Mr. Sarath Doeur's Inception Report

ANNEX II Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Promotion of Persons with Disabilities Workshop Management (JFY2005) Inception Report

All the applicants are required to prepare an Inception Report with the following items, and submit together with the Nomination Form to the JICA local office or the Embassy of Japan, also send by e-mail to tichd@jica.go.jp of the training officer, JICA Tokyo International Center.

The main objective of the Inception Report schedule at the beginning of the program is to promote mutual understandings. Participants are expected to share the activities of each participants or each country. They are also expected to clarify the problems and set up objectives for each through Inception Report writing. It would be typewritten on A4 size paper, between 5 to 10 pages.

At the beginning of program, each participant will be requested to make a presentation of the report, so please be sure to bring the report by data in floppy disks, CD-ROMs or M/Os.

1. General Information:

(1) Total Population (male, female):

Cambodia has a total population of 13.5 million (by Cambodian Mince Action Committee (CMAC), Cambodian Mine Victim Information System (CMVIS), and National Election Committee (NEC) after 2003 national election. 54% of a total population is women. The country has the surface area of 181,035 square kilometer. Full country name is the Kingdom of Cambodia. Cambodian people speak Khmer, English, and French and follow Buddhism, Muslim and Roman Catholic. The government type is multiparty under a constitutional monarchy.

Cambodia is divided into 21 provinces and 4 municipalities, including the capital Phnom Penh. The province usually takes the same name as the major town in it, e.g. Battambang, Kampong Thom, Kampong Cham, Siem Reap, Pursat and the port of Sihanoukville (Kampong Som). The city of Phnom Penh consists of seven districts (Khan). Phnom Penh has a population of about one million people, although during the dry season, many thousands of people move into the city from the countryside to seek work.

In 1975, Khmer Rouge forces captured Phnom Penh and ordered the evacuation of all cities and town. Over three millions displaced people died from execution and enforced hardship. In 1979, Vietnamese invasion droved the Khmer Rouge into the countryside and touched off over 13 years of fighting. In 1993 United Nation Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) came in Cambodia to sponsor the election. Five years later, a coalition government formed after national election in 1998.

(2) Total land area:

181,035 square kilometer

(3) Population of persons with disabilities

1. Total number of persons with disabilities (From 1979-Feb 2005) 60,262 casualties (amputated 8259, injured 33121, and killed 18882)
2. Persons with disabilities classified by type of disability: blind, mute, deaf, polio, amputated limbs, and mental problems.
3. Persons with disabilities classified by age: From birth
4. Persons with disabilities classified by cause: Mine, Unexploded Ordinance, Traffic accident, leprosy, polio, and from birth.
5. Persons with disabilities classified by gender: majority of them is young adult men.

(4) Definition of disability:

Dying of any senses or limbs.

(5) Major laws and regulation concerned with persons with disabilities (Name/Title, legislated year, description)

Disability Action Council (DAC) is known to work in collaboration with the Ministry of Social Affairs, Veteran and Youth Rehabilitation and local and international NGOs who are working with people with disabilities. The ministry, NGOs, and DAC proposed a draft registration on Disability Rights Protection, drafted in 1998 and submitted to the cabinet of ministers for approval. Until now this law is not valid yet.

(6) Financial assistance for persons with disabilities:

The government subsidized the type of disabled people who were the soldiers of the government from 70,000 Riel to 100,000 Riel per month. For retired disabled people got pension of 6,000 Riel to 15,000 Riel per month. Civilian and other disabled people are not subsidized.

(7) Disability-related Organization and Activities

1. Activities by disability-related organization (self-help organization/organization for persons with disabilities)

   People with disabilities work in group to form as farmer association, self-help group, saving group to change the living condition and help assist each other. This is back and assisted by local and international NGOs as well as the government.

2. Cooperation project on disability organized by international and other donors. The government support strongly local and international NGOs and donors who work to give assistance to PWDs. NGOs is appealed for registration and sign memorandum of understanding (MOU) in the ministry of Interior, ministry of Social Affairs, Veteran, and Youth Rehabilitation, and other line ministries.

