Friday, February 6, 2015
Monday, January 26, 2015
January 26: So long, farewell...
Juli, Jean-Claude
and I are winding up our work and getting ready to leave on Tuesday afternoon.
This evening we went over to the CASF dorm to say our goodbyes to all the young
women. We were joined by Kimna, her adorable daughter Youyi, and husband Srun.
We stopped at the market and bought sparkling apple juice, crackers and cheese
to treat them to a somewhat French apéritif. I wish I had pictures of
the students sampling the cheese. I’d say that they won’t be asking for it in
the future. Luckily they loved the sparkling apple juice. And they were happy
to eat the jackfruit they added to the plates of hors d’oeuvres. (On the other
hand, Lanie loved the cheese!)
We thanked
everyone for their hospitality and making this a wonderful, productive trip.
We ended by saying, “Su zou!” (study hard).
January 25: Svay Rieng Province
Once again, Juli,
Jean-Claude, Kimna and I set off early in the morning with several of the CASF
university students. This time our destination was Svey Rieng Province. It was
the longest drive so far, about 4 hours. At the town of Neak Loeung we
crossed the Mekong on a ferry. It may be the last time a ferry ride is required
on this heavily traveled road which leads to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam: the
Japanese have nearly completed a spanking new bridge which will the longest in
Cambodia. (If you are interested, check out this article about the new bridge
in the Phnom Penh Post athttp://www.phnompenhpost.com/post-weekend/crossing-over-neak-loeung-ferrys-last-days.)
We arrived in the
late morning and were greeted by what seemed like the entire village. The
village is surrounded by fertile rice fields dotted with cows and water buffalo
and located about 45 minutes from the provincial capital. To greet us were our
8 students and their mothers, assorted fathers and grandparents, as well as the
girls and their families, who we were to interview. In addition, CASF graduate
Sok Savorn had been married the previous day and many of the university
students, graduates, and Suezan, Sam and Lanie had arrived for those
festivities. Savorn now works for Cambodian Women’s Crisis Center in Phnom
Penh.
Juli and Kimna
began by meeting with our EC Savy to check on progress in the village. She
currently supervises and mentors 8 students from grades 9-12. Her encouragement
to remain in school has made a tremendous difference in this village, and in 8
years of work for CASF, she has never had a girl drop out. She encouraged CASF
to consider expanding our work into the surrounding villages in this commune.
Next were the
individual meetings with each student to find out how they are doing in school,
their favorite subjects (lots on interest in Chemistry!) and plans for the
future. It was clear from our discussions that it would be very helpful for
CASF to facilitate some career planning, particularly in 11th and
12th grade, to help direct the girls to the university course
of study best matched to their strengths, interests and job opportunities.
We all took a
break and shared a wonderful lunch with all the villagers and guests. I got a
chance to talk to 3 of the CASF graduates, all poised professional young women.
Two work in Siem Reap and the other in Phnom Penh; two are project managers for
Friends International and the other a social worker for Jasmine House, a refuge
and retaining center for abused women. For me, it was a true demonstration of
the impact that CASF has on the lives of girls.
After lunch, Juli
and Kimna interviewed 7 girls, all of whom have applied for CASF support. Each
described their interest in an education and what career path they have in mind
at this time. They had the chance to ask questions about CASF. We explained to
them that after considering the budget and talking to the board, a decision
would be made this spring.
As we said our
goodbyes, the mothers of several of our current university students presented
us with gifts of raw palm sugar to take home. It was a long ride home,
punctuated by a wait for the ferry, which was a chance to sample the local
delicacies – small shrimp cooked on flat, thin bread and fried crickets. (I
passed on the crickets.)
Kari Sides Suva
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