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A boy and his friend. Kampong Speu province, CAMBODIA.

Slum area in Phnom Penh, CAMBODIA.

CUTE

Little girl in Kampong Speu province, CAMBODIA.

Students are on their way home!

They are wearing student uniforms, and they are coming home now after school. Kandal province, CAMBODIA.

Buddhist monks

A boy and his work at brick factory. CAMBODIA.

Dried chili, Kampong Chhnang province, CAMBODIA.

Mangos in Kandal province, CAMBODIA.

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Please Do Not Bring AIDS Home

Please Do Not Bring AIDS Home

Written By: Vichheka Sok

“Please do not bring AIDS home, ”cried Vibol. A twelve-year-old boy who had been mad an orphan by AIDS. Vibol lives in the north of Cambodia which far 168 Kilometers from Phnom Penh City. He lived with his mother after his father’s death. His father Sophan passed away after he became infected by HIV and died from AIDS. Vibol shared with sadness, “I miss my father so much. I now live with my great aunt and her 5 children. She is good to me and my younger brother, Virak who is 10 years old.”

Vibol could not stop crying as he told the story.

Not only did he lost his father to AIDS, Vibol also lost his mother who she ran a way without a word. He cried without control, “My brother and I became orphans and are made vulnerable because of AIDS. We have no parents to take care of us. Our mother lived with HIV, and she left us after our father’s death.”

Luckily for both Vibol and Virak, they did not get the HIV virus from their parents.

“Because my father died from AIDS, everyone in my village referred to me as “The one with AIDS”. I was really depressed and discouraged, I did not have many friends and everyone seemed to discriminate against me and my family,” cried Vibol.

Vibol lived with his mother after his father died, but due to living conditions, his mother ran away from home and left Vibol and his brother to live with a very old grandmother. A few years later, the grandmother passed away, so the two brothers were taken in and raised by their great aunty, Bopha who is 35 years old and she earns the income by selling oranges and planting vegetables at home.

Vibol sobbed and shared, “My family’s condition was really bad and the neighbors seemed to hate us so much. We sometimes ate porridge and I had only worn-out clothes to wear. I always try to study hard.”

World Vision came into Vibol’s life in 2006 through the Orphan Vulnerable Children project (OVC). His life gradually changed as he gained more emotional supports along with other forms of support from World Vision. The community people also stop to discriminate against his family, as they understand more about HIV and AIDS and his living conditions.

HIV and AIDS have a devastating affect on Cambodian families. It is usually the case that the father, the main breadwinner, brings the disease home to his wife. Hence the mother, the primary caregiver to children, also dies from AIDS. As the parents’ health deteriorates and eventually results in death, children are left vulnerable and without proper care. Without love and parental guidance the development of children into a healthy and active citizen is compromised.

OVC project of World Vision has seek to improve the capacity of communities to protect children from risk of exploitation and ensure that OVC can access public education, health care, vocational training and so on.

With tears and sobs, Vibol shared, “May all parents take good care of your children. All fathers please do not bring AIDS home.” Adding with grins through tears, “I have many friends now and all villagers stopped discriminate against my family. I am very happy with what have changed in my life. I have enough food to eat now, and I have WV staffs always providing us emotional supports, which is really great for our life. I will try to study hard and I dream to be a teacher because I want to spread my education to other children within the community and they will respect me too. I got a bicycle from World Vision, and I use it to ride to school instead as walking, my school is far from home.”

Vibol and aunty said, “We thank World Vision that has saved our life and everyone stopped discriminate against us. They all understand our condition and support us.”

Vibol is a good boy and he is modest, he works as hard as a girl. His great aunty, Bopha shared, “Vibol is an active boy, and he cooks, washes clothes, cleans house and makes bed every night by himself. He helps to teach his younger brother and cousins how to read and write.”

Note: The child’s name and all names in the story were changed due to it’s a sensitive story and we would like to hide his identity. Child is an OVC, so it’s safe to hide his identity.

-Ends-

A Father's Love

He protects his child. Do you?

Sunset in the village

It's a sunset time in the village.

A Fresher Time for Ravit

This article was written while I was working for World Vision Cambodia.

A Fresher Time for Ravit

A twelve-year-old boy, Ravit Sann, is playing and studying with all his friends in the center of World Vision’s Bamboo Shoot Street Children’s Transformation Center. He experienced difficulty in life with his mother and his other siblings, and he cannot stop crying while thinking of his past before entering the center.

“I never forget my difficult life. My mother earns money by selling salted dried-shells (kind of small freshwater clam); she did not make much from this.   We didn’t have enough money to buy food to fill our hunger. My mother couldn’t give me money to buy snack at school during break-time. I went to school without money, not even a 100-riel note (0.025 USD). I was really hungry and I couldn’t concentrate on my studies,” sadly shared Ravit, the youngest son of three sibling of a very poor family.

