Riverkids' Microbusiness Loans help keep families safe

What would you do for a woman who is HIV positive, knowing that despite medication, her time may be short and eventually her children may be trafficked? The best time to intervene is now. We figured that if the family could earn a sustainable income and keep the children in school, a bleak end is most likely avoided.

We enabled one HIV positive woman and her sister (both in their forties) to operate their own business in the fish market. She was previously earning a meager income by fishing and that was not enough to feed the entire family. With the one hundred dollars loan we gave her, she was able to kick-start the business. Competition exists in every business but at least, they are now better off. They are able to support their children to school regularly, have slightly better and more food on the table each week and repay the loan installments regularly every month.

With the loan, they could invest, get bigger catches, sell more and generate more income.

Another woman, also in her forties, started a bread and drinks business on her push cart with a hundred dollars loan we gave her. Her daughter is now sewing school uniforms in our Bright Girls Programme and earning a percentage from the sales made.

With 6 children to support, more income earners for a family mean stronger financial support and less chance of becoming victims of child trafficking. Our loan offers a much lower rate than those offered in the market and given the extremely poor condition of the family, there is no way they could repay a loan obtained in the market.

Without the loan, the children may end up in brothels or employed in unsafe jobs in karaoke and bars. Today, their business is doing well and they even bought a cooler to sell cool drinks in Phnom Penh’s hot weather. We are glad they joined us and soldiered on.

Contributed by: Sinoy

Joe and his friends' volunteering experience

Kids enjoying books and fruits donated by Joe and his friends

My name is Joe and I am from Sydney Australia. I came to volunteer at the Riverkids project to help teach and care for children in February/March 2010 for 4 weeks.

At first I didn’t know what to expect and was feeling a little nervous. I had completed a teaching course with little teaching experience and had no idea what kind of responsibility I was going to take on. However, the moment I stepped into the classroom on my first day, the children stood up and greeted me very warmly and very loudly! They were a joy! They love learning anything and everything and were all very eager to answer questions I asked. They were very well behaved (but a little cheeky at times) and absorbed information like a sponge.

The students in my morning and afternoon classes are all 10-13 years old. There were lots of fun to teach as they were all very energetic and keen to learn English and new skills like typing on the computer and new games. Their English skills were quite basic, so it is quite difficult to communicate with them at times.

However, I was fortunate enough to have the helping hand of a Khmer translator. Some of the things we learnt over the next few days and weeks included basic phrases, animals, body parts, clothing, objects and nouns. We played many different games in the classroom and I tried to make their learning more exciting and interactive. On Fridays, we had games where students get to have a day off from the classroom and played sports, games, puzzles, drew and did art.

Riverkids greatly appreciates volunteers donating resources for the classrooms and for their library. The children needed some new books and resources, so I went to a local bookstore with a staff from Riverkids called Ritthy. He showed me some Khmer story books and English books which I thought would be excellent resources for the students and teachers. When I came to the project I brought crayons, books, paper, pencils and many other resources from home. This was a good idea as Riverkids needs much more resources.

Despite the face that the students came from difficult backgrounds, they all have a great attitude to learning in the classroom and with a bit of hard work, their English skills will improve markedly over the coming months. Without the Riverkids Project and each of its dedicated staff, the children may not have a very bright future. I have made some good friends during my time here and when I go home I will keep in contact with the organization and the staff, and do some fundraising.

Contributed by: Joe

Joanne’s Volunteering Experience with Riverkids

“Watching the children in the classroom every day makes you forget about all your petty worries back home and be grateful for all your blessings.” said Joanne.

My name is Joanne and I am from Sydney, Australia.

I arrived at the Riverkids project in early February 2010 to teach English for four weeks. During the first week, I taught the adorable kindergarten classes and they were quite a handful but so much fun to teach – their smiles and laughter were the highlights of the day! We taught them new English songs (like Itsy Bitsy Spider) and games for them to play. For the following weeks, I have been teaching the older children (10-13 year olds) which had also been great fun, especially teaching them about animals. It has been really interesting to get to know all the students and their individual personalities.

At first it was a daunting task being given the challenge to teach children, but the Riverkids project is a worthwhile cause. Also, seeing the kids gradually developing English skills is one of the most rewarding prizes at the end of the day. Watching the children in the classroom every day makes you forget about all your petty worries back home and be grateful for all your blessings.

We have donated some items for future volunteers and also bought dozens of new Khmer and English reading books for the students.

I am currently in my final year of university at the University of Sydney and will return to my studies once my time here at Riverkids is over. However the Riverkids project is now a cause very close to my heart and I plan to fundraise to send over computers or other computer equipment like keyboards when I get back home.

Contributed by: Joanne Lim

Thank you for keeping our children safe

“Does everybody get the same opportunity as I do?” asked a 15-year-old girl, TT in Riverkids’ Shelter and Education Programmes.

