Bou Soknen changed Health Care and nutrition for children

Before the project, she was lack of knowledge on health care and agriculture, illness, lack of hygiene, never go to have health check at HC, she didn't take care of children or our own health, believe of older people or tradition. Through involvement and learning with the project, she have more changed on health care and nutrition for children and as well as learning through play, she also mentioned that my family will have better living condition and my children go school and our health better, our community will more and more developed, I would like to say thanks to ADRA and donor who are supporting to our Cambodian people, especially my villagers

Unhealthy is not always because of poverty. Anywhere and anytime, we can make it better

Check out some pictures from our staff who made a visit to one of our beneficiaries and experienced seeing her smiling faces with her lovely vegetable home garden:

 Tom Hy is an EMBRACE MCHG member, living in Chherteal Village, Chherteal Commune,
Sandan District, Kampong Thom Province, Cambodia.

She enjoys with her plants and she is happy that has joined the Key Hole program
of EMBRACE to let her get more knowledge on plants with the good seeds for her plants.

She has a well in front of her small healthy house. She is using the water
from well to wash her vegetable that she's just harvested.

She has a well in front of her small healthy house. She is using the water
from well to wash her vegetable that she's just harvested.

This is her house and we can see her bicycle too. She is coming out of home.

And now she is relaxing and behind her house, is her field vegetable enclosed fence.

 Tom Hy and her smiling daughter

Tom Hy is very happy and proud of her growing

Photos: Sovoun Ong

“I will definitely delivery my tenth baby at the Health Center!”

The end of last month, Sopheak, our project Monitoring & Evaluation for Learning Officer along with his partner from M’day Rik Reay Kone Rik Reay (MRKR) Veasna visited Morokot commune, Choam Ksant district in Preah Vihear province and met this family. They were able to sit and spend some times with the family asking about her life and family. Here is a short story of the woman they met:

The woman’s name is Mrs. SAMOEUN, married to a man who is a soldier at the border (a majority of the families living in the community are soldier families)! “I have had ten children including the one in my tummy because I’m now eight months pregnant.” SAMOEUN said. “But I now only have six children including the one in my tummy because my other 4 kids had passed away.” she mentioned when asked about her children’s names and their ages.  When asking about how they died, she told that she wasn’t sure. The babies were too young, but she said maybe because of the Measles. One of her kids who died was one month old. And there were no health centers nearby. She continued that she never got to deliver all her babies at the Health Centers. But for this tenth child, she is planning to go to the health center to deliver her baby to seek a better health care.

SAMOEUN has been participating with EMBRACE Project for about 12 months now! She has actively joined the Reflect Circle Group discussion meetings and has learned quite a lot of knowledge, especially about nutrition and pregnancy women care. She has visited a few times already to a health center and has been taking the iron tablet, eating good nutritious food to make herself and her child healthy, which she has learned through the group meeting. After joining with the project, she has hoped she would learn more and improve her family to be healthy. She is hopeful that her child would be born healthy!

“And I also wish ADRA and the supporters to be healthy and be successful in all they do” She thanked us

Story collected by: EMBRACE Project team (Sok Sopheak, Veasna_MRKR)

ADRA Changed my hygiene perception!

Cheab Sok Hiem is a 47 years old woman living in Kantout commune, Choam Ksant district. She married to Um E for 32 years now and have three daughters. They were originally from Kampong Thom province and migrated to this area in 2008. She grows vegetables and her husband raises buffaloes for living.

She did not finish her high school since she only attended school up to grade 7 due to family economic and married. All of her children attended school, but her oldest daughter did not finish high school due to sickness and the other two finished grade 12. They all practice Buddhism.

Before participated with ADRA EMBRACE project, her family did not understand much about health, so they often got sick especially malaria. Every time her family member got sick, they often sent to the health center, which is about 10 Km away from home and sometimes they also sent to the traditional doctor (Kru khmer).

They ate three meals a day and none of the family members needed to go away from home to find work. What she expected her family would not be wealth off since her family members often got sick.

 She heard about ADRA before and know this project when ADRA staffs came to see the village chief and advertise in the village. And she thought that it is beneficial for her family as well as the community. “Education of health care for children under five, pregnant women and people of all age really attracted me to join as I hope to obtain knowledge about health from participating in this project”, she said.

After the participation for a period of time, she changed her thoughts and practice from giving water for a new born and providing only food with black pepper to a lactating mother to not giving water to a new born and providing various types of food to a lactating mother. “I don’t have any under five years old child, but I shared my knowledge with my daughters and practice it with my grandchild”, she said. What “I have learnt from this project is about hygiene and child care”, she added. Since she joined this project, she did not receive any service or item yet, but she hopes that my family will have better livelihood.

I felt that this project is good as it helps us to know and practice hygiene, which helps us to become healthy. Being healthy is everything, when we are healthy we can work to earn more.

At first, the community did not understand clearly the benefits of participating in the Reflect circle, so they felt like it is useless to attend, but now they understood, so, participation is not a big thing. Because of participation many people in this village have changed their behavior on hygiene and child care. Through participation, people in the village now have come to know each other more, without this, the people would not have time to get to know each other and share laughter.

ADRA provided education to my family, which helps my family to live better when we put in to practice what we have learnt.

I don't know what Adventist is, but I'm happy that ADRA helps us and I would like to thank ADRA and the donors for helping the people here and I wish the donors to be successful in whatever they do.

Story Collected by: EMBRACE Project team (Monh Nhem, Dos Dina, You Heng Heng and San Reaksa)