and give away prizes to winners.
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Dental
While direct dental treatment remains limited, we have been able to provide fluoride varnish treatment to more than 2,000 early childhood children at 30 local health centres. Together with oral hygiene education to about 4,000 students in the last quarter, we were able to contribute in a significant way towards improving the dental health of children in smaller towns and the rural areas where dental facilities are limited.
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Anglungkuki Community School
Our village school which normally has about 100 students saw a significant drop in attendance of more than 50% during school closure with no classes for the younger children while lessons were moved online for the older students.
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With the reduced activity, we were able to upgrade facilities including an improved playground and a larger water storage tank along with a new water purification system donated by Dr Darrell Campbell.
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With his caring nature, the school principal, Sok regularly inquires into the wellbeing of his students. As a result we were able to facilitate assistance to a family which was considering sending their 14 year old daughter to be a domestic maid in the capital city, Phnom Penh. Although it is illegal to use child labour, this practice remains prevalent in the country. One of our donor groups, Jasmine Club 500 has agreed to provide a scholarship assistance to the girl.
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However, another incident involving one of the students could not be mitigated. This involved a 14 year old girl who was arranged to be married by her mother and as a result had to leave school. The unfortunate outcome of this is that of a robbed childhood, separation from siblings and no further opportunity to advance her education in order that she has a better future. While financial hardship could be one of the major causes for children to stop schooling, the other reasons might relate to ignorance of law and the willingness to invest in education for the future well being of children. As such, we are now considering more affirmative programs in the future including community education to parents and introducing income sustaining projects to help address this significant social problem affecting children outside the formal education environment.
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Community Assistance
We continue to provide help to the poor who have been badly affected by the pandemic through our Family Assist Program which is fully funded by one of our significant donors, the LUFF Foundation. We delivered food parcels and other essentials to almost 500 needy families from July to September.
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This initiative benefited almost 2,000 people and has been modified to include Child Assist where we included books, toys and stationaries in our distribution in order to help keep children occupied during the lockdown.
Facilitation for Club 500
In the last quarter, with regular contributions from an Australian donor group, Club 500 led by Jasmine Durbidge, we facilitated the purchases and delivery of 35 food packages and 3 bicycles to needy families and students.
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A bicycle was delivered to a girl whose house is about 3km away from school. She said “Sometimes, I am late for school because my bike is old and breaks down. The road is also bad. I am so happy with this new bike donation and thank Club 500”.
The group also provided scholarship to 7 poor students to subsidize their study expenses and financial support to two elderly people on a monthly basis. Particularly in June, Jasmine donated a laptop to one of the students under her scholarship program for study use at university.
Making It Possible
What a difference to the lives of many that you are making. It is all through your kindness and your aid that we able to continue to deliver.
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