I. With people who live near refuse dump
 We
have been supporting people who sell recyclable items in
refuse dump in Steuong Meanchey since 1998.
In
Steuong Meanchey, a suburb of Phnum Penh, a lot of families
who came from country side to seek jobs but could not find
suitable jobs make their living by selling recyclable items
in the dump. Their children also have to work from morning
till sunset, so they cannot have proper education like children
in Japan. Those children who luckily enter schools often
drop out from the schools.
1) Children's House
Classes
are conducted five times a week, from Monday to Friday from
8:45 to 11:00 in the morning. The children are divided in
two classes considering their age and ability. The Khumer
dance class was started in 2005. Cambodian teachers teach
the classes and we support them.
We
provide the opportunity to learn the fundamental skill for
social life and intellectual ability to the children who
can not attend the elementary school or discontinue the
school or can not catch up the class due to poverty or other
reason.
a) House for big children
Age: 6 - 12 years old with ability of reading and writing
Khumer language and knowledge of numbers 1 to 10
Course: Literacy of Khumer language, simple addition
and subtraction, gym, music, manual arts, drawing, coloring,
listening to picture book, Khumer dance, health care
and morality
b) House for small children
Age: 3 - 6 years old without ability of reading and
writing Khumer language
Course: Reading and writing of Khumer language, numerals
1 to 10, gym, music, manual arts, drawing, coloring,
listening to picture book, Khumer dance, health care
and morality
2) Soy milk program
Living
in a place where the nutritious food cannot be taken regularly,
children sometimes look younger than their age due to malnutrition.
To build a healthy body, we provided a cup of soy milk to
each child at the end of the day in the house of children.
We also sell soy milk at low price for the children who
are too young to come to the house.
3) Medical service and visiting house
All
the trash is brought to the refuse dump without separation
and there are lots of broken bottles which cause injury
and skin disease to people all the time. In the village,
rubbish is here and there around the houses and road side.
People
have no antiseptic and curative medicine at home. So we
show them a simple treatment of wound before getting serious.
We gave treatments to children who came to the children
house and visited people's houses for treatment.
In
dry season, the smoke of burning refuse flows to the village
and it causes headache and respiratory disease. We advised
how to prevent a cold, introduced hospitals and paid their
transport fee to the hospitals.
4) Soap Campaign
We
sell soap at low price to 115 poor families twice a month.
We also sell anti-louse soap.
5) Women's group
Women
always play important role to improve their family life.
We formed women' group to improve their life and health.
Beside the instruction of health care, we explain the importance
of the children's education to them and support the entrance
procedure for the primary schools and application for the
scholarship of PSE (a French NGO).
6) Bathing program
In
the children's house the bathing program take place for
the children every Sunday by Sisters from Sisters of Adorers.
They show to the children how to wash and clean back of
their ears and neck which the children normally do not care.
The Sisters apply medicine to the injured part of the children's
body and the skin affected by skin disease. They also clean
the children's ears and clip their nails. When the children's
clothes are dirty, the Sisters provide the place for children
to wash them. (Only in dry season)
7) Food vendor program
The
refuse dump will be shifted in 2009, and those who make
their living by selling recyclable items in the dump will
loose their job. Prior to that we are planning "Rent
a food vender program" so that they can get new jobs.
We are preparing the project to rent food venders to them
to sell handmade cookies and snacks to people who are working
in the sawing factories nearby.
Work together
The activities in Steuong Meanchey are supported by many
people.
a) The students studying hair dressing in a vocational school
of Caritas Cambodia come to the children's house and open
a free hair salon once a month. (May-October)
b) Volunteer university students from a dormitory run by
Father Olivie from Paris Mission hold a Christmas party
in the children's house.
c) Charity concert was held by Japan College of Foreign
Languages.
d) The Catholic Kikuna Church raises funds.
g) Donation was given by Yokohama Futaba Primary Schoolchildren's
house will welcome your visit.
JLMM study tour and other groups from Japan visit the Children's
house every year.
Why not visit the Children's house?
Do contact us for the details.
2. With people in the floating village
Current situation of the floating village
The
floating village Kompong Luong is located on Tonle Sap Lake
at the center of Cambodia. Over 1,600 families in the village
live in boats. About 1,000 families out of 1,600 are Vietnamese,
and the rest are Khumer and Jiamusi.
The whole population is more than 6,000. People make their
living mainly by fishing and many of them are poor. They
have various problems with all over their lives. There is
no electricity, gas and water supply in the village, and
people consume the lake water. As the people drain the domestic
wastewater and excretory substance of the domestic animals,
the water is polluted considerably and it largely affects
their health.
As many Vietnamese do not speak Khmer language, they do
not know how to receive public service from the institution.
They are left isolated from Cambodian society and cannot
receive a medical service, which causes the disease getting
more serious and at the worst, death. Some children are
not eligible to go to public schools because of the language.
In
order to solve these problems, cooperating with Battambang
Church, JLMM Cambodia and the residents we set up the floating
class in 2001 and have been operating the literacy education
and the fundamental health service organized by the residents.
Mr. Takahashi is now stationed with the local staff and
operating activities.
Activities in the floating village
1) Health care program
- Bathing program
We
Continue the bathing program once a week. Healthcare and
nutrition education are also provided and monitor the
children's health. We clip children's nails, clean their
ears and apply the medicine for them. Now the children
who bath regularly hardy have rashes and louses. They
even purchase and use the anti-rash soap and anti-louse
soap which JLMM Cambodia recommends. The residents and
mothers also participate and cooperate with us. They pay
more attention to their health and hygiene than before.
- Support sick people program
People
who live in the floating village do not have cash income
except during the fishing season and they cannot afford
to go to hospital. We support the transportation fare
to hospital for seriously sick people. In mild cases we
instruct the nutrition and medical treatment, and provide
the health guidance. We also support the meal expenses.
Most
of the patients are typhoid, HIV/AIDS, cirrhoses, cancer,
tuberculosis to hospitals.
- Home care program
We
visit patients' home and provide simple home care and
treatment. Health and nutrition guidance and consultation
are also provided to the patients and their family.
2) Mother and child Health care program
People
in the floating village believe in powder milk. To convince
them that the breast milk is the best for babies, we visit
after childbirth mothers and give consultation and advice
about their health. Powder milk is provided only when the
mother is sick.
3) Literacy education program
We
operate literacy education collaborating with Battambang
Diocese. Cambodian teachers teach the classes. We had training
for the teachers and entirely renewed the curriculum. Sentiment
education was added so that the children can enjoy learning.
Vietnamese
children can go to Cambodian public school, but the education
is in Khumer. So the children study Khumer reading and writing
in the literacy education center before entering the school,
so that they can catch up the school class. However, the
school is also in the floating village and many children
left school before completion because they did not have
boat. In 2005 supported by "Japan Catholic Association
for Aid to Overseas Missionaries" we bought a commuter
boat, and in 2006 by Catholic Yuigahama Church we bought
another one. Now the children continue the school.
Work together
Catholic
Fujisawa Church of Yokohama Diocese established "Cambodia
Welfare Foundation Fujisawa" in 2002. A part of the
fund is used for the Kompong Luong activities.
Battambang
Church requested the financial support for the renovation
of the floating church and the literacy education center,
and we received the fund support from our supporters in
Japan.
In
addition, Catholic Tokorozawa Church in Tokyo Archdiocese
has supported our activities for three years and Japan Catholic
Association for Aid to Overseas Missionaries bought a water-purifying
device for us. The device operation is supported by Imai
Foundation.
|
