Leadership Training at Attitude Centre for Education

Across Culture of Three Potential Guest speakers in Long-Term Leadership Course


First of all, the Attitude Centre for Education (ACE) received three special guest speakers from different countries to share their experiences of how they could be successful in their life and studying to the long-term leadership program in the Attitude Centre for Education (ACE). The program is usually conducted for three days a week on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 6: 00pm- 8:45pm that has decided to initiate and volunteered to train by a ACE leadership professional trainer, Mr. Sokchea SAING.

Currently, there are 20 attendees including 6 ACE staffs, external and internal students who are living in the Attitude Dormitory. The participants has had six months for study theory then the course will give them the extensive practice needed to develop their knowledge of the realistic attitude in leadership.

In fact in November the class was very interesting because we had talked about the body-language in being an effective leader. The body language in leadership is a universal knowledge that is a vital advantage part of leaders’ successful life.

In addition, we’ve provided them the across culture by the speech of three guest speakers that first of all was Sophea, 29, is a Khmer Australian Sophea’s graduated Master Degree of finance. She shared information about the culture and living standard of Australia. “No matter where you are if you study hard and work hear you’ll be successful” said Sophea

Further more, we honor to get a Khmer American from the Unite State, Phal, 59 years, is a program officer of Sustainable Organization in Kampong Speu Province, Cambodia, to share about the western people and culture, traffics laws and education system in USA. Phal is a Cambodian refugee who went to the United States in 1979. Then Phal also share his successful strategies in educated method to his children.

By the end of month Sokchea invited his best Piseht Um, 29 years old, is an office manager of CBN Cambodia who has graduated in development with a background of a computer science and has a great passion for his PhD in Organizational leadership. In fact, Piseth’s boss is in Thailand so he seems like the representative of country director in Phnom Penh. Piseth did the presentation about his scholarship trip to abroad, USA and Malaya for the “One Young World Leader”.

Piseth’s background was very touching to the students feelings because he came from the poor farmer family. But now he is one of the most successful people because of the struggle of life and gives a high value of education. He study hard and work with the word “SMART” and “WISE”. More over, he shared the 10 trips when traveling overseas like traveling in comfort, Documentation, Stay Healthy, What are the culture expectations, ext... “Works are not bigger that You and the Opportunity gives us quick improvement” said Piseth.

Thank you so much for spending your worthwhile time and experience with us.

Mr. Saing Sokchea provided Attitude Forum to students and staffs' parents

Building up the good relationship between Student’s and Staff’s parents through the Attitude Forum


ACE invited the parents and relatives of the ACE students to attend our leadership program. The purpose of the invitation is to help build good relations between ACE and the student’s parents through the leadership program on the 21st to 22nd November, 2009. 42 participants attended the forum at the Attitude Centre for Education. They were from all kinds of departments such as farmers, students, seller, perspective doctors and nurse and NGO staff.

The parents came from different provinces because all the scholarship students in the Attitude Dormitory are come from around Cambodia. The parents stayed in ACE for three nights so that they used this chance to ask how much their children have improved and and learnt from the new techniques to bring a better life condition.

Mr. Bunthy, 55 is Chanak’s father said “I leave school for 30 years but today I come to study a very good lesson. I am so happy and thank you teacher and ACE.”

“My family situation won’t be able to pay for my daughter study in university and the place to stay to get a good physically and technology knowledge and specifically can teach her in a good attitude. Thank you for your great help” said Phally’s mum.

Chakrya’s mother said “I will pass this special information both my daughter scholarship and Attitude Forum to my neighbors and Chamkabey villagers. I

think I spend my valuable time to get the worthwhile of knowledge that I have never met before”

Mr. Sokchea SAING offered the Attitude Forum to Slum Building Blog and Boeung Kak Lake Students

The Attitude Forum for Slum Building Block & Boeung Kak Lake students


On September 10th and 11th, 2009, the Attitude Centre for Education conducted the Attitude Forum for 27 participants who came from different NGOs. They came from Aziza, Lakeside and PAD.

On the first day of training, our trainer, Sokchea SAING guided our participants to understanding of the Attitude Forum Stream. “We are very pleased to receive donations for the Attitude Forum curriculum big panu (picture) from the shop printer,” said Sokchea.

For the first speech by the trainer, there were two organizations that came from the slum area. They are our good friends. We have worked a few years with them. They are the point of our mission. Some of them in this organization are high school students who haven’t graduated, and others are studying at university and have no job.

In these two days, what did they want from our forum? What did they bring to the forum? Panha said, “I am bringing a big problem to the forum. I am a second-year student at university. I am facing the problem of not having money to support my studying. I can go to school because I had a job at Cambosix Company. Because Cambosix was stopped by the government, I had no job. It was offered for my study. My school will reopen in October. Thus, I do not have any money. What can I do to get a job?”

Panha asked about Sokchea’s experience because Panha wanted to know how Sokchea became a successful person. Sokchea said, “We have two ears but only one mouth. Why? How many people know themselves? How many people change their habits to change their life?” “We have a saying that is ‘Hands touch the sky, feet stand on the earth, but rarely value their job.’ I became a success because I always place high value on my work,” Sokchea added.

Pisey said, “I am studying at a beauty salon but it is not what I want. I really want to study information technology.” Pisey did not value her work. Her work won’t improve because she doesn’t love it. The trainer said, “If you want to be a successful and useful person, you have to be sure about what you are doing now. Help yourself first. I choose my staff to work in ACE because I saw that she did very good job with cleaning. It’s not just a small thing but can effect your life and future.”