He added with tears, “We lived in a tent; we don’t have a house. We lived along the side-walk located near theriverside. When it rained, we could not sleep.   Everything in the tent got wet. It’s extremely hot in the daytime.  It’s really hard for us to live but we don’t have a choice.” Continuing with tears and bent down to look at the floor, he tried to share, “I became really angry with my father who went to work as a construction worker in Poi Pet nearby Thailand-Cambodia border for years, and he has other secret lover there. He never missed us here, but I miss him and I am angry with him. He gave up all his children and my poor mother.”

Ravit’s family was informed by the local authorities to pull down the tent and move away from the side-walk. He sobbed, “My mother then moved to another location where she rented a very small and old cottage. My mother really encourages me to focus on studies, but I was a poor student and could not study.  I ignored my studies and helped my mother to do housework.”

In 2009, Ravit became a Bamboo Shoot Street Children Center’s child; he enjoys studying with all his friends at the center. Ravit is studying hard with his commitment; he said, “I really want to see my family’s living conditions get better, and I try to study hard to have a bright future. I have a dream to become a good teacher to educate others and I think I can earn and help my mother. I won’t give my mother troubles.”

At the Bamboo Shoot Street Children Center, Ravit is recognized as a child who has gone through the most transformation at the center. Ravit also confessed himself, “I was a bad child, and I used to say bad and insulting words with other children or friends. I didn’t read book during my free time, and I didn’t help my mother to sell salted dried-shells. I didn’t wash clothes. Now I have learned to respect and value elders and my friends and can greet people with polite words.” Grinned Ravit, “I greet my mother when she visits me at the center, and she said I have changed a lots, especially my manners. This makes me really happy and I am committed to be a good son, a good friend, and a good person.”

Ravit’s life at the Bamboo Shoot Street Children Center has changed him.  He learns to be more friendly and mild towards others. He grinned, “I always get good advice to be polite, study hard, and be helpful. I wash dishes, wash clothes, clean rooms, and help bathe younger children in the center. I have time to play basketball, volleyball with my friends in the center, and read books with them. We love each other as siblings. I feel refreshed and I really miss my mother. I want to help her to have a better life in the future.”

Ravit has a close friend who always plays and read books with him, Sopho who is thirteen.  Sophor said,  “My family is also poor like Ravit’s, we are neighbors. Now, we always study and play at the center together. I see Ravit has changed alot, he is now polite and helpful. Before, he was a rude boy and acted like a gangster.”

-Ends-

A guy with his buffalo, Kandal province, CAMBODIA.

Slum area at somewhere in Pnhom Penh city, CAMBODIA.

Slum area at somewhere located in Phnom Penh City

Slum area at somewhere located in Phnom Penh City, CAMBODIA.

God’s Blessing Helps Me Reach My Targets

Written by Vichheka Sok

“I was usually spent my time with friends going out and sometimes late at night. I joined them drink beer sometimes, but I never forgotten studying,” shares Bunthoeun Ho, 28 year-old, Baribour II Area Development Program (ADP) Manager of World Vision Cambodia.

“My parents always encourage and advise with good words, and I always have high commitment to work with the poor and help them to live better lives.  I like to learn and spends my time reading books, and I stopped going out with friends since 2000 because I want to do a good work and contribute to help the poors,” added Bunthoeun.

  Bunthoeun has high ambitions and he always tries hard to make his dream come true. Bunthoeun comes from a Christian family with respectful values.  A good man with gentle manner Bunthoeun said, “I became a staff of Vision Fund which also works very close in helping poor people in the communities. I love my job because I have opportunities to work with children and the poor, and it’s my dream to work with them”.

By 2004, Bunthoeun passed the selection to become a Community Development Worker (CDW) of World Vision Cambodia. “My dream then was to become an ADP manager, but I thought it’s impossible because I am not as mature as the other staff back then.  I had to work on improving myself more,” adds Bunthoeun. He always sought to learn and work on self-development and grow in his understanding of the area of development. To learn more he spends time learning from managers who are in higher position. These people have set good examples for him to learn more and eventually strive to obtain better position within World Vision.

“I was employed as a Project Coordinator (PC) for the education project. I always do research and kept on self-learning; I love to learn from others and my books have remained always at hands,” affirms Bunthoeun.

