New Cambodian Children's Life Association (NCCLA)
We have not sent any payments to the NCCLA for several years, and I had lost contact with Neth, the director of the NCCLA, so I was keen to speak with him.
I was able to have a long conversation with Neth, during which it transpired that Neth has closed the NCCLA. There are several reasons for this, the major one being that most of the children at NCCLA have reached 18 and are therefore able to start looking after themselves. Several of the children are being sponsored in their studies by a Japanese NGO, so most if not all did not really require the support of the NCCLA anymore.
The very young children, Decem, Monika and Molika, who were all left outside Veiyo Tonle in recent years, have all been formally adopted by Neth and his wife Thavy.
Neth owns Veiyo Tonle restaurant in Phnom Penh. The restaurant is on the riverside, the main tourist area, but due to hugely increased competition from new businesses it was struggling to make enough money to support Neth and his family, let alone the NCCLA as well. This was another reason for Neth deciding to close the NCCLA.
Neth is still in touch with many of the former NCCLA children, and pointed me in the direction of some of them, who are now working in a different restaurant on the riverside. I spoke to all of them, and they were all happy to have moved on and are living independently successfully, while still keeping in touch with Neth and Thavy. Here are Nin, Thyda, Phanoun and Ty:
As such, the work we did to support the NCCLA has been successfully concluded. The NCCLA set out to give the children they supported a fair chance in Cambodian life, and they certainly have a good chance to make a success of their lives.
Cambodian Handicraft Association (CHA)
As you are aware, we have made several donations, some quite large, to the CHA over the past few years. The most recent of these donations was required to help the CHA relocate their premises.
I visited the new premises during my trip and was very impressed with what I saw. The location of the premises is good, being close to the Tuol Sleng museum, which although it is a former prisoner camp and a rather bleak place to visit does get a large number of visitors every year.
The premises themselves are sizeable, with a large open plan shop area and manufacturing area in the front. There is also a classroom to allow the producers to learn English, and an area with two weaving looms. The weavers who were previously working in a separate workshop in the countryside will shortly be moving to the Phnom Penh premises, which I believe will be a positive move from a commercial sense, in that it may bring more visitors to the premises.
I was hoping to build some sustainability for the CHA by potentially negotiating a longer lease on their new premises - the current lease is 3 years. However, Kim Tha told me he had tried to negotiate a longer lease of 5 or 6 years, and this had been rejected. He has also enquired after buying the land the premises sit on, and again this was rejected. I asked Kim Tha if he felt the landlord would perhaps be more receptive to me as a Westerner, but he didn't think they would be.
As such there is not much more we can do for the CHA, other than support them on an ad hoc basis when they have unexpected costs, as we have done in the past. We will have to hope that their current lease is extended in 2 and a half years time.
Phang Ier
We are sponsoring Ier's business management studies, and he has performed well in his first year. Ier works 6 days a week at the Himawari Apartment Hotel where is a purchasing clerk. He seems to be well regarded there, and with his business management qualification he would hope to eventually manage a department within the hotel.
Ier studies for 3 hours each day after work, and in addition has childcare responsibilities as he has recently separated from his wife. However, none of his other responsibilities seem to distract him from his studies, he is determined to gain his qualification so he may improve his life. I am very happy to continue to support Ier's studies.
The future of the CFF
As the CFF was originally set up to support the NCCLA, The CFF Trustees and I have consulted with our regular monthly donors, and would now like to let you know how we propose to proceed with the CFF. This will allow you to decide whether you would like to continue supporting the CFF on an ad hoc basis.
We will:
1) Continue to support the CHA on an ad hoc basis
2) Continue to sponsor Phang Ier's studies.
3) Offer sponsorship to any ex-NCCLA children who would like to continue their education but can't afford to do so without assistance.
4) Identify other potential under-privileged individuals or groups who require our support
On point 4 I have already identified one individual we can support. I visited Put Doun, who used to work at Veiyo Tonle restaurant and supported the children at NCCLA for many years, in Siem Reap where he is now a tuktuk driver, taking people to and from the Angkor temples.
Doun needs to earn US$11 a day to break even on paying for his tuktuk, motorbike, rent, bills, food and for his child's education. His wife Chenda earns US$3 a day as a cleaner at a hotel. Together they have very much a hand to mouth existence, and any minor setback, such as when they had a motorbike accident and ran up substantial hospital bills, has a major impact
on their lives.
In addition because they both work full time, they are unable to look after their daughter Christine in Siem Reap, and she lives with Chenda's parents in Phnom Penh. This is Christine:
We are planning to sponsor Christine's education, which would cost around US$500 a year. This would give Doun and Chenda some financial breathing space, and give Christine an opportunity to get a good education.
I would be interested to hear any thoughts on the above, please drop me a line either by commenting in this blog or by emailing me at cff@sensiblemail.com