After giving them advice in the Attitude Centre for Education, our trainer Sokchea encouraged them to seek happiness and forgiveness as vital tools for them to communicate better.

Sokchea SAING conducts the long-term leadership course for the staff, external and internal scholarship students

ACE conducts the long-term leadership course for the staff, external and internal scholarship students



The leadership training is a fundamental objective for the Attitude Centre for Education (ACE) project in Cambodia. The centre has decided to initiate a long-term leadership course that takes 6 months for studying theory and 6 months to put into practice. The 26 training attendants include all ACE staff along with internal and external scholarship students. Sessions occur on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 6 pm to 8:45 pm. This training course is conducted by our professional ACE director and trainer, Sokchea Saing.

Notably, there are always many bikes and a few motorcycles in front of ACE on those days. ACE mainly focuses on leadership roles; therefore this special course is being provided to everyone who lives in the centre as the primary group in becoming influential leaders domestically.

Specifically, we build peaceful relationships between all of the staff, including internal and external scholarship students, their families and relatives. Markedly, Phally is a staff member and an accountant scholarship student of ACE, whose brother has also joined the course. He said, “I am very impressed to have an opportunity to participate in this leadership training course, since what I have been learning is vital for my life. I have a chance to meet with my sister, Phally, so that I will be able to know how much improvement she has made.” Sokchea, one of the trainers, stated: “One of my best abilities is to inspire people by being a good example to allow people to work hard by themselves.”

Additionally, we talked about the successful techniques for achieving self-improvement.
Congratulations and thank you so much to Sokchea for his amazing gift to us all!

Mr. Sokchea SAING provided Attitude Forum to Acid Burn Survivors

Mr. Sokchea SAING provides the Attitude Forum for acid burn survivors

Attitude Centre for Education(ACE) conducted the Attitude Forum for the Cambodian Acid Survivors Charity (CASC) for 20 hours, which will take 4 months to accomplish since it occurs only on the 30th of each month.

CASC is committed to empowering and supporting survivors of acid burns. CASC was established in response to the growing number of acid burn survivors since 2006. It was perceived that the extensive and unique treatment needs presented by survivors of acid burns required a separate organization dedicated to ensuring their physical, emotional, social and economic well-being.

CASC is the only organization in Cambodia dealing exclusively with the issue of acid burn and acid attacks. Acid attacks are a premeditated form of violence that leaves survivors physically, socially and emotionally scarred. The most common reported motives for acid attacks are related to intimate relationships and family issues. These include extra-marital affairs, jealousy and hatred.

Unfortunately, children also become victims of acid attacks as acid is a highly indiscriminate weapon and a child may be in the vicinity of the intended target.

By serving people who live with sorrow, the Attitude Forum helps release their sadness by being positive and encouraging their emotional development to enjoy their life. We do hope that the forum will bring them to a new standard of living. Specifically, that they will live in peace, forgive and have no hardships in their heart.

ACE organized a Survivor Challenge for Youths at NFC

Attitude Centre for Eduction and New Future for Children are good friends. NFC always sends their kids to participate in many of the trainings at ACE.

On the 29th to 31st of August, Mr. Sokchea SAING and his team organized a survivor challenge for the youth of NFC at Rabbit Island. There were 15 youths whojoined the competition. Some of them are old enough to leave NFC.

These programs are going to help them to face hurdles in social life. There were many games that we provided for them. Each game was related to their real life condition. We trained them to be a potential leader. They have to be strong, independent, and reasonable.

It was a very special program to empower youth in NFC. They used this chance to make better relationships, know how to work in groups, and learn time management.

By the end we found the most promising leader, Borey. “I am going to use this unforgettable experience to improve myself and help the kids in NFC to ensure goals in the future,” said Borey.

Mr. Sokchea SAING brought the Attitude Forum to the new staff

In the first weekend of August, the 8th and 9th, the Attitude Centre for Education has been providing the Attitude Forum for 32 participants. There was a lot of interesting information in this forum. There were two amazing stories about Pheap and Synat’s family after completing the forum.

After finishing the funeral, Pheap has now returned to work. On that weekend, ACE invited Pheap and her daughter Samphours to join the Attitude Forum. They have changed and greatly improved their family since the forum and are starting new things in their lives.

The desire to participate in the Attitude Forum was for releasing her sadness and training to be strong and confident, an independent woman. Pheap was so worried about her life and her children’s after her husband passed away.

Cambodian Kids Foundation has been helping her to stand up and solve all those problems. We pay her housing costs, electricity, water and food. In addition, we have set up a new kindergarten called Cambodian Kids Care for her youngest child. We always follow up with the kids and Pheap’s family every week.

“I was very delighted after taking two days of training. I want to be strong, to be a good mom and hopeful. I won’t use violence anymore, and I have learned what I should do and not do. I feel fortunate to study this course,” said Pheap. Pheap’s been putting the knowledge into practice.

We also invited a couple of A Start Business workers: Synat and Peng.

Although hesitant at first because they had only finished school to grades 2 and 5, once the staff explained how the seminar was run they were happy to join. Though only two days long, they seemed to gain a key to open their minds. They understand now about their lives and social life. However, the best effect they felt was on their youngest daughter Sreyneang as she now realizes more what her parents work for in life and what they have offered her.

“I would like to continue my studies again. When I have low education it’s hard for me to help other people, especially the kids. I do not want to see the new generation have a low education like me,” said Peng.

They are very grateful for all the assistance the Cambodian Kids Foundation has given Pheap, Synat and her husband, for their training and encouragement.

Tevin also participated in the Attitude Forum at ACE. The forum was very useful for Tevin as before she was feeling lonely and was angered easily. Now she is open-minded and plans before acting.

