Holly-ann's travels: Protecting Kids in Cambodia
I have just returned from truly amazing yet very humbling two weeks in
Cambodia where I was fortunate enough to do some work with children in a tiny school run by Japanese nuns. I needed two interpreters, one to translate into khmer for the children and teachers, the other into Japanese for the nuns. I taught fifty children aged between 4 and 8 for two hours, their little eyes were as wide as saucers and were glued to me throughout the session. I used puppets, songs and other resources to teach the two Themes, Early Warning Signs, Networks, Secrets and Public and Private.
I asked the children: "Do adults listen to children?" They very clearly responded: "NO!" And when I asked: "What is a stranger?" they all described "a mean person"; they didn't see me as a stranger because I was a woman. It just goes to show that these misconceptions are universally held by children the world over. I could have been in a remote community in the
Kimberley or in a suburban school in
Perth. In my experience, children's answers have always been the same and a simple change in a child's perception can have an enormous effect on their personal safety.
After the children left school, the staff volunteered to stay behind for a further two hours for basic training in Protective Behaviours education. Their feedback was overwhelming, they are aware that their children are at high risk, but they just didn't know where to start or the language to use. We all gained greatly from my visit to the school and I was deeply touched by their gratitude and enthusiasm.
Next I visited a centre run by a Korean organisation that provides lunch to five hundred children five days a week. I can see that a great opportunity exists for this organization to provide basic Protective Behaviours education for these children and I am determined to establish partnerships to make this happen in Asian countries where children are at higher risk.
Childwise, from
Victoria in
Australia, have an office in
Phnom Penh and, after spending some time with their representative, I learnt a great deal about the amazing work they are doing to raise awareness about child abuse, not only in
Cambodia, but throughout
Asia. Child Safe is another organisation also actively involved in child protection in
Asia. If you're interested in hearing more about my trip, the Korean Feeding Centre and the organizations active in
Cambodia, have a look at my blog.
People ask me: "Holly, the problem with child abuse is so great - where do we start?" My answer is always: Education. Childwise and other agencies are having an immeasurable impact on their communities by educating children and the public about child abuse. Teaching Protective Behaviours is the greatest starting point for initiating conversation, opening our eyes to the needs of children and mobilising communities to be pro-active and help keep kids safe.
