Case Study - Parental Group in Tuol Ampal village

On the 29th of July, CCPCR met with the Parental Group of Tuol Ampal village in Chres commune. This Parental Group comprises 20 members including 4 men and was created in December 2014 with the help of CCPCR. The meeting took place at the village chief’s house but not all members were attending because some of them were busy working in the fields or celebrating a wedding. The village chief’s wife, whom you can see on the right of the picture, is a teacher at the primary school of the village and also the leader of this group.

Before the creation of this Parental Group, a lot of people from this village used to migrate to Vietnam with their children in the hope of increasing their incomes. CCPCR facilitated the creation of this group to allow the parents from this village to gather, learn and discuss about children’s rights, child abuse, child trafficking and unsafe migration. It tries to meet with them one time in a month to talk with them about children’s rights, remind them of the purpose and structure of the group and how to report to the relevant stakeholders. CCPCR also supports some families through their other activities such as trainings on animal raising, business grants, Self-Help Groups or Saving Groups.

Since the establishment of this Parental Group the number of families going to Vietnam has greatly diminished. While some families still go to Vietnam, they don’t bring their children with them anymore. During the day they go working in factories, building construction sites or casinos in Vietnam. In the meantime, their children are attending school and at the end of the day the parents go back home to take care of their children. The woman who is laughing at the center of the picture is hiding from one of CCPCR staff member because she already met with him last year, when she was referred to CCPCR Transit Center in Bavet by the authorities, after migrating illegally to Vietnam. She does not go to Vietnam anymore.