Mr. Sokchea SAING brough the Attitude Forum to the Former Khmer Rouge

I had been living in Chrauk Tiek for a couple of months and just returned back to Phnom Penh on the 2nd of August 2009. I am a new English teacher for the Friends of Grady Grossman Primary School. My other newly promoted and fancy titles now are Program Officer and Education Officer, which to me, is sounds like I am a very important person. I prefer to just be an ordinary older American-Cambodian guy, who wants to do something to make a difference in people’s lives especially in the rural poor neighborhood.

While I was there teaching, working closely, observing and learning first hand how things are going in this remote area, it occurred to me there were many problems within the community itself. The common problems are alcoholism, violence, mistrust, close minded, selfishness, low self-esteem, abusive of languages, disrespect, fear and controlling. Recognizing this was happening throughout Chrauk Tiek and its surrounding neighborhood, I started to explore what we can do, as an NGO to assist them.

The good thing was that I happened to know a professional trainer whose name is Sokchea. I got acquainted with him soon after my return to Cambodia in late December last year. We later became friends after we talked and exchanged many thoughts, ideas and interests. People told me that he was good at what he does. He has been working in this profession since 2006 and late formed his NGO 6 months ago called Attitude Center For Education focusing on training people to become a good person and good leader. I decided to take his class with my coworker, Country Director Yoen, a Cambodian man who has been working with Kari for the past 8 or 9 years.

After the class, I was impressed and convinced that we need him to conduct a class in Chrauk Tiek to see what he can do to share and hopefully resolve some of the issues as I state above. It could be very expensive for us if we have to pay in full for his service. Fortunately he was kind enough to give us a break by asking only to cover his expense on the gas for the trip. I was grateful for his willingness, cooperation and consideration. He told me that money is secondary to him; his goal is to help people in all walks of life. It was supposed to be a four-day class. His rules were strict: no phone, no late to class, no video, no camera, no recording, no talking and no long break.

To do it right, I had to consult with the SSC to sense if the Chrauk Tiek people have the interest. Bun, the school director’s first reaction was somewhat skeptical and refusal saying that the whole villagers have a bad habit of not coming to any event unless they get paid. He suggested to me that we should give them a minimum of two to three dollars per day at least. Otherwise it would be a wasted of time. Besides paying them, he suggested that we should provide them lunch. I was furious and disappointed to hear those comments. Yet, I tried my best not to show my emotion. I later told him that his suggestion was not realistic, but I understood why he said so base on the past experience. I rejected both requests. I told him, let’s change that habit and go ahead with a plan to invite them to the class without any handout or free lunch. I could sense, by the look on his face implying to me “good luck for that!” in a negative way. But I told him to just try it once. Meanwhile, in my mind, I began to wonder what if there will be nobody coming to the class. All I could only hope for the best.

As the class day approached closer, I was pleased and somewhat surprised to learn that there were thirty seven people registered to take the class. I was encouraged. At the same time I reminded myself that it’s going to be much less participants who will actually show up and I should keep my expectation low to avoid big disappointment. Actually I was a bit worried.
I could make myself look very foolish if Sokchea comes and nobody shows up. That would be a disaster, I thought. And what I am going to tell him then?

The big day finally arrived. Sockchea came with his three staffs: Put Set, Phanith and Sinoeun along with Yoen. They all came a day before class. The class began on July 27th 2009. Two of Sokchea’s staffs were males and the other was a young female student. They all have been working with Sokchea starting a few years back before his NGO was formed.

To comfort my friends as first time visitors to our school, I worked very hard that day to making sure all of our newly built rest rooms were clean and have plenty of water. Some of the students helped me scraping and cleaning the old restrooms, which belong to students. It was nasty and smelly before we started. With the help from a few older students, we were able to bring the restrooms to their best condition and almost spotless with no bad odor. Later that day, Bun, a female teacher named Vannich and three other students helped me cleaning the new restrooms and pumping water into the tanks for both sides of the restrooms. I then brought each class to show them the restroom’s new look. I asked everyone to keep the restrooms clean from that day on. “For a courtesy to other, you need to keep it clean before leaving,” I insisted. They were shocked to see how clean they were comparing with previous filthy one.

I had to admit that the night before class, I was a little restless and did not have a good sleep, concerning about the turn out. Surprisingly enough, we
had a total of 29 participants. There were 6 men from the SSC members, 7 women, 6 of them were the SSC members, 4 teachers from our school, 6 teachers from different school near by, finally our school principal and another school principal from Srechrap. Not too shabby considering, no payment, no lunch and bad timing. Why it was a bad time? Because this time of year, which during the month of July the rush to replant the rice, called “stoong season” was in full swing. Everyone was working extremely hard and had no time for anything else because this is critical that work need to be done.

July 27th 2009, firmly at 8 a.m. when the class supposed to start. But Sokchea and his staffs were late to get up and not ready. There was only 10 minutes left before class start. Nobody had breakfast yet including Sokchea. I was somewhat concerned if the class did not start on time to make good example to participants. Sokchea assured me not to worry. He will start the class on time without having to eat anything. That allowed his staffs to quickly run to have something to eat. I was relieved.

I took a couple minutes to introduce Sokchea to the class. He did not want me to use any big title nor the word teaching. He preferred to use terms like mediator or sharing new ideas instead. The class started slowly, and I could felt that Sokchea was trying to sense what kind of participants were in the class. There was a mixture of some educated ones like school teachers, school principal and others with no education at all. Also there were some who felt in between. To keep the class in balance, he began slowly so the least educated ones could catch on.

