Week 4: Cambodia

Andong, Cambodia15km from the capital city, Phnom Penh

The people of Andong used to live in the capital city. Some wealthy people wanted to use their land so they were forced to move to this small town.

In Andong the people do not have:

• Safe housing

• Clean water

• Sanitation

• Healthcare

Many parents are unable to pay for their children to go to school.

Many children have to work. They often end up in gangs and become involved in bad things.

Vannak

17 year old Vannak is different.

He is in Year 9. He is also a very good silk screen printer.

This is his story of how Caritas Australia’s partner, Youth for Peace, helped him.

When he was 15, Vannak’s parents were both sick. Vannak left school and found work to help support his family.

“I worked as a construction worker and earned around 12,000 Riels ($3) per day. Most of the money I earned I gave to my

parents to help them pay off their debts.”

Some of Vannak’s friends told him about the Youth Empowerment Project. He went along because he thought that he would have something to eat and have fun with his friends.

He soon found that the project offered much more than that.

He learnt how to do silk screen printing, and found he was very good at it!

“I started to love my work because I could use the money to pay for my study and the remainder to

support my family. Now I am a team leader of Silk Screen Printing at YEP with six members.”

1 in 2 children drop out of school in Cambodia. Vannak says the project helped him be really thankful for education.

“I wish I could help them all. I used to be without hope when I dropped out of school.

I would like to tell other young people how education is so valuable for me.”

With your support for Project Compassion, Youth for Peace and other Caritas Australia partners can continue to help people in more than 30 countries open doors to a brighter future.

Join us in Project Compassion:

Let’s work together for justice and a brighter world.

Picture credits

Philong Sovan

Map (Slide 3): Google Maps - ©2012 Google