Daneh is a university graduate and assistant manager at a large company in Phnom Penh. But not too long ago at the onset of the global pandemic, she was ready to drop out of school.
She hurried through the days doing assignments, attending online courses, and studying, then spent her nights working to support her family. But when she lost her job, her family lost a significant portion of their income. But that money wasn’t just for her family, it also paid for hospital treatment for her chronic health condition.
When girls are in acute crises like this, they become more vulnerable to exploitation, so the case management team identified her quickly and provided her with medical care and a food package for her family. She was mentored and encouraged to stay in school, attend AusCam’s skills training to improve her social and communication skills, learn how to prepare a CV, and search for a new job. Meanwhile, our education team provided her with school supplies and a scholarship to stay in university.
Now fast forward to today, Daneh spends her nights putting together a strategy to launch her own business soon.
Many girls don’t have an opportunity like Daneh because girls are most often forced to drop out of school when a crisis hits. This is an ongoing cycle of gender inequality in Cambodia that AusCam is working hard to disrupt, and as more girls understand their worth, more families value a girl’s education, and more companies benefit from confident, educated, and empowered women; that cycle will inevitably be broken.
“ I graduated from University in 2021 with a major in Mathematics, but reaching this milestone came with many challenges as I mixed study with work commitments to support myself and my family. Combining assignments and homework with work tasks was extremely stressful and tiring, especially when working nights to fit into my busy schedule.
This is where AusCam helped to support my family and me. Following the outbreak of COVID-19 and the lockdown, I lost my job, and my family lost a lot of their income. AusCam’s social workers followed up with me and set up an emergency food package for my family while ensuring I could access the hospital and be treated for my ongoing health condition. AusCam’s training and mentoring service also helped me with training to improve my social skills and helped prepare my CV and search for a new job. AusCam’s education service has provided me with school supplies, uniforms, and shoes since high school and made sure I had a full scholarship for my university studies. Without this support, my parents would not have been able to support me to continue my studies, and I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to pursue my ambitions. “