As he started using terms like: you know-you know, you know-you don’t know and you don’t know-you don’t know. Most were all confused. Little by little everyone began to make sense of what Sokchea said. He then moved on asking them to keep an open mind to allow ourselves to explore and absorb something new, helpful, enchanting and interesting. Before the class, I mentioned to Sokchea about some of the major issues like alcohol, violent and honesty to see if he could emphasize on those. Sure enough he spent a good amount of time talking about the consumption of alcohol and why it has bad effect on people’s lives.

Almost all of them admitted that they do have problem with alcoholism. I remember one of our SSC members, Kim talked about his own drinking problem. I am sure Sokchea could smell his breath as he got up and talked in class. He was drunk that day even he knew that he had to take the class. To my amazement Sokchea interacted with Kim with any difficulty. Kim who has little education and soon words began to flow out of his mouth sharing his own drinking life story with the class. As he talked, he was nervous and sweating profusely. He kept asking Sokchea a few times to go back to his seat because he was too nervous and had never stood up in front of a group of people before. What was striking me the most of what he said was that drinking gives him more energy to work on the rice paddy or farm. You know alcohol is not at all a bad thing. Sometimes my wife wants me to work on the rice field preparing the ground for example, she would normally buy me a bottle of alcohol and then asked me to go to work. I like that part and it seems to work well for both of us, he said with a smile. Everyone burst into laughter from his comment.

For generation, this community continues to live their lives the same way for generation. Drinking and getting into violence is a norm and often times women were the victims. Their spouses abused them verbally and physically, injuring their heads and bodies are nothing new. Yet, they had no way or power to stop the abusive behavior. No one protects them; they are powerless. One woman told the class that her husband got drunk one time in the past and they got into an argument, it escalated to the point that her husband got out of control hitting her on the head spitting her skull open. He later treated her wound and resumed back to their normal life as if nothing had happened after her husband sweet talked and apologized to her.

Sokchea skillfully used his charm and humor to make the class more fun and learning at the same time. You could see everyone’s face was filled with a sense of satisfaction. The whole class got excited from time to time. Then there were certain part they were dead silent as Sokchea spoke softly, in his lowest tone, about why they continue to treat their love one the way they did. Is hitting a good way to show someone that you love them? He asked. He paused a few second for the answer. Then he screamed on top of his lunge “NO!” This brought everyone to their attention.

In order to get better, to find happiness everyone in this room needs to look closely into your own life and willing to do some changes, Sokchea told the class. As the class progressed, he moved on to talk about corruption, the role of a father, mother or children. It was an eye opening to all. For the first time in their lives they have heard something different that make think to try to make sense in a way that everyone could relate to whatever they had never thought that way before. Whether it was honesty, past resentment, unkind act, hitting, greed, unhappy, distrust, conflict, they heard it all.

The second day was the most interesting part of all. People confessed to their spouses and wanted to change. Chey, one of our SSC members brought his wife to the class and told her that he loves her very much. I am sorry for what I have been doing to you, drinking too much and spending irresponsibly. It was all my faults and I am apologized, he stated in front of the class. Everyone applauded his new attitude. His wife asked me to be one of her witness to hold her husband accountable for his action. The class had a big laugh of that scene. I did not know what to react, but knotting my head with joy.

Vong Von’s son, Vann also got picked by Sokchea to confess in front of the crow. He too ended up apologized to his father and managed to say “I love you dad!” He did it hesitantly and did not look his dad in the eyes at all. This was the first time in his live that he said this loving word to his dad. Meanwhile his dad was in deep emotion hearing for the first time what his son expressed how much he loves his dad. To Vann, it was not easy. He must have felt strange to say thing like that to his dad. He said it is hard because he only keep all of his feelings inside; don’t know how to express directly. It is not uncommon among Cambodians. Actually, the majority of Cambodians, considering this practice strange, odd or silly to tell your parents that you love them. On the opposite side, in the U.S., or other parts of the world, family members tell each other all the time that they love one another. My family is no different. Since my children were born and raised in the U.S., we tell each other constantly “I love you” and “I love you too”.

Sokchea changed his mind and decided that two days of class were enough for these folks to absorb. Any more than that it could be overwhelmed them. He wanted to come back. He apologized to the class for shorten his trip and return back to his office in Phnom Penh. In the end we all were encouraged and had new hope, a hope that this class could bring Chrauk Tiek people a new meaning of life. A different perspective was introduced to all. Many small seeds of attitude changing in behavior were planned. My best hope is that happiness and prosperity among the community begin to sprout slowly, but surely. And that what we all imagine.

The following is an article written by Sokchea’s staffs about the whole experiences of his training at our school. I already asked his permission to share with everyone. If you want to read more in detail, please feel free to do so. You will see why and how the training took place. To me, I think that the training was a great success even though we only had a total of 22 people successfully completed the class.

Since Sokchea had conducted the class, I heard many good comments from whole community throughout the Chrauk Tiek and beyond. Some women complained that they were disappointed that no one told them about the class. They really want to attend. I promised them that if we are going to have another class, we sure will let them know. Three of our SSC are drinking much less now. Vong Von’s son, Vann is more calm and appreciative to both his parents and his wife. A woman from SSC told me that she will try her best to put what she had learned into practice to reduce stress, more forgiving, kinder, less worry and work toward building happiness for her family. I am thrilled to hear those positive feed back!

Recently I had heard that many people are changing from drinking less alcohol to less violent physically or verbally, to being honest and so on. I am also very grateful to Sokchea and his team for willing to go to such a remote place like ours. They did an outstanding job, and we look forward to invite him back. He plans to go back at the appropriated time, he told me.

