Visit to SMILE village

This week I went to visit Sala village where the SMILE (Supporting Maternal and Child Healthcare and Building Literate Communities) project is in action. The village has 413 people made up of 101 families. The project organises a meeting for the women in the community once a month for them to learn about maternal and child care and to improve their literacy skills. They each receive a pack with a SMILE text book and other resources they need for the course. The teachers are members of the community who are trained at CWDA workshops to give them the ability to teach at the SMILE sessions.

Today’s meeting was the 4^th out of 75 classes. The teacher welcomed everyone to the session, which included the chief of village who said a few words afterwards. The chief of SGK women’s affairs also attended and talked for a while about health issues.

The main part of the session was held and afterwards they allowed me to ask a few questions, with the help of Phanna (the director of CWDA) who translated. I asked them what the most important thing they had learnt was at the workshops. They stated that there were three key points they found the most important. Firstly, that they would be able to become literate; they all aspired to being able to read and write. Secondly, to learn how to look after their families when they were ill; especially older members. Thirdly, that they would become less susceptible to violence due to their increased awareness and confidence. I also asked them if they enjoyed attending the sessions. They all said yes in unison and laughed whilst saying that they always arrive early in anticipation of the class. This is really saying something in Cambodia when no-one turns up on time and everything starts later than planned.

The deputy of the commune also arrived at the end to say a few words. He told them that a doctor was going to visit to explain to the women about the causes and complications of rheumatism, as it seemed to be a problem in the village.  It marked a real sense of community and togetherness having so many reputable people from the community attend the session. Afterwards, I went with Phanna to take a closer look at the beautiful 6-month old twins and she showed me the village water supply which was a stream just the other side of the road.

It was a very interesting visit and I hope to see more projects in the future.

Here is the website link if you would like more information: http://www.pub22.net/cwda/community-self-prevention-against-trafficking-of-women-and-children-program-cspatwc/people