Bunthoeun’s growth continues to increase like the steps on the stairs that lead upward.  He always dreams of moving higher and not giving up on his hopes. Reflection and learning from others around are what Bunthoeun practices; he is also open to share with other colleagues the responsibilities. Working with World Vision has provided Bunthoeun with many learning opportunities such as the Modules from Learning for Transformation (LfT) team, and now Integrated Program Model (IPM) is also a new model for him to learn and this makes him really interested in his works.  All these lessons have helped to equip him and his staffs for further partnerships. All lessons learned with World Vision have encouraged Bunthoeun to want to learn more and know more.

Bunthoeun said, “I practice by keeping a journal and writing down the things to do, what is plus, minus, and interesting. I have worked in a team with staff to find the way for my team to achieve good results in our development work.”

Bunthoeun has never expected he would become an ADP manager in Baribour II ADP, he said, “I think God already planned everything for me. I am really blessed by God who makes me keep growing and continue to improve myself. I still learn more relevant development field and working with communities and conducting reflection is really vital for our growth as well as that of the community.  It helps to see a big picture of our work and life.  How our personal growth helps us to do our job better.”

“I think his story really inspires others and it’s a good example for all staffs to learn. He always shares with staff to try hard and seek self transformation and to keep growing in life and at work,” said Serey Roth, a fellow World Vision staff.

-Ends-

Lovely little girl.

Lovely little girl @Kampong Speu province, CAMBODIA.

Bathing Time!

A little monk is writing Khmer alphabets. Kampong Speu province, CAMBODIA.

Piglets. Kampong Thom province, CAMBODIA.

BIG SMILE...

Give food offering to Buddhist monks.

Reflection.

A Transformed Kao Ly’s Family Lives in Harmony
Written By: Vichheka Sok

A boy with tanned-skin and a timid face is now sitting on the stairways of a wooden medium house with bamboo lattices, he smiles, “My name is Kao Ly Touch; I am fourteen years old, and I am the fifth son of seven siblings. I’ll tell you my story. It’s about violence and what’s transformed in my family and myself.”

Asking about his family situation in the past, Kao Ly sadly said, “My parents always quarreled and this made me not happy and I didn’t want to stay at home to see such violence everyday. I usually spent my time at my grandmother’s house. I always tried to run a way from hearing all the fighting between my parents.”

He is now sitting close to his mother. “My father never stayed at home. He was always out with his friends and returned home drunk. He used only insulting words to all family members, and my mother did the same.”

“I was a weak student and I had no energy to study hard when I saw my parents always argue and they never paid attention to children’s studying,” shared Kao Ly while looking at his mother’s face. Kao Ly’s mother recounted, “The family’s situation seemed a mess and we also didn’t care about hygiene and lived in good health. We all drank unboiled-water or water from raining, when we stored in a jar without covering. She added, “Once Kao Ly got a stomachache and typhoid, so we needed to spend money to buy medicine to cure his health.”

Kao Ly immediately interrupted his mother, “Before we all went to the rice filed or bush for toilet. I was a stubborn son; I always complained whenever my mother asked me to do anything such as tending cattle, collecting cow-dung, and cutting grass for cow’s food.”

“I go to know and became a sponsored child of World Vision in 2002. I recognized the orange color of World Vision; and World Vision staff always came to visit and encourage me as my parents to pay more attention on health care and sanitation,” smiled Kao Ly.

Kao Ly mother never ignores invitations from World Vision staff to participate in trainings or meetings to share and learn together in terms of health care, advantages and disadvantages of domestic violence, the importance of education, HIV and AIDS, child rights, and living in a clean environment. Kao Ly grinned, “World Vision supported my family to build a toilet and we stopped going to the rice field or bush as a toilet. It’s really helpful and I am the one who ensures that there is water in the toilet.”

He continued, “My mother always gives me 300 riels (0.075 USD) to go to school to buy a snack during the school break. She advises me to buy food with good covering and that is clean without flys around. She really cares about hygiene.”

Everyday, Kao Ly helps his parents to do house chores with no complaint. He waters all vegetables in the garden and sweeps the house’s area. He is now trying so hard; he timidly shared, “I have a dream to be a good Khmer literature teacher and it’s my favorite to teach other children. I usually teach my younger brother at home every night before going to bed.”

There is no more domestic violence or any insulting words in Kao Ly’s family. He said, “I am happy to see my parents have stopped quarreling and they use only good words to each other and all the children. My parents really push me to study hard, so I would have a good job and help to reduce the family’s burden when I grown up.” Added with smiling face, “My mother always shares my father and children what she has learned from the meetings/trainings of World Vision. And I do the same.”

Kao Ly’s mother concluded, “I am happy to have a good son; he always follows all parents’ advise, and I see he studies hard now. I thank World Vision staff that always visit and teach my son such drawing, hygiene, child rights and encourages him to study hard. My son also gets school materials regularly from World Vision’s programme.”

-Ends-