Thanks

Mr. Sokchea SAING won the Winston Fellowship Award to attend Summer courses at Eastern Mennonite University, United States

I would like to thank everyone who gave me support and helped me to get a scholarship at the Summer Peacebuilding Institute (SPI) of Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, Virginia and another one-week scholarship at Landmark Education in Baltimore, Maryland. Before I got the scholarships, I always hoped that one day I would have an opportunity to pursue short-term study in the U.S. Eventually, SPI made my dream come true. I still remember that when I had just entered the center to get trained on life skills, many communities were fleeing from the city. This scholarship was provided to me at the right time when I need it for myself, my communities, and this newly established program.

In just 6 weeks, I have communicated with many people from over 30 countries around the world. I have never had such contacts before. This program encouraged me to communicate with almost all the people who participated in SPI. I have learned how to respect, listen and have patience. When I was just in Cambodia, I saw that I lived in a very small world. After I have communicated with people from different countries, they understood what I said, thought, and studied because we have the same thoughts, participated in the same SPI program, and made the same decision about what we are going to do for our countries in the future. Communication makes us powerful because we feel that we are not alone anymore. We all learned and helped each other through all means.

I am very proud to have participated in SPI, across cultures, which is unforgettable. All the participants showed their own cultures and traditions which allowed all of us to get to know about the global value of those practices. As to my own view, I can say that SPI has prepared a program which I call “the culture of their freedom” because all participants in SPI had equal freedom to show the culture of their own countries without any worry.

Having spent a short time in the U.S., I got more experience and knowledge than what I had expected. I think it is necessary for me to return to Cambodia where I will apply what I have learned and the experience I have gotten. As soon as I arrived in Cambodia, three workshops had to be prepared for 220 participants aged 18 years and up. In July 2009, we are going to conduct three more workshops for youths. In August 2009, we are planning to organize another three workshops for staff of NGOs and, particularly, for poor communities and youths from the poorest provinces who are unable to further their studies.

These processes proceed well due to the lessons I obtained from SPI, and I will make the best use of this knowledge for myself, my community, and my organization. I imagine that one day I will have such a chance to attend SPI again and so will my students.

Sokchea SAING conducted the forum on Positive Attitude to the Staff of Project Future

ACE conducted the forum on Positive Attitude to the Staff of Project Future

On the weekend of July 16-17, 2009, the Attitude Center for Education provided the Attitude Forum to 25 participants. There was one woman among them, an English teacher. Participants all came from an organization called Project Future. They used their own tuk-tuks for transportation to attend our forum. They are getting vocational training at Project Future.

The Project Future manager has seen that all the students and staff work hard to learn about mechanics but lack any other skills to improve their studies and work. However, they are from different provinces. It’s hard for them to communicate, and they haven’t become proficient yet. Some are high school students who haven’t graduated, and some have stopped attending since primary school. Many of them are from poor families and used to be unemployed. They are starting a new life through Project Future and learning mechanic skills. They need something new to improve their lives. Five among them are staff members. The Attitude Forum was Project Future’s first choice. Project Future really wanted their students and staff members to learn about social life and ways of communication.

When we first started at 8:30 a.m., participants suggested that Sokchea SAING should not talk in English because they do not understand it. We had to make sure that they understood everything. They also got some comments from a trainer about work and business skill. There were only two days to help them learn how to be a successful person and how to run their business. After finishing the Attitude Forum, will participants know who they are? Who they can be?

Many of them had problems with family. Vassna is a child from a family where his father was often violent toward him and his mom. “I am very angry with my father. I hate what he has been doing,” said Vassna. This statement told us that this young man is discontent. Moreover, it is motivation for him in improving his life. Today what we are doing is building problem solvers. They will know how to solve their own problems and deal with the other people that are involved. Vassna has no angry feelings toward his father anymore. He will visit his home and apologize for what he has done to his parents. Rithpeng is 38 years old. He constantly encourages his oldest son, but nothing ever changes. “I want to know how I can help my son. I want my son to understand the value of life.” Sokchea gave Rithpeng new strategies for encouragement and inspiration for his concerns about his son.

Even if we could only help a small part of Project Future’s family members, the trainer was able to coach participants and helped improve their communication skills a lot. It is a very good thing that we can help this group to get to know each other well. They study, work and live in the same place, where it was difficult for them to improve because they didn’t have good communication skills. They will be initiating family happiness. “If I want to help Cambodia, the best way is to help all of you. This is what I want,” said Sokchea. This is the way of forgiveness and contentment. The Attitude Forum spent much of its time to open the participants’ minds, leading them to become good communicators.

Sokchea SAING conducted training to select the best student

ACE conducted training to select the best student for a one-year scholarship

During three years of the Khmer Rouge regime, Cambodian people faced big hardships. Most of the people in country lost everything in their life—not only their property, but even more vital things, including their children, parents, relatives and education. There were more than 2 million people killed by the Khmer Rouge. This event has an effect on the new generation in Cambodia. Most of it happened 30 years ago, but in that time, people only wished to survive and have food in their stomachs.
Anyway, now many things have changed in Cambodian society. People have started to pursue their education again. Education is a key to open people’s mind to thinking and learning something new to improve their life and develop the country. There are many universities in Phnom Penh. At the same time, there are students who love studying and study hard, but they don’t have a chance to attend those universities because of their family situation. This is especially true for students who live in the countryside and want to continue their studies but lack sufficient funds to support their stay at schools in Phnom Penh.
Thus, the Attitude Centre for Education wants to help them to achieve their dream and their wish. ACE has created the Attitude Dormitory. The Attitude Dormitory will provide some students a place to stay, so they can afford to save some money to pay for school. Students who will live in the Attitude Dormitory will also get a year scholarship for leadership training, called the Attitude Forum. The forum has four sessions; one session lasts three months.

