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Home.. Countries.. Cambodia.. Protection & Empowerment for Women and Children.. Slum School

GOAL: To provide a safe and creative place for 125+ children to attend school in the dilapidated slum area near Battambang City’s central railway station.

CONTEXT: Due to the prevalence of land mines, loss of land and lack of schools, many Battambang families leave their traditional homes in the hope of securing employment for themselves and educational opportunities for their children in the capital city.

These hardworking families are often forced to live in slum or squatter communities, without water, electricity, or access to basic social services. Their children are easy prey of trafficking, prostitution and drug networks.

Understandably, families are reluctant to send their children to school, fearing that they may come into contact with children or others who may be a bad influence. Children also remain at home to keep watch over their simple shelters while their parents are away at work.

TARGET GROUP: Children living in the slum area near the Battambang City train station.

OUTPUTS AND SUCCESSES

  • Education:  The children attend Khmer, English, and Khmer classical dance classes, as well as courses on basic hygiene and sanitation.
  • Safe Education:  Within the first year, the school has grown to over 125 students, showing the great need and demand for schooling and a place where children feel safe.
  • Social Skills:  Greatly increased confidence and camaraderie among the students.
  • Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC):  Older students learn about the risks and challenges facing slum children: they learn about child rights, and are sensitized against drug use, prostitution and begging.
  • Community building:  staff members and teachers have formed a neighborhood watch group, visiting each family weekly and overcoming barriers about the school and about the community, leading to increased attendance and confidence.
  • VFC’s Fellowship Connection:  A project that was initiated by alumni of VFC’s Fellowship (Poorest of the Poor), the Young Bamboo Shoots Slum School now employs several alumni as teachers. As successful university graduates, they are role models!
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