“We have been in the Riverkids’ shelter for about two years and Riverkids have been offering us much more beyond food, safe dwelling and clothes.” explained TT. “I am grateful for the education we receive because it teaches us to be responsible people. We make sure we make our beds before we go to school we complete our homework before we go to bed.”

TT gets to attend extra classes such as Computer and English, two of the many activities our Weekly Boarder and other kids enjoy in Riverkids. Being a very kind and sweet girl, she also helps our Housemother to check the homework of the little sisters and brothers who stay at the shelter.

Today, TT and many others are happy and thankful. Because of your generous donations, we are able to provide them with what a child needs and keep them safe from trafficking.

Contributed by: Pheakdey

Get Ready Boys travel by bicycles given by donors

On behalf of all the children and staff at Riverkids, I would like to thank Ms Andrea Brown and the ICAN British International School for donating 5 bicycles to us this week.

This donation will assist the Get Ready Boys to travel to and from Riverkids instead of relying on public transport.

Hence, money previously allocated for transportation can now be spent on other items such as textbooks and educational materials.

We are incredibly grateful for this donation and will do our best to ensure the continual growth and further success of Riverkids.

Contributed by: Soklee

My First Sight and Feeling at Riverkids

Portrait of a kid with smile and hope in Riverkids’ class

My name is Victoria Louch, from England. I am on my last day of my placement at Riverkids. I have been here for 4 weeks. Those 4 weeks have been a whirlwind of emotions and hard work! When I first came here I wasn’t sure what to expect.

I was expecting poverty but when you haven’t been anywhere this poverty stricken before, like myself, you never really know what you will be faced with until you arrive. I was shown around the slum community which was very hard going, the people are so poor, and they really do have nothing. It was quite shocking and upsetting.

Seeing this made me even more determined to help these children in the weeks I was going to be here. The first week was difficult, new and has very different surroundings. I thought it was going to be much harder than I had anticipated. I hadn’t taught before and before I came here I wasn’t sure what was expected of me.

I soon felt at home however, and the kids are lovely and the majority is extremely willing to learn and I think, appreciate the facility that has been made available to them by Riverkids.

I feel I have given my all in the last 4 weeks and I hope to keep in contact with Riverkids to see how the children are getting on. I also hope I can come back here within the next few years. It has made me realize how much I take for granted at home and the experience has been amazing and I will definitely volunteer again.

Contributed by: Victoria Louch, a volunteer of Riverkids

Workshop to reduce child trafficking

On 10 February, we held a workshop on “Family Values” at the Family House. The workshop was attended by the local authority, the kids’ parents, Get Ready Girls and staff. There were around 120 participants.






The purpose of the workshop is to promote the role of a good parent. We highlighted the importance of children’s education and explained how child trafficking and drug abuse can be prevented. We delivered the cartoon books Riverkids developed to the participants as a reference on how child trafficking can be prevented in their families.



Families play a vital role in our society in preventing child trafficking. If the moral value of the family is strengthened and educational level is increased, child trafficking, domestic violence and drug abuse etc will automatically be reduced.

The workshop was conducted successfully and we believe that through this, our relationship with the local authorities and families is strengthened, which makes working together to reduce child trafficking more effective.

Contributed by : Sophea

A Fulfilling Day For Micro-Business

The Micro-Business Coordinator and Sewing Teacher visited Afesip Fair Fashion to see the women who were previously abused sew traditional clothes.

Mr. Rotha Tep, the Business Operation Manager of Afesip Fair Fashion welcomed us warmly and explained the function of each department as we observed the women at work.


The women made dresses, skirts, blouses, pants that look really fashionable! The purpose of our visit is to pick up new knowledge and skills so that we can teach our own team to design something really attractive.

Next, we visited another organization called, “Village Works”. We discussed how better we could work together in the future to export the products we make. We have received an order and must get ready!

In fact, Village Work is one of the export organizations we have been using to send the handicraft products to customers in Australia. While discussing, Village Work’s Director requested us to sew 2,000 handbags at a price of $0.30 per piece! Riverkids plan to deliver this order on March 2010.

We have just assigned four mothers in the community to do this as our Bright Girls have been busy sewing the school uniforms recently to submit to Ms. Kerri by the end of February 2010.

It has been a very fulfilling day for us all! We have to keep on going!

Contributed by: Sinoy Khek

HIV family receives help

While we were visiting the families in the community one day, we met a family where the husband has passed away in year 2000 due to HIV. He was survived by his 31-year-old wife, S and 14-year-old son, A who live together in a rented house in Deum Kvet Village. Both of them are HIV positive.

S is working as a tailor and A is attending grade 6 in Ponheakrek Primary School. S told us that she and her son were badly discriminated by their neighbours especially when her son played with the neighbours’ kids.

In tears, S shared that her son’s teacher had previously wanted 1,000 riels per day from her for school fees despite being aware of the families’ medical and financial situation.