There were 30 candidates participating in the Attitude Forum on June 20, 2009. There will be 10 students living in the dorm in the future, 4 girls and 6 boys. This was the first time the forum was so serious because we conducted it to see the behaviour and attitude of the candidates. We really want to help students to do everything. This is a foundational objective for all students, so we plan be strict in the process. The following article will provide details about what happened in the Attitude Forum.


There were 30 candidates. They come from different universities and provinces. Two of them were NGO staffs from Sustainable International School, the Kompong Speu province. First of all, Synoeun did a presentation and announced the rules of participation. The Attitude Forum started at 8:30 a.m. They had two hours for lunch break and finished at 5:00 p.m. Sokchea gave a speech to the forum and did a presentation about the Attitude Center for Education. Attendees asked questions about the Attitude Forum or whatever they wanted to know. It seemed like they were really interested in knowing for what major purpose ACE provides the Attitude Forum.

An open mind was the first thing that we talked about. To start our forum, that was a good way to show how to open their minds, and it made the attendees understand the process more easily. Participants did comparisons to themselves.

Participants paid close attention when we talked about family situations. Many attendees have had problems with their family. Many of them live in a poor family. After some of them shared their own problem that had happened in their family, Sokchea recommended, “Put your effort into your work. Don’t always carry it with you.”

“I don’t know who I am. This is a very important part of my life. Who will I be? How far can I go? What am I going to do to achieve my dream?” said Channak.
“If interviewers from one magazine talk to me, I will tell them that I am now building the future leaders of Cambodia. This is a strategy to improve Cambodian society,” said Sokchea.
In addition, attendees also get a chance to practice what they have learned by writing a letter and putting their entire problem on paper. They can also take this chance to show their compassion or apologize to parents or family. All of them wrote down their conflicts. It was very hard to remind about the mistakes and bad events that had happened in their life. They read their letters to the forum. They made promises to the trainer and everyone in the forum. “I am appreciative after having shared my entire problem to the class. Starting from this minute, I’ll change myself and family,” said Mony.
We can see that after attendees shared and got some comments, they will bring new things back to their life and family.
Many people have difficulty improving their life because they are doing something that they don’t realize. The Attitude Forum’s intention is to change people’s attitude. Most participants accept what they have done. Many of them made many mistakes because they are at a young age. After completing the forum, everyone saw the value of the course. They know exactly what they are going do to be a potential young leader in Cambodia.
Date: July 18, 2009

Sokchea SAIING conducted the Attitude Forum for four NGOs

ACE conducted the Attitude Forum for four NGOs at Sihanouk Province

On July 23rd and 24th, 2009, the Attitude Center for Education conducted an Attitude Forum in Sihanouk Province. Sihanouk is Cambodia’s premier beach town. Sihanouk is in southern Cambodia. It is a 230 km, five-hour drive from Phnom Penh.

The four people in the car enjoyed the beautiful view. They were Sokchea; Pharith, who is a student from Lakeside School; Madi, American girl who visited Cambodia for five weeks; and Synoeun.

We planned to leave Phnom Penh at 12:00 pm, but unfortunately we were late by one hour and a half because Sokchea left the key inside his car. So we left Phnom Penh at 1:30 pm.

There were 29 participants who attended our forum. They came from four different NGOs. There were five from GoodWill School, which is the school for the young kids in the village. Seven were from Maloptapang (a big NGO that has around 170 staff), six from Phoumville and 11 from Stoeung Hua, where we used to conduct the Leadership training. The participants ranged from 20 to 40 years old. In the morning session, it was not hard to encourage them because they are teachers, staff, volunteers and managers.

Sabin, who is director of the Goodwill School, has seen some trouble among her staff. They didn’t have any connection. Most of them have no responsibility. They lived by following their heart and their past. Sabin would like her staff to be opened-mind. The way that they teach and talk to the kids is unacceptable. Sabin has noticed they don’t use their education. During the meeting their feelings were on the surface. But they haven’t motivated themselves. “I really want to see something change with my staff members, so that I decided to ask Sokchea to train them about Attitude” said Sabin.

The problem that participants have dealt with is work-related, relationships with bosses and co-workers. “What I need is to make a better relationship,” said Neang. Teacher Sokchea made the basic point and gave an example to them to improve the communication. Attendees became really involved in the example since it was based on a real situation. Attendees were engrossed in the training about how be open and enhance their communication.

In addition, because the participants have worked, they are parents, they have much experience with “always being right.” Kolab, who is full-time staff for the Goodwill School has that issue with her co-worker, Sinah. It was only a small problem, but both of them made it become a big one. They stopped talking to each other. How difficult it is when neither of them have a good relationship. How is their work looking after the same kids in Goodwill School? It is very hard to improve their work and the kids. In this case, Sokchea helped them to solve one of the problems. Everyone tried and worked hard to find the solution. The trainer only gave them a clue, and then all the participants had to identify a solution by themselves. This is the strategy for our Attitude Forum.

However, when people are not willing to open their minds, they have gotten in trouble with their family. Sophea is a teacher of Maloptapang. He did not have an open mind, so when his parents criticized him because he usually got home late, Sophea was angry and complained to them. “Starting from now on I understood what I shall do for my life and my family. I study management. I would like to manage myself first before others,” said Sophea.

The next day participants did a very good job. They were brave, open-minded, and did what we wanted them to do.

