Saturday 29 March 2014

One day in the life of … Hello my name is …



Monday morning, I asked my Line Manager for the key to the POE Resource Centre. This was to prepare for the Saturday BEL workshop.  With a smile he replied ‘Do not worry...  You will get the key by Thursday or Friday of this week’.   Pointing to the other POE building he said,  ‘Find the ‘cheerful housekeeper’ and she will give you the key’. 

By Friday morning, I became a little anxious.  There was no sign of the  ‘cheerful housekeeper’ who throughout the week had promised me the key.   Finally, she appeared with a tangle of keys wired together and dared me to try and separate the one I needed.   I sat on the steps outside our office and like everyone else before me, I did a few twists and turns to separate the keys when  ‘VoilĂ ’ – Success!  

Once I had the key, there was a mad scramble to get the room prepared.   Mop in hand and bucket in the other, together, Kevin my husband, Savy my translator, the ‘cheerful housekeeper’ and I, we began to clean the room. 
Preparing for the workshop
We opened the windows, washed the floors; dusted walls, tables, chairs; placed chairs in a horseshoe shape ...  I even washed the garbage container and positioned it at the entrance of the door as a reminder to keep the room clean.  Finally, it was!      

Unfortunately, the toilets were not functional, apparently, the man who had authorized the water supply was in Phnom Penh.   What the participants did remains a mystery, although the POE complex has many walls to hide.

In total 27 Directors and teachers attended the workshop.  They came from 6 different districts in Mondol Kiri Province, some traveling up to 135 km by motorbike on rutted dusty roads.    At first they appeared to be just as nervous as me because of their limited English.   However, they went away with a few simple English expressions such as:  ‘Hello my name is …  I am from …’

Posting survey charts
Creating survey charts
In the end, the workshop came altogether.   
Kevin and Savy had created charts with questions for the participants to respond to and taped them to the walls.   
We had enough BEL materials for all participants.  The water and snack -banana fritters and sandwiches arrived as planned.
Picking a partner ...
Most importantly, the teachers had joined in most, if not all of the BEL
activities, contributed to discussions and had fun in the process.








Hello my name is … Part 2.   
Savy - midwife and super lady ...
Back on the ranch, the highlight of the day
was to discover the wail of a new born baby that had newly arrived in our little community.   Savy, our landlady and midwife (not to be confused with Savy my VA), had just delivered a baby in her little shed below our house.   Though she looked a little wary, in her English she said, ‘baby’ -  ‘proh’.  I answered with a nod, ‘baby boy’.   She repeated, ‘baby boy’.  And we never did know his name.

More later ...

Friday 14 March 2014

Follow-up to an ‘Unusual’ Day - ‘There will be ‘NO’ middle-man’


Mondolkiri Province is a large and sparsely populated rural Province that borders Vietnam.   It’s home to the Bunong people – the indigenous people who have lived here for many years.  Some of the Bunong people practice their traditional semi nomadic lifestyle living off the forest through hunting, collecting fruits and plants.

However, more and more Bunongs have chosen a different lifestyle.   They have settled and established small communes with smallholdings producing rice, vegetables and life stock. 

Usually, these communes have a number of small schools consisting of 2 to 6 classrooms and 50 to 200 students in each village.  (Buchiri Commune for instance has 5 villages with 5 different schools).  Students are taught from grades 1 to 6.   However, Student attendance drops off greatly at the later grade levels because children are required to either help collect produce from the forest or grow produce on the farm.  Teachers in these schools are typically Bunong and have a grade 9 Education.   
  
Teachers in these remote schools have been dependent on receiving their salary from the DOE via the POE.  Now very recently the government has decided that teachers will be paid their salary directly into their own personal bank account.   In early February 2014 ACLEDA bank staff were busy in the schools opening bank accounts for the teachers.

Throughout Mondolkiri Province, teachers will now be able to travel to Sen Monorom or to ACLEDA ‘apartment’ banks to withdraw their money.


February 19, 2014, Teachers were interviewed and were asked how they felt about having their own bank account.   See below answers from teachers:

Are you excited that you now have a bank account?
“Yes I’m excited to have a new bank account.   I can get my salary anytime I want.  It is much easier to get my salary from the bank”.   Krob Khna


“Yes, I’m happy to have a bank account”.
“In fact, I’m very excited because the State –the government has made it mandatory for all teachers to open a bank account to secure their money” . 
Sadin Sreymao

Is having a bank account important for you?  Why?
“Yes, because when I go to the DOE in Bousra to collect  my money, I’m never sure if I’m going to receive  it.  The DOE doesn’t always have my salary.  I have to wait many months for the DOE in Bousra to pay me because the DOE didn’t collect  my salary from the POE in Sen Monorom”. 

“This is a very long process and during the monsoon season we are not able to reach Bousra because the roads are not good to travel”.
 
“Now I can go directly to Sen Monorom and collect my money from the bank”.

