Cambodia is a small country with a population of around 11million, of which over 50% are aged 15 and under. Over the last 3 decades Cambodia has been torn politically, morally and socially by rampant civil war. It is estimated that around a quarter of the population (including almost all educated people) were killed under the Khmer Rouge Regime in the 1970's, however peace was not truly restored in some rural provinces until 1998. Due to this political turmoil, the moral fabric of Cambodian society decayed, resulting in a current environment where serious human rights abuses continue to prevail. Extreme poverty experienced by large sectors of the population have rendered high numbers of children vulnerable to abuse, neglect, hunger, illness with little opportunity to relieve themselves from these situations.

The education system in Cambodia is fraught with problems. Under the Khmer Rouge, education was completely eradicated, and almost all school buildings, books and teachers were destroyed. Right now, primary education is free, however the teachers' training is often inadequate, and all resources are severely limited. Teacher salaries are so low, that most students are required to subsidize these by paying for each class, even under the "free" primary system. There is no system in place to support students through High School or University, so too often poor children go to work after primary school, and in many cases even drop-out of primary school to undertake often dangerous manual labor.

Transcending Boarders: From the slums to the lecture hall

In March 2006 the Souls Foundation was invited by Cambodia's Pannasastra University (PUC) and the Metta Karuna Foundation (MKF) to collaborate with their community out-reach program by working directly with their faculty and students. This collaboration is now established with the groups combining efforts to facilitate activities with poor children living in Ch'bar Ampov slum area of Phnom Penh.

This program started with the provision of painting and traditional Khmer dance classes within the MKF community centre located at the heart of a densely populated, extremely poor area of the capital. In July 2006 we began photography and Photoshop classes with a group of children chosen by MKF staff, providing all the expertise and resources to open up a whole new world. As part of this project, Souls donated 5 digital cameras, 2 computers and 1 printer to MKF.

The young students learn computer skills, including graphic design and Photoshop from PUC students in the well-equipped computer labs at the University, while the photography workshops are held at the MKF community center. With direct access to one of Cambodia's top University, and close contact with educated role-models, the young students gain new insights into the doors that education can open.

Our program is monitored on an ongoing basis by faculty and staff from both PUC and MKF to ensure we are maximizing our impact.

Building on Good Work

In August 2006 Souls began working with the Cambodia Children's Fund. The CCF runs a shelter for children who have been rescued from abusive environments or who are homeless because either their own parents are homeless or because they have been abandoned or orphaned. The children living at CCF are provided with all their basic needs, and in addition extensive medical support, educational opportunities and help with finding work. The Souls Foundation built on CCF's program by donated digital cameras and memory cards and provided local photography and Photoshop instructors. Classes are held at CCF since there are ten computers at the shelter.

From violence to Art: A new vision for abused children living in sheltered accommodation

One of Souls new collaborative partners is the Cambodian Center for the Protection of Children's Right's (CCPCR), a local NGO based in Phnom Penh with branches in a number of Cambodia's provinces. Amongst other things, CCPCR has a rescue and rehabilitation center for child victims of sexual abuse, domestic violence and trafficking for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation in Phnom Penh. They provide safe and peaceful shelter to children, addressing all their basic needs including non-formal education, skills training in sewing, weaving and jewelry making and the opportunity to attend local public school for longer-term residents.

The Souls Foundation identified the need for more activities particularly within the Arts field to provide therapy and much needed mental and physical stimulation to young women and children who had been through incredibly traumatic experiences. Read a case study. Thanks to the intervention of Souls, the residents at CCPCR Phnom Penh now benefit from weekly classes in painting and traditional Khmer dance using our sponsored teachers. Read more

Healthy Bodies for Brighter Futures: Health and Dental Care for Cambodian Children Living in Shelters

Dedicated to the well-being of some of the worlds most disadvantaged youth; the Souls Foundation have extended their assistance of the children living in CCPCR's Phnom Penh shelter to meet some of their most basic needs: dental care and vaccinations.

Organizations like CCPCR simply do not have the resources to support their residents' full health needs, and with Cambodia's tenuous economic situation, adequate health care rarely meets the needs of the poor.

Launched in December 2006, Souls has successfully implemented a program to provide all the residents at CCPCR with dental treatment, vaccinations and boosters of 7 diseases.

Healthy smiles

Having grown up in extremely deprived and often violent and abusive circumstances, for all 17 children, visiting the dentist was an entirely new and exciting experience. While some only required check-ups and cleaning, most required serious treatment since basic knowledge of dental hygiene and access to toothbrushes had previously been out of their reach.

Souls facilitated this program both financially and organizationally, working closely with the shelter manager and dental school to ensure that all the children received the treatment and aftercare to match their individual needs. The dental school was selected according to its excellent reputation and combination of Western and Cambodian practitioners.

While the initial excitement quite understandably waned, the children were admirably brave and grateful for the opportunity to improve their teeth, and, for many, end an ongoing toothache they had previously been experiencing.

Bright futures

With serious diseases a common threat in Cambodia, the new health program kicked into action with full vaccinations for Polio, Hepatitis B, BCG, Diphtheria, Measles, Mumps and Rubella. All 17 children visited the doctor for a series of injections and boosters and other than a few tears, all went well.







Stories

Case Study:

With her porcelain white skin and elegant long black hair, Camsia could never blend in with the crowd, and perhaps her youth and beauty was her only crime. From a poor family living in rural Vietnam, close to the Cambodian boarder, opportunities were scarce for Camsia who was forced to leave school at grade 9. Working as a laborer on a construction site, the offer by a neighbor to work in a cafe in the city with the opportunity to send money home to support her 4 younger siblings was one too good to refuse. She took the gamble with no idea to the depths of despair that it would take her.

Over the rolling hills of tea and coffee plantations in the central highlands, through the maze of rivers and canals in the Mekong Delter, across the boarder into Cambodia's Svay Rieng province where endless bright green and brown flooded rice fields looked so much like home. But now she was no-where near home as the ox carts and fishing boats gave way to the sea of concrete, cars and motorbikes of a strange city that resembled little of what she had ever known. With a vivid imagination, and a strong hope for the future, even she couldn't have imagined the hell of her final destination: a brothel in a huge city in which she understood no voices.

Her debut into this harsh, exploitative industry was a disaster as she cried uncontrollably in front of an unsatisfied client resulting in him deciding to file a police report. Anti-trafficking police raided the brothel and rescued Camsea, bringing her to the safety of CCPCR's shelter. Unlike most young women and children finding themselves in these hopeless situations, her fate had not been totally defined by the powerful network of unscrupulous traffickers. While she will be returned to her family in Vietnam, most victims will remain in the industry until disease or age renders their bodies unfit for relentless purchase in a culture where prostitution is deeply embedded in normal life.