Sopheary has had a big problem with family. “I am very thankful that I have an opportunity to study at Attitude Forum. When I got home last night I confessed all my mistakes to my parents. My mom has mental problems. My parents, my brother and sister do not have good relationships with each other. I apologized to my mom and dad because I did not understand their feelings. Their reaction made me very thrilled,” said Sopheary.

What we are doing is really happen in their work and family.
There were many things they haven’t done yet like sharing compassion, saying thank you, and apologizing since they owe a lot to their parents. They did not say all these things because they think just working and studying hard is already enough to make them happy. It is not hard to express these feelings, but why is it that most of the participants hardly ever do so?

Communication and happiness are the vital things that most of attendees would like to have Lakana, a girl who studies in grade 10, said, “I have no goal. My life was very lazy. I like watching TV and hanging around at my friends’ houses in the village.” 15 minutes later, after getting coaching from the trainer, Lakana felt like she just woke up from a bad dream.

Sarun used to be violent toward his friends in the village when he was a gang member, “but now I would like to forgive myself and I accept my entire mistake,” he said.

The Attitude Forum is helping people to lead a new, successful life. Their work, studies, and their life will improve. They are going to be able to help their institution. We train them to be problem solvers. Attendees will have a great ability to solve problems for themselves and in their lives. All participants need to have high accountability. They are very important leaders. We are building up all of these leaders. They themselves are also trainers after getting training from this forum. Can you imagine how many others they can help? When one person improves, how many people are affected?

At the end of the forum, Sabin, the director of the Goodwill School, said she would like to give Sokchea a big thank-you. She was very happy. She told us the problem is now solved, and moreover, the staff members have more possibilities. It is a substantial thing for four these NGOs.

Mr. Sokchea SAING conducted a forum on positive attitude for indigenous

ACE conducted a forum on positive attitude for indigenous youth leaders in Mondulkiri Province

It was a busy day at the Attitude Center for Education: On June 26, 2009, five visitors from Australia helped us to organize the center and prepare a lot of things for improvements. We planned to travel to the MondulKiri Province; it takes 10 hours to get there. Mondulkiri is a very beautiful part of Cambodia. It is 258 km from Phnom Penh, but the road is not good because it is in the countryside.

We used to conduct leadership training at the Unteh Wee Sokatan organization. There were 10 students who volunteered to do a lot of things like announcement requests and registration. They worked to help make our forum really good. ACE staff spent some time to call and follow up with the process. We have had many difficulties in planning this leadership event, including the correspondence, organization, etc. Also, during the registration process, teacher Sokchea was in the United States for his scholarship program. However, we prevailed.

There were 160 attendees who joined our Attitude Forum. We started at 7:30 a.m. and all of the students arrived on time or early. Unfortunately, in the morning it was raining, and it must have been hard for them to get there, but they still came on time. The Attitude Forum lasted two days. There were five attendees who are workers and teachers. Some of them live far away from the town. For many of them, it took 30 minutes to get from their house to the guest house.


The first students had a bit of difficulty, but were especially brave. They had significant problems, like not having good relationships. The most interesting thing about the participants was that they are Pnoung (an indigenous ethnic group); however, they live like everyone else does. They live a long way from the central province, so they have poor connections with other places.

When we started, the first point was to talk about having an open mind. Eight students spoke about what they have encountered and how they resolved those problems. After discussion, some students shared about what they have tried to do in their life but could not complete. Some also discussed the possibilities in their life, and what they want to do in the future.

After a lunch break, not many of the participants did the presentation that was a part of the work. They can talk well, but they could not make a good presentation.

In the afternoon, we talk about looking good and looking bad. For some people, all they are concerned about is being good-looking. One student, Sokoun, want to have a car and be good-looking. At the start she said, “Personal image is very important for people, because when we have car and look good, many people around us think we are a good person and that we must be powerful.” A little while later, Sokoun changed her thinking after Sokchea gave her some coaching.

Then she said, “I would like to have a good future and don’t care too much about looking good. I’ll try to improve myself and my future. My family is poor, and I want to help them, so now I would like to study for them.”

Some of the problems that the other attendees talked about included:


Chhan
“I have had a big problem with my family; my mother wants me to stop studying. I am so sad to find out that I don’t have a good relationship with my parents. They want me to work for them because they have business problems. I didn’t do anything wrong. My father told me that I am his son, and I must always obey him.”

All of the participants had problems, but there was limited time for sharing. Therefore, the other resolutions were written down as a letter. Everybody wrote down all their sorrows in their own letter. Some read them to people whom they wanted to hear. Participants could also have used this chance to express their emotions and apologize whatever they had done wrong.
The following are two of students’ letters that were read aloud to the forum, written by Sreymom and Chenda.


On the second day we did an assessment and asked all of them about what they did with their letter. Some said they just kept it, and some read it to their family or someone else whom they wanted to hear their thoughts.

Thus, the Attitude Forum helped people to open their minds, to be forgiving, so all participants’ conflict was burned away by their own understanding. We wished that all the trouble won’t be kept deep in their minds anymore. It was gone just like smoke disappears in fresh air. Everything else was in the past; we can affect only what happens today and tomorrow.

Finally, there were many big smiles and everyone appeared at peace. Then there was loud cheering because it was time to bring new life skills and education back to their homes.

However, we had one last event. Out of thankfulness to our first leadership students from the last forum, we had a fantastic dinner together. The Attitude Forum has completed successfully because they understood the value of education. They had a high commitment to practicing what they have learned in the last year. How improved are they? What can they do to be a model for their communities? What will happen in their future? They really wanted to know all of these things.

I was very appreciative when I heard all of them express their feelings and tell us what they have done, and tried to do. These are their chances to improve their life and to have a better future. Looking ahead, there will probably be at least one among them who get a scholarship from the Attitude Center for Education.