“This is how the system works: 
-       The POE goes to the Provincial Bank in Sen Monorom to take the money out.
     The POE contacts the DOE in Bousra to let him know that the teachers’ salary is at his office.
The DOE goes to the POE in Sen Monorom to collect the teachers’ salary.
The DOE contacts each school directors to inform the teachers that the money is waiting for them in Bousra.”  Kroye Chet                                                                

Does it make you feel respected by your family, friends, community  now that you have a bank account?
“Yes!  My family, my parents and my community are so proud that I now have a new ACLEDA account.  It gives me a sense of pride”. 
Sarun Seyen


“Yes, I feel respected more than before because my family told me that the DOE will not ‘cut’ my money anymore.   My family is very happy for me that I will have a bank account.  They will not worry about me anymore.  They will know that my salary is in the bank and will not be ‘cut’ [and will be secured] by the bank”.    Neyso Kon

“Yes. My friends,  my family, my community ask me ‘where are you going?’  I tell them,  ‘I’m going to ACLEDA bank to get money’.  People respect me because of this”. 
Yun  Sokhun


Do you expect to receive a full salary?  How will you know? 
“When I get my salary at the DOE in Boursra, there is a list of names and salaries posted on the wall.    Now, the government will put our  money directly in our bank account. 
                  There will be ‘NO’ middle man”. 
Tun Oeung and Khay Tola

“Yes.  I listen to the radio.  The government announced that all teachers throughout Cambodia will receive a ‘full’ salary.  No one can ‘cut’ their salary”.
Sarun Seyen


What are the benefits to you of having a bank account?
 “When my money is in the bank it will grow”.
 “I know about interest because I read the ACLEDA document the bank people gave me.  I read the bank document  ‘very carefully’ and I found out that my money can grow”.

“When I keep my money in the bank it has ‘security’ and I can also get interest.  I heard it from my sister.  My sister has a bank account"           Neyso Kon
 
“ When I go to my homeland ‘Tae Kaev Province’  I can withdraw my money from there also”.   
Yun  Sokhun




“There is benefit for me.  I spend less money to travel to Sen Monorom.   Sometimes we have to call the DOE in Boursra to ask ‘where are you?’   ‘Sometimes they work and sometimes they don’t work’. 
With the bank, I know I can count on my money to be there.  I don’t have to wait for anyone to give me my salary”.   
“My salary is more safe and secure.  I will spend less money, less time for travel”.        Yoy Bora and Roeun Len
Where will you withdraw your money from?
“Sen Monorom”.   “It will be much easier than travelling to Boursra.  The road condition to Bousra is treacherous. It’s rutted and dusty in the dry season and slippery during the monsoon season”.
Khay Tola

Teachers' bank account will be opened  “April 1st , 2014”.  Salaries will be deposited monthly.

Savy my VA was responsible in translating the interview with the teachers.
“I think that it’s good for the teachers to have a bank account because they can spend less time, and less money to get their salary.  Teachers can be more independent and if they want to save money and earn interest then they can”.   Let Savy

*  February 19, 2014       Interview Questions/Answers re: Opening a Bank Account    
*POE = Provincial Office of Education     *DOE = District  Office of Education   *Photos were taken with the teachers/directors permission to up load on any website or to be printed in newspapers or news letters.

More later ...

Sunday 9 March 2014

What surprised us … after living here for six months
Our little community sharing honey
Kevin and I, we have now lived here in Cambodia for six months.   We’ve adjusted fairly well with food, our surroundings, our home environment in Sen Monorom.   We still love living along side our little Khmer community practicing our Khmer, getting lost in translation and watching them laughing at our expense.  It’s all in good fun.  

Our 'beautiful' landlady - Savy

The dry season
This is the dry season.  The dry season started at the beginning of November and in five months it hasn’t rained once.  For Kevin, this has been the biggest surprise about living here. Many of the trees in the forests surrounding us have shed their leaves and much of the vegetation has been burnt off. We are not sure why, we are told these are accidental fires but also that it is to allow for the new growth when the rains come in April.  

With the dry season comes wedding season.  There are countless weddings and they are a big deal.

Wedding season
In our local market, tailors are busy sewing dresses galore in a variety of colours!  -adding numerous details to no end; needlepoint, embroidery and much more. Tailors may even sew a number of tailored dresses for one person. And, like back home, each wedding might need a new dress.

These are community events. Loudspeakers blare out wedding announcements, and in the same breath, blare out traditional and contemporary music that continue for one to 3 days, sometimes starting as early as 4 in the morning and continuing to midnight.  On the positive side even the dogs are subdued by the auditory onslaught.   And yes, rituals of a wedding remain a mystery to us.  From what we’ve observed, many people just come to the wedding, pay their money (apparently $10 is the expected donation), eat and leave.

Volley ball anyone? 
On the way to 'dusty' Lamas School
The 'dusty' road to Bousra Commune
'Towlee' the Khmer word for dust: My feet, my hands, and all parts of my body, exposed to the powdery dust when travelling to work on my motor bike, have been permanently stained a saffron red.  Sometimes I feel that I’ve become one of the monks we see roaming the town in their saffron robes.  So once a week, I pamper my feet.  I soak them in warm soapy water for a half hour –in a futile attempt to remove some of that 'lovely' red stain.  Still, I feel good after washing them, and pretend that my feet are sparkling clean.



Presently, we’re in Kempot at a workshop and we’re staying in a neighbouring town celebrating Kevin’s birthday. 


More later ...

Photos of Kevin's birthday will be posted at a later date.