2. Outline of your organization

(1) Background, vision, strategy, activity

Cambodian Volunteers for Community Development was established on 25 December 1992 by a group of local Khmer students who at the time were studying English behind the Royal Place. Mr Peter Pond and his foster Khmer-American son, Mr. Arn John Pond, initiated to mobilize and support these local youth to assist in the restoration of this war-torn country and its people through the contribution of their own labor skills and knowledge. The youth named the organization “Cambodian Volunteers for Community Development (CVCD)”. This establishment was designed in the aim to educate and empower poor people whilst encouraging them to become active volunteers in their communities.

King Prah Bath Norom Sihanuk recognized and supported CVCD on the 22nd of September 1993 and CVCD was registered with the Ministry of Interior on May 17 in 1996.

Vision:

In the future Cambodia will characterized by united communities and Cambodian people will embrace volunteerism, trust, solidarity, and respect.

Mission/Strategy

CVCD aims to reduce poverty within communities through education and volunteerism, by offering disadvantage citizen the opportunity to cooperate in their community development. This is achieved by offering literacy and vocational skills training as well as health and environmental education in return for their involvement in community project.

CVCD aims to empower the disadvantaged to shape their own lives and gain employment, whilst spreading the spirit of volunteerism in Cambodia.

Activities:

Since its establishment thirteen years ago, CVCD has focused its work on the disabled of society and those living in the slums. The following projects are currently in operation.

1. English literacy (since 1992) and computer training (1996) unpaid able high fee students
2. Vocational Skill training for landmine and UXO survivors and indirect landmine/UXO relatives (2002)
3. Sewing Skills for disadvantaged women living in the slums (1999)
4. Peace Building and Social Morality Promotion with communities in the province of Takeo (2002)
5. Khmer literacy schools for children living in slum communities (1999)
6. Environmental Awareness, AIDS/HIV, Tree Planting, Birth Spacing, and Family Planning (1993)
7. Khmer Local Production Promotion (Feb. 2004), and
8. Voluntarism

One of the key aspects that CVCD prides itself in is the volunteer opportunity we offer our students. We have alumni of over 60,000people and in the past have been involved in large tree planting and city clean up days.

(2) Major programs, cover areas, and target group (types of disabilities), number of beneficiaries

Vocational Training Skills: Sewing, Mechanics, and Electronics in Kampong Cham province, distanced 123 km from Phnom Penh. This program bases in Stoeung Trong district, distanced 30km from the down town and covers 16 districts. The project is offered the service to people with disabilities from landmine/UXO accidents and their family members. The center started in May 2002 and trained 150 (52 affected by landmine, and 38 by UXO) included 60 family members affected from landmine/UXO.

(3) Major problems/obstacles and issues

The centers faced the following issues:

• Majority of disabled and affected family member by landmine/UXO trainees are illiterate.
• Wound make them hurt during the course and cannot sit or stand for long time.
• Most of them are breadwinner if they come to attend in the course no one look after the family.
• After graduation, they need more materials to start their business at home.
• No place to run a shop for business.
• Lack of endowment

(4)

How many persons with disabilities work in your organization? One

How much salary they get per month? $160 a month

(5) Financial status:

440,000 USD a year

(6) Type of your organization (residential or non-residential):

Non-profit or non-residential.

(7) Your position and responsibility:

I served as an associate manager for all educational, social, and economic development programs CVCD developed. One of the projects that I have worked on is CLEAR PATH INTERNATIONAL, a program that assisted landmine survivors to learn marketable skills for their livelihood. I am currently working on the Human Dignity Initiative Program, put together by the United Nations to encourage local community development initiative. I coordinate and manage with local community’s leaders and my staff to forge sustainable collaboration and partnership.

Through working with CVCD, I have acquired various skills to in proposal writing and program development. I have written program evaluation, needs assessment and annual project reports. I assisted in creating staff policies and administrative guidelines for the organization. I have managed funds, trained and supervised staff and volunteers. I met with potential donors on a regular basis to discuss local initiative and programs.

