Harnessing Opportunities through Play and Education
Year End Round Up!
NEWSLETTER 11 December 2013
IN THIS ISSUE
Update From Tanya's Monitoring Trip
First Step

Dear HOPE friends and supporters,  

As we pass two significant landmarks, H.O.P.E's fifth anniversary and more significantly the milestone of supporting over 100 Young Adults in Cambodia, we bring you news of all the projects direct from the field as Tanya returns from her annual (self funded) trip.   

We are so proud to be a small part of the success of so many disadvantaged young Cambodians - THANK YOU for continuing to help us help them.    

The bad news is to continue supporting all these young adults we need to raise new funds.  Our annual commitment to the programmes amounts to £20k, less than £300 per beneficiary.    

If you can help in any small way please Text HOPE19 £"amount" eg HOPE19 £10 to 70070, you will be given the opportunity to gift aid the donation if a UK tax payer.

Or sponsor long term HOPE supporter Amy in her physical efforts as the temple sites of Angkor Wat play host to a weekend of sporting challenges, the half marathon for runners and the 30km or 100km bike ride for cyclists.  This year we are sponsoring young adults from Salariin Kampuchea to take part in the bike ride. www.justgiving.com/AmyBurdis

     

Cambodia has certainly changed a lot over these five years, with more cars and motos, more petrol stations, more supermarkets, more neon lights (in the tourist areas) and there's no escaping the boom in mobile phones and tablets.  But it is the progress at our three core Young Adult Programmes ("YAP") that we are most focussed on.    
Update from Tanya's monitoring trip 

On Tanya's visit she met with each of the Project Managers and timed her trip so she could drop in on the social work training sessions HOPE has been sponsoring for the first time this year.   

Tanya with Roun and Sophal
The highlight of her trip was having dinner one evening in the capital city, Phnom Penh, with six of the young adults from Sangkheum Centre.  We have been supporting the Centre since the inception of its YAP, so we are delighted that two are working in IT, one working as a football coach, and three at university seeking to be an Engineer, an English Teacher and a Medic. A further six are making their way in the world in Siem Reap.  This progress would have been unimaginable without the programme.   

 

Meanwhile back at the Centre they are turning their attention to 24 "young adults in-waiting", 13-18 year olds also in need of dedicated resources and education to prepare for life beyond institutional care.      

Sangkheum Young Adults in Phnom Penh

At Salarrin Kampuchea we have helped them since 2010, initially to set up a one year Life Skills course for their older students and now supporting the third generation about to sign up.  Tanya met up with some of the students at the new Youth Employment Services Centre, a new resource in Siem Reap, providing essential help with career advice and job seeking.

SK Students at the YES Center
We have known This Life Cambodia ("TLC") since it was just three members of staff.  On to their third office, out growing previous ones and employing 28 local staff, H.O.P.E now supports two of their programmes. 

The Intern Programme is on to its second generation with the first two interns now employed full time at TLC and the next two making great progress with their degrees and work experience. 

This year we extended support to a new programme, vocational training for 14-18 year olds trapped in the prison system in a country with no juvenile justice or first time offender units.  Desperate young adults caught for petty crimes are sentenced to as many as four years in prison. 

Tanya was able to visit the prison and see the juvenile prisoners attend training to be mechanics or electrical engineers.  So far the results are impressive, no trainees have become repeat offenders, when previously this was 60% reoffending within just six months.  Three have even set up their own business.  Critically all have been reconciled with their families, despite the stigma of prison. Another example of great progress with a little focussed help and support.
TLC Interns  

First Step       
We have all learnt a lot over the first five years, not least that out in the big wide world the young adults have so much to face.
Unfortunately with the success of our work we have seen an increase in cases where young adults have deep rooted problems making that transition from institutional care (heightened sense of abandonment and isolation, lack of self esteem, easily led astray into gambling or alcohol etc).   

There is a vital need for social workers and yet there are very few qualified social workers in Cambodia.  In 2013 we have helped First Step Cambodia ("FSC"), a Phnom Penh based NGO, run a six month training programme in Siem Reap, with 19 adult participants. Once trained, each social worker can help at least 10 YAs per annum which will make a huge difference to their future.     

Tanya was able to attend one day of this six month course and see for herself the amazing training that is being provided.  Even though it was in a different language it was clear the participants were gaining so much knowledge, experience and confidence.
First Step Training
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Don't just take our word for it, Raechel a PwC consultant, recently volunteered at one of H.O.P.Es partner organisations and kindly wrote a blog of her experience at This Life Cambodia.

Back in September she approached H.O.P.E looking for a volunteer position for over a month.  We were able to match her valuable skills with the needs of one of our Partner organisations, TLC.  She has kindly written a blog of her experience and we are delighted by her closing remark "I can only urge people to continue to support H.O.P.E. and This Life Cambodia so this team can spread their support to as many communities as possible.".

Read Raechel's blog here...

Raechel working at the TLC office
We  look forward to updating you again in the new year with more news soon. In the meantime get regular updates at www.hopeforcambodia.org.uk or Find us on Facebook or Follow us on Twitter.

 

Best wishes,

 

Tanya and Jo
Trustees - Harnessing Opportunities through Play and Education

SK Young Adults 

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