Child labour

Thank you for helping protect children from harm

Your support for Child Rescue is helping to make a real difference for children in Cambodia who are vulnerable to violence, abuse and exploitation.

One of the projects you are supporting works across eight locations in Cambodia to mobilise entire communities around the task of protecting children from harm.

In 2017, this project reached over 96,000 people with training and awareness raising activities on topics including domestic violence, parenting skills, the dangers of substance abuse, unsafe migration and personal safety.

In both urban and rural communities, Cambodian children can be especially vulnerable to abuse and exploitation for many reasons. These include poverty and lack of knowledge amongst parents about the dangers their children face and how to protect them.

Cultural norms also contribute to the dangers. Physical punishment and name calling are commonly used by many parents in Cambodia to discipline their children.

To address this challenge, the project works with parents, children and local community groups to bring an end to such harmful practices.

 

Community volunteers like Mom lead children in training on child rights and personal safety using colourful flip chats, posters and other interactive learning tools. Parents (bottom right) also participate in training sessions on parenting skills and how to detect and report incidents of child abuse in their community.

 

For children like Kounnga, aged 14, the project has been life changing.

Kounnga was growing up surrounded by alcohol-fuelled violence.

“Before, my father always used violence such as hitting, using bad words, and destroying materials in the house,” she explained. 

“The sound of hitting and crying of my mother and me were heard almost every day. The neighbours and my relatives were afraid of my father, and they were worried. My grade in school was poor. I lost my friends and I was lonely and so sad.” 

Recently, Kounnga joined a youth group supported by World Vision where she learned about her rights to protection from abuse and domestic violence. She also gained the knowledge and support she needed to raise the issue with her father.

Through participation in trainings and shared experiences among the youth club members, I was confident to talk to my father about the effects of domestic violence.

Kounnga
“My father started to change and stopped hitting my mother, my sisters and me … and later on he stopped drinking alcohol. I was so happy when my father stopped violence in the family, and I heard the sound of laughing in the house that I never expected before.” 

Kounnga is just one of many children in Cambodia who are now living in safer families and communities thanks to your generous support for Child Rescue.

Share this story