One of the programs that I work on closely with a funder is Clear Path International in Kampong Cham and Takeo provinces. This program established and ran a center that helped landmine survivors acquire marketable skills to make a living. I ran and managed such a center that consisted of 150 disabled people since May 2002. The center I ran offered vocational training in electronics, mechanics, and sewing. The training ran for six months. During these six months, I helped to conduct and facilitate meetings of the micro-credit advisory group. In these meetings, we discussed ways beneficiaries of the vocational program can start a small business of their own. All beneficiaries of the program were encouraged to participate fully in their own social and economic development. The program was aimed at reducing poverty, building self-esteem, self-sufficiency and a sense of moral support among individuals affected by landmine. Each participant who completed the training can take out a small loan for their own micro-enterprise. I managed the disbursement of these small loans, evaluated its effectiveness, and monitored its progress by working closely with the micro-credit advisory group to assess strengths and weaknesses of the vocational program. The micro-credit group and I would advise people, help them troubleshoot problems and serve as their back up support.

3. Support System for employment of persons with disabilities

1. Necessity, objectives, and goal of vocational services
   The necessity: Agriculture reproductive skill is the main course for PWDs and Cambodian people to improve their living condition. Irrigation is to be restructured and created. Business planning in downtown and rural areas are to develop and promote. Four factors have to work together such as the government, private sectors, NGOs, and residents. But the government is to be more active than.
2. Major problem and obstacles your country is facing for the above mentioned goals.
   Legislations don’t have influence on executors and the development planning of the government is not opened. Local labor market is not promoted.
3. The respective roles of government, NGOs, and residents (people in the community).
   Development process all factors must be involved but the role of the government is highly respect and influenced.

4. Situation of the employment of persons with disabilities

1. Employment status
   1. What kind of work is currently available for PWDs in your country? (by category of disability types)
      • People with disability below knee or upper can work in office, the farm or rice paddy, or workshop. They also drive truck, motorbike, tractor fore their business. They can also go to collect wood, fishing, scrap metal, vegetable, or hunting in the forest.
      • Disabled people who amputated arm or hand have more difficult than disabled people who amputated leg below or upper (if single or both). They need someone to look after and cannot work.
      • For blind, deaf, and mute people cannot find job to do in Cambodia.
      • For polio people they can find job to do if they can move their hands. They can work in office.
   2. How much is the average of salary? (per month)

      The rate of salary as an ordinary people get base on their abilities. Through the observation from $50 a month up

   3. Is there any difference of employment rate or salary by type of disabilities? No.
2. Vocational rehabilitation
   1. Explain briefly about vocational rehabilitation in your country:

      Vocational rehabilitation is offered to people with disabilities. All types of people with disabilities are encouraged to attend in the training. The training is run such as in the center, private workshops, or in the organizations. On the job training is considered highly for PWDS. PWD is offered food, accommodation, medical care, and incentives as well. After graduation, grant materials will give graduated trainees or they go to work in companies, NGOs, factories as well. Some organizations also manage bank material to help. The training takes 6 months to 16 months based on the vocation has chosen.

   2. Do persons with disabilities receive vocational rehabilitation? Yes. International and local NGOs work in collaboration with the government to run centers, workshops, and non-formal and formal training methods to help assist the people with disabilities.
      If not, what are the reasons?

5. Needs Assessment

1. Preliminary analysis on problems

   Based on relevant cases of the support activities for the employment of persons with disabilities in your country, analyze strength the weakness of the current approach and identify problems.

   The findings from the work experiences we should work out the following:

   • Illiteracy: Known that majority of PWDs was not well educated as normal people. The program needs to be set to training short-cut term for them in vocational skills training at least three months.
   • Job placement: The government has to develop law to promote job opportunity for PWDs. The government should appeal for businessmen come to invest in the country and promote local businessmen to work out their business.
   • Micro-credit: The government, private sector, NGOs, and community people should manage material loan or micro-credit to assist initial business PWDs.
   • Marketing: The government should promote the local products and review the tax revenue policies. Build up bridges, roads, and other infrastructures.
2. Expected outputs of this program

   In relation to identified problems, set your expected outputs of this training program which shall be attained at the end of the program.

   • Valued recommendations will be proposed in the training program.
   • New findings will be gained from the training program and the visiting sites.
   • New creative vocational skills will be productive after the training program.
   • New experiences, knowledge, attitude, and practice will be filtered to create a new finings after the training program.
   • Donors and the training will have potential comments for the Cambodian government.