Pagoda lends out land for agriculture to feed street children

11 Feb 2009
By Nhim Sophal
Cambodge Soir Hebdo
Translated from French by Luc Sâr
Click here to read the article in French

Since 2003, the Kien Svay Buddhist Center located in Kandal province, makes available 2.5-hectare of its land for the use by the Street Children Assistance and Development Program (SCADP) to grow rice for education purposes.

Last week, more than 100 youths joined in to harvest rice surrounding the pagoda. “Agriculture remains the soul of our country, and it assures the solidarity between the communities. We want the city youths to understand how rice is grown, and this rice is used to feed our children,” Yim Sokhary, director of SCADP, said. Each year, seven to eight tons of rice are harvested here and they allow to feed half the need of 600 children cared for by the SCADP.

SCADP was formed in 1992, and it receives funding from the UK. The organization provides education to street children in seven provinces in Cambodia. However, the needs faced by the SCADP still remain inadequate in front of the major problems that need to be solved in Cambodia.

For additional information about the SCADP: http://www.scadp.org.kh

NGO provides schooling toPreah Vihear children

29-10-2008
Cambodge Soir Hebdo in English
Click here to read the article in French

The border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia left children of the families living in the surrounding area of the temple school less. A British sponsored NGO help them to go back to school.

Yim Sokhary, director of Street Children Assistance and Development Programme (Scadp), stated that her and her colleagues sent back 115 children to school. Lessons temporarily take place in the buildings of the organization, located 30km from Preah Vihear. “I want the children to be far from the danger zone so that they can be provided with schooling and try to forget the fear they and their families are suffering from”, she said.

The Scadp project was originally conceived for 30 pupils and is now hosting around 100 children. Financial problems are mounting especially when buying the daily 25kg ration of rice. Yim Sokhary added that the children cared for, come from a school of the organisation close to the Preah Vihear site. They also come from the Hun Sen Prasat Preah Vihear School, which had to close when the shooting started. Children of the soldiers and policemen sent to the border are also enrolled. As soon as the situation will be back to normal, the children will be able to return to their normal schools.

To support Cambodian soldiers’ moral, the director focuses in particular on the children of those who died fighting; she teaches them in person.

Scadp was created in 1992 and it cares for poor children living on the streets, forced to work in rural or urban areas. A total of 10,000 underage children are supported throughout six provinces and towns of the Kingdom: Phnom Penh, Kandal, Preah Vihear, Prey Veng, Koh Kong and Kampong Speu.