As the teacher kept pestering them for the payment, S has no choice but to keep her son away from school until she had enough money to pay for the school fees.

On 1 February 2010, she walked into our Blum House and asked for help. After an internal discussion, Riverkids decided to provide A with some stationery and books, support his school fees and send him back to Ponhea Krek Primary School to continue education.

After the clinic that used to provide anti-HIV medication to them moved farther away from their house, both the mother and son started to collect medicine from the Social Clinic, Public Health Institute once a month. They take medicine twice a day, in the morning and evening.

We are currently monitoring their progress and are doing our best to keep them safe.

Contributed by Social Worker, Phat Sam Ann.

The photograph used for this post is not the family in the story.

Teenagers developing calmness through Yoga

The following is an extract from the observation made by Ms Isabelle Skaburskis, the founder and principle teacher at NataRaj Yoga.

“Piseth, the teacher, was very open with them, and I was surprised and impressed to see how enthusiastic a group of teenage boys were about some very simple, meditative, relaxing movements. They only did a few exercises, not many different things, but all the boys concentrated very hard the whole time I was there. It is easy to see when a student closes their eyes and nods off, even when they are still doing the movement, and clearly none of these boys were doing that.


I think it is an important thing, especially for boys, to understand that this degree of quietude of mind is possible, and this is something that they have the power to bring into their own minds.

What I will be developing with Piseth is working with a broader awareness of self, also: not just creating a sense of calm, but learning that you can feel all geared up and active and powerful and strong, and also have the power to bring yourself back to a state of calm--so, if they get upset about something, they know they have the power not to let it escalate into violence. Through this, they will learn to identify different kinds of energies and moods they have in their body and explore some of the different things they do feel--competitiveness, jealousy, power, ego, dminance, inferiority...and how they can use yoga to help them direct their own behaviour away from actions that make them feel bad or get them into trouble, and towards the way that if they were calm, they would want.”

Thank you Isabelle, for joining us to make a difference in the lives of the children of Cambodia.

Contributed by: Ms Isabelle Skaburskis of NataRaj Yoga Cambodia

Innocence for Sale

Innocent children as young as 9 years old were sold for sex in Cambodia. Out of desperation to feed the rest of the family, Channy’s parents sold her to traffickers, supposedly to sell flowers but ended up selling sex. Eventually, she died as a young teenager as a result of drug and alcohol overdose. It is interesting to note that during her funeral, her mother displayed an expression of guilt and regret instead of sadness. Watch the video at the link below:

http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/international/2010/01/27/wus.innocence.for.sale.cnn.html

Donation Inventory

Thida and I had just completed stock taking on the donated items which are available for use in year 2010. The items are donated by visitors and volunteers locally and overseas, and we store them all in a room in our family house. Here’s the report:

What we have:
1. Children’s Stationery for 1 year
2. Shoes for children under 10 years old for 1 year
3. Clothes for children under 5 years old for 1 year
4. Soft toys to be given to all children during the Khmer New Year for 1 year
5. Toys and puzzles for 2 years
6. Towels and toiletries for 1 year
7. Sport supplies for 2 years
8. Mats, pillows and blankets for 1 year
9. A4 paper and stapler for office’s use for 1 year

What is short:
1. Note books for children
2. White board markers

We would like to say to our donors, “Thank you very very much for all your donations and support. All that you have shared with us means so much for our children.”

Contributed by: Pheakdey

Advocacy Tour on 29 January 2010

Last month, I had the opportunity to guide 2 participants from Singapore, Benjamin and Huwei in our Advocacy Tour.

In just 2 hours, what set before their eyes were dusty roads with pockets of slums – a stark contrast from the garden city, Singapore. But the quiet laid back life and Indochinese culture present an exotic charm that open their eyes to a lot more Cambodia offers.


Our participants were first led into the slums where we give them detailed description of the real issues challenging the people in the community. We explained how people survive, how they earn a living and how some got cheated. Our participants get to follow the kids to where they would collect trash in order to earn a living, a sight rarely seen by tourists.



Benjamin had an interesting observation. He said that in Singapore, parents usually walk faster than their children but in Cambodia, it’s the reverse – a sign that children are made to slog by their parents to support the family.

Later that day, I brought them to the local market. Here, restaurants, bars, clubs, beauty salons, lingerie shops scatter across the busy little town. A good hair wash can be enjoyed at just USD1.00!





Our next stop was the White Building where slums and prostitution thrive.








The tour ended with free documentary movies. One of the movies lets you peek into the life of the sex worker in the white building.

“I have been to India and saw many slums but did not go right into the slums. This tour enables me to get up close and personal with the people, making Riverkids’ Advocacy Tour a unique experiential tour,” said Huwei.


I am glad they have learned a lot from the trip, in particular, the reasons behind poverty and how our programmes combat the root causes of child trafficking and help prevent it. Take a break in February and join us in our Advocacy Tour!

Contributor: Soklee