This update is written from the field as both HOPE trustees have been on the ground together in Cambodia since November.  They have been working closely with all of the HOPE supported projects and in particular the Sangkheum Centre Young Adult Programme as they turn their attention to the next group of children reaching the critical age when they realise one day they will have to live independently from the Centre.

In some ways the next group are more fortunate as the programme has been tried and tested, but each individual child has had different experiences and issues in their short life time and we have learnt that one cap does not fit all.  There is an increasing need for social workers to help these children some of whom, have been badly affected by their past – for example dealing with a feeling of rejection, isolation or a lack of confidence and not knowing who they can talk to. The programme is seeking to equip them to cope with these feelings and issues but there is a distinct lack of qualified Cambodian staff to help address all the problems.  In addition the number of Centres with children reaching this critical age is increasing – there are so many who would really benefit from programmes like this.  We are grateful to all of you helping us help so many, but as you can tell our task is getting bigger every day. 

While some of the young adults already living in the transisiton house have now started on the path of university, nursing college or hospitality school (see attached link for some of their stories)  there are nearly 20 budding young adults aged 13 - 17 who are just taking their first steps.

So at Sangkheum Centre the team of educators are busy planning ahead and ensuring this next group of young adults who still live at the Centre get the chance to follow in the positive footsteps of those already well advanced in the programme.  This an extremely exciting time to ensure the younger ones benefit from the experiences of the past – taking into account both what did work and what didn’t!

To start this process the Sangkheum staff have been running “Life Skills” workshops to enable the budding young adults and youths to think through potential moral scenarios they might find themselves in and give them the opportunity to answer and explain what they might do and why in any given situation.  Scenarios included ‘being mean to someone just because everyone else is’, or ‘taking someone else's things without asking’, or ‘keeping money you find in the library’, etc.

Hannah, the Alternative Care and Education Program Coordinator, at Sangkheum who is initiating the workshops said “We had only planned 15 minutes for the activity,but they really got into it, I heard some really great iscussions, and it took over an hour to finish! At the end they put together presentations to explain to the whole group what their answers were and how they came up with them.”  This interactive approach is very successful with the participants.

Most importantly Sangkheum are using these sessions to start the new young adult preparation programme and Hannah says that “We'll link this activity to the next meeting where we'll use those examples to start creating their own rules, and hopefully they'll get as involved as they were this time.”

They also utilised this time to broach pending questions on being a teenager, to avoid any embarrassments they were asked to write down any questions they had and put them into a secret box. The discussion went extremely well and again the subjects discussed will be key to curriculum planning for the next sex education classes.

The next workshop will be held at the end of January where the students will be divided into smaller groups to really benefit from the classes. 

I have managed to extend my stay in Siem Reap until March and will be helping out at the planned workshops in February where the children will be discussing employment options and skills.  Again we hope this will be an interactive and positive workshop for all.

Thanks again for your support - it really makes a difference to the present and future of these children.

Preparing material for their presentation

The boys take the stage to present their thoughts

Some of the girls taking a turn to present

Links:

• Dec 2012 update on all Young Adults supported by H.O.P.E