Save the Children Project

I. Description

Save the Children Project started in 2007 and seeks to intervene in the lives of children who suffer from or are at risk for abandonment when their parents leave the border towns of Cambodia to work in neighboring Thailand. Intervention is accomplished by providing after school education for children, by educational workshops addressing the needs of children in the community, and by efforts to bolster the local economy in order to raise the standard of living.

II. Problem Statement

Many families in Banteay Meanchey move to work in Thailand. In early 2006 Pastor Phirum, of Chhong Kork Christian Church, conducted a baseline survey to identify the problems children are facing in Chhong Kork village. The results showed that children are vulnerable to displacement and abandoment. Social issues affecting children in this region include child labour, drug use, poverty, sex trafficking, illiteracy and domestic violence.

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  1. Displacement to Thailand - There are two scenarios regarding children: 1) Children move into Thailand with their families. Often the children are exploited for labor and do not attend school. 2) Children are left behind in Cambodia while the parents go to Thailand to find work. Children may live with relatives or live by themselves or be in charge of younger children at home. Even when living with relatives, they often need to fend for themselves, so again they lack the opportunity to go to school.
  2. Drug Use - 35% of the children, ages 12-17, who live in Chhong Kork village use amphetamines.
  3. Poverty - people who live in the village have no access to jobs. They live far from town and the markets. Their farming provides only a subsistence living, and they are unable to support their families.
  4. Trafficking and Child Labor - Children move away for jobs at the border or in Thailand. There are three risks they confront: 1) They are forced to work all day, unable to attend school or enjoy childhood. 2) Some are forced to be prostitutes in Southeast Asia's rampant child-sex trade. 3) Many are made to beg for money (disfiguring a child's body by putting their legs or arms into acid or by breaking their legs or arms).
  5. Illiteracy - 60% of children in Chhong Kork village do not attend school. 40% of them are in school, but the teachers do not come to class regularly (a number of children answered that their teachers come to class about 10 days a month).

II. Activities

The focus for 2010-11:

  1. Pre-school - for 30 children
  2. After school classes - supplemental education for 80 primary-aged children
  3. Family Economic Development - empowering 10 families through micro-loans
  4. Community Education Outreach - conducting child protection training for 400 people in the  community, including children
  5. English Language Classes - providing English classes, 5 days a week, for 60 children
  6. Children's Prayer Fellowship - 40 children meeting once a week to pray together
  7. High School Student Dorm - Providing accommodation to enable 20 students to pursue high school education
  8. Community Market - Setting up a local village market

Total project cost* $17,387