Venerable U Tayzadipati (pictured above) is a senior monk and founder of a street children’s refuge in Sagaing region. He set up the centre in 2009 after he become concerned for the plight of the growing number of street children in the community.
“It is not so different here from other towns but it has more street children because of the railway station. People arrive here by train from Mandalay and Yangon,” says U Tayzadipati.
“Many poor families moved here after they were pushed out of slums in the bigger cities. Some are involved in prostitution, drugs and crime.”
U Tayzadipati approached local schools about taking street children but the schools refused as they were concerned about behavioural problems and age differences between street and other children. So he decided to set up a centre for non-formal education.
“The children are unstable, in terms of their physical, emotional and psychological wellbeing. Before they come to the centre, most of the children, some as young as five, have been working,” he explains. “Many develop bad habits such as drinking, smoking, sniffing glue, fighting and stealing.”
When the children first arrive at the centre they are often tough and hostile. “On the streets they have to protect themselves to survive, so when they come here they are aggressive and fight most of the time. Because of their situation, every child holds weapons when they come here. They do not trust anyone. It is only after a year of being here that they let go of their weapons.”
U Tayzadipati and his team are very patient with the children, especially in their first year at the centre, but they do have rules they must obey.
“They must take responsibility for cleaning, cooking and gardening in the morning. The children take it in turns to do these tasks,” he says.
“We tell the children: if you want to participate, you must stay the whole day. You cannot go out. Otherwise there is no food. Little by little they understand and change their bad habits.”
Bopha*, a young woman, is sitting in front of a computer in a tiny air-conditioned room. The room is noisy with the conversations of two girls sitting at two separated desks. Though, the conversations are not between the girls in the room.
“Hello, welcome to Child Helpline Cambodia, this is Bopha,” she says. Bopha`s voice is gentle as she talks with her clients, children and youth from all around Cambodia, on a wide range of issues, from homework pressures, family issues and teenage pregnancy, to poverty, trafficking and HIV and AIDS.
Child Helpline Cambodia (CHC) is a free national phone counselling service reaching children across the country. The first of its kind in Cambodia, it was established with the help of ChildFund in 2009 and began operating 13.5 hours, five days a week. Now CHC is an independent local non-government organisation that runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Bopha has a degree in psychology and is one of eight full-time counsellors who work for CHC. She started working for the helpline two years ago because she wanted to help educate and empower children. “Most people in Cambodia don`t understand what counselling means, they think counselling is providing guidance and advising people what to do. While in reality it means to empower people to explore their options for themselves,” says Bopha.
The helpline now receives on average nearly 12,000 calls per month, one of those calls was one Bopha will never forget.
“One day last year, I received a call from a frantic mother who feared for her daughter`s safety after she had not returned home that day. I immediately called a partner organisation who could work with the police to help this mother. We found out that young 18-year-old Srey* had drunk a bottle of water which had been spiked. She had then been taken, unconscious, to a nearby banana plantation where she was raped by four men. The police found her at a karaoke bar, after she had been sold by the men for 500USD. Srey was extremely traumatised by the experience and had tried to take her own life. This is when her mother encouraged her to call me at the helpline,” recalls Bopha.
At first it was just Bopha who spoke while the young girl sat in silence and listened. Gradually Srey began to talk and tell her story. After this first phone call, they had regular phone counselling sessions for the next three months. Srey is now doing much better and is working with her mother at a garment factory.
“I could feel and understand her hurt. It was very sad. However, I am happy I was able to help her and make her life a little better, this is why I love my job,” smiled Bopha.
*The names of the women in this story have been changed to protect their identities.
