2. Week 4: Cambodia

3. Andong, Cambodia
15km from the capital city, Phnom Penh

4. The people of Andong used to live in the capital city. Some
wealthy people wanted to use their land so they were forced to
move to this small town.

5. In Andong the people do not have:
• Safe housing
• Clean water
• Sanitation
• Healthcare

6. Many parents are unable to pay for their children to go to school.
Many children have to work. They often end up in gangs and
become involved in bad things.

7. Vannak
17 year old Vannak is
different.
He is in Year 9. He is also a
very good silk screen
printer.
This is his story of how
Caritas Australia’s partner,
Youth for Peace, helped him.

8. When he was 15, Vannak’s parents were both sick. Vannak left
school and found work to help support his family.

9. “I worked as a construction worker and
earned around 12,000 Riels ($3) per day.
Most of the money I earned I gave to my
parents to help them pay off their
debts.”

10. Some of Vannak’s friends told him about the Youth Empowerment
Project. He went along because he thought that he would have
something to eat and have fun with his friends.

11. He soon found that the project offered much more than that.
He learnt how to do silk screen printing, and found he was very
good at it!

12. “I started to love my work because I could use the
money to pay for my study and the remainder to
support my family. Now I am a team leader of Silk
Screen Printing at YEP with six members.”

13. 1 in 2 children drop out of school in Cambodia. Vannak says the
project helped him be really thankful for education.

14. “I wish I could help them all. I used to be without
hope when I dropped out of school.
I would like to tell other young people how
education is so valuable for me.”

15. With your support for Project Compassion, Youth for Peace and
other Caritas Australia partners can continue to help people in
more than 30 countries open doors to a brighter future.

16. Join us in Project Compassion:
Let’s work together for justice
and a brighter world.

18. Picture credits
Philong Sovan
Map (Slide 3): Google Maps - ©2012 Google