Cambodia

Context

Even Cambodia, that had achieved an average of 9 % economic growth during the ten years leading up to 2008 has suffered from the global financial crisis. This has forced many companies to withdraw their business, while many plants and factories have been shut down, thereby causing the entire economy to halt its growth. Fortunatley, this is just a transient phenomena. More investment has now been resumed. However, because of military tension with the neighboring state of Thailand, Cambodia's defense budget has increased. Education and sanitation related items narrowly escaped from the budget cuts, but many other items have seen enormous funding reductions to reinforce the military budget.

Summary

The year 2011 falls upon not only the 30th anniversary of the launch of the SVA but also upon the 20th anniversary of the opening of the Cambodia Office. By taking this opportunity, the SVA would like to once again share the principle concept of "Live Together and Learn Together" with all the staff members and to make an all-out effort to implement project plans and routine activities across the board. At the same time, the SVA would like to further deepen our understanding by putting ourselves in the other party's shoes, assuming the intermediate role between those who are in need and those who wish to help them.

Libraries

Since 2007, the SVA had conducted the "Talent Development Program to Spread Library Activities in Elementary Schools" for three years in the Siem Reap province and completed it in March 2010. This program was conducted together with those who spread library activities, namely people from the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports and the Siem Reap Provincial Education Office, district education bureaus, principals of schools, teachers and librarians, and conducted five types of training courses 16 times in four provinces and in one city, with a total of 692 people participating in 2009. The SVA has completed a manual on library activities covering from the level of a school to the one for the Ministry of Education and distributed it to all the provinces. This manual will be used by the Ministry of Education to spread library activities. The "National Story Telling Rally" that the SVA has held every year had 108 people attending from 10 provinces and one city. The activities of each province were also exhibited at the same time.

The SVA also conducted mobile-library activities at 144 elementar schools, which 32,509 pupils attended. The SVA has published 15,000 copies of five picture-books and 1,400 copies of four paper-card shows, which have been distributed mainly to elementary schools together with picture-books that were distributed through the "Campaign to Deliver Picture Books". Two model libraries have been constructed where many elementary students and students learning at teacher training schools are currently using. In 2010, the two-year "Library Activity Penetration Program involving Satellite Elementary Schools under Cluster School System" will start in the Banteay Meanchey province.

Dream School

Although the SVA has been profoundly affected by the global financial crisis, we have started to see the result of our across-the-board efforts that have proceeded together with the Tokyo Office, as all the planned 12 elementary school buildings completed their construction as scheduled. In addition to that, acting upon an urgent request from the Head of the Education Bureau of Siem Reap province, the SVA constructed another two school buildings to replace old and dangerous ones by the end of the year. With this, we have completed construction of 14 elementary school buildings that now accommodate 3,340 students (as of October 2009), studying in a safe environment and using sanitary bathrooms.

Thanks to other NGOs and supporters, the SVA installed water purification devices and conducted arsenic testing, allowing children to drink safe water inside the school premises. The SVA would like to continue cooperation with the education bureaus of the Siem Reap and Kompong Thom provinces to seek further solutions which will enable more children to enroll in school.

Activities in Slums

The SVA has conducted 239 mobile library activities in 11 inner city locations and resettlement places in and around Phnom Penh in 2009. The SVA has covered different places every time and a total of 21,856 people (20,714 children and 1,142 adults) enjoyed them. These mobile library activities were operated through collaboration with three NGOs that have operated in the inner city as well as two public schools located inside the activity areas. The SVA has held a seminar for 40 people to enable these NGOs and elementary schools to independently keep conducting this activity on their own. At the end of this seminar, the SVA presented mobile book-boxes and picture books. The SVA has purchased a new vehicle to replace an old one that had been used for long time, enabling us to deliver teaching materials and to move from one activity area to another more efficiently. In 2010, the SVA would like to continue this mobile-library activity while incorporating this into the Library Activities Program to achieve higher expertise for program operation and management.

Cultural Programs

Through Buddhist temples, the center of Cambodian communities, we have conducted traditional culture preservation activities and natural environment conservation activities. Regarding the traditional culture preservation activities, we have held two types of seminars; one is a seminar involving the preservation of "Khmer traditional dancing and playing", the other is a "seminar involving ethics education based on Buddhism teaching". A total of 357 people participated in them. A study tour to visit our activity sites had 10 monks and village chiefs participating; raising awareness on culture and environment preservation. When the SVA held a seminar to improve management at a Buddhist temple, 29 distinguished monks and related people attended and had a lively discussion. With regard to natural environment conservation activities, the SVA held a seminar concerning "conservation of the natural environment and eco-system diversity", garnering a total of 120 attendees. The SVA has grown a total of 45,415 seedlings of 22 types, at five seedling centers, in addition to the planting, distributing and re-planting of 35,642 trees, in cooperation with monks and local people. The SVA would like to continue thes activities in 2010, with a principal focus on preservation of the traditional culture and natural environment.