Greeting from the Attitude Centre for Education

Greetings everyone,

It’s been very busy for the last few months since we started the Attitude Centre for Education. We have four projects up and running that really bring a lot of positive change to the Cambodian community. Please join me in taking note of our accomplishments. Another piece of good news is that I have been granted a scholarship to go to the USA on the 26th of this month for a five-week institute: “Leadership for Healthy Organizations” and “Designing Learner-Centered Training for Conflict Transformation.”
As a representative of the Cambodian Kids Foundation in Cambodia, I want to thank you for all of your support, volunteering and donations toward making Cambodia a better place.

Sokchea SAING
Director, Cambodia

It’s been only a few months since we started the Attitude Centre for Education. We have done so many things, such as setting up the centre, conducting five workshops both in Phnom Penh and the provinces for 248 people who come from different walks of life. Through our outreach program, we have helped Aziza school, Village Earth, after the evictions. Our scholarship program supports poor students who dream to attend university but can’t afford it. There is a school program in Kanpong Thom province that we plan to build 3 classrooms, and another amazing project called Attitude Centre for Education that we just set up with the volunteers and staff in February 2009. The facility is suits our projects well and has seven rooms, along with a kitchen downstairs, a meeting room, one training classroom that should fit 35 students, and another big hall on the last floor for the dormitory and sport activities.
The Centre operates in the best location in Phnom Penh to provide three projects:


Mental Health Course Conducted at Attitude Centre
By Attitude

Being human, no one’s life is without problems. How can we know that we are having problems? How do we solve those problems? Mental health is an area that most people don’t understand. The course will help participants not knowledgeable about mental problems.

When mental sickness occurs, the problem affects not only the person suffering from it but the people who are around them as well. Mental health was the first workshop conducted in the Attitude Centre for Education, on March 1st, 2009. There were 34 participants who joined the forum. There were 15 from NFC, 16 from Lakeside and 3 more from Aziza.

Moreover, this is not an easy course. Attitude’s staff works closely with participants. The attendees had certain concerns that were very deep in their minds, so we all make sure that participants are open and comfortable with sharing to get support for all their problems.

A statement from one of the students who finished the Mental Health course: “After finishing the course that took only one day, I am very thrilled that I got lots of new knowledge. I accepted my mistakes that I did to my family members and friends. I apologized for what I did. I will change and develop my altitude to be better. I would like to give a big thanks to teacher, Sok Chea who work very hard to help us,” Kim Sophearith said.


Child Protection Training (TOT)
By Attitude

Child protection training is a special program for team leaders from Aziza who want to become staff in the future. We used to do the training at the Village Focus International office, but since March 7th, 2009 we have been using the Attitude Centre. It takes just 2 hours per week; there are 7 trainers.

First, the participants learn how to be a good trainer. To be an effective trainer involves eye contact, body language, lesson planning and other technical skills. Each of them had to choose one topic to teach during 15 minutes. Besides that, other trainees will encourage them or give some advice. If someone does not do it well, then they can do it again after encouragement.

For the next step, they were separated into two groups. Each group had a different topic. Even though they were busy, they worked very hard to search and make lesson plans. One group had one hour to practice. They do not have more time to study TOT. The training will finish soon.


Hopefully the entire trainee group will get the necessary skills to become a trainer and to teach the next generation of kids in Cambodia.


Course on Leadership in Action
By Attitude

There were 10 students who joined the workshop. Leadership in action is a new kind of skill for the students. This course is completed differently from the first course (Leadership Development Skills) because it allows the participants to be involved more actively.

The first thing everybody has to do is wear a name tag. It’s a new practice that helps the workshop go smoothly and makes it easier for the coach to call their names. Being called by name has made participants have more confidence.

We let them work in groups when it’s time to discuss. Group members describe what they’ve done. Everyone needs to have their own idea to share and work out about their topic. They have 2 minutes to think about their negative actions along with solutions. In each lesson they have a chance to practice. We also focus on how to be a person who has a good attitude about living, working and studying.

Even though we had only 10 students, everybody seemed to have enough time to talk to each other about how much they understood in each lesson. They tried to talk and encourage their skills, including speaking, listening and eye contact. After finishing discussion they volunteer to tell the class what they have done.

Finally, participants will get some advice or statements from the coach. The coach identifies their negative actions and what they could change or need to improve their life. They also have 15 minutes to write down what they have learned from the course and their impressions.


Leadership Development Course in Prey Veng Province
By Attitude

The weekend of March 28th, 2009, we conducted a leadership workshop in Prey Veng Province. There were 145 participants, who lined up at two tables to get their yellow name tags.
We started at 7:30 and finished at 11:30. The participants had a lot of experience but said they were not really sure what should they do for their future and their community. Most of them are older adults with the roles of government workers, teachers and college students.

In the afternoon, participants talked about their issues, like sometimes having problems with students. There were many issues that they have experienced with their study, work, and family. After giving some examples and very clear explanations, everyone tried to think about the problems and some possible solutions.



Mr. Chick Nimol, who is a university student, said that he is having a problem. He wants things very quickly. He doesn’t like waiting, even for his big goals. He wanted to be a doctor, but it takes a long time to become one, so he wanted to change to having another goal. He wanted an easy job that did not take long time. He would like to find ways to encourage himself.


The next day all the participants improved step by step. They talked to each other well. Teacher Sok Chea told them the conditions for becoming a good leader. The participants had five minutes to share with each other. The reason that they needed to talk to each other is to make them more open-minded and able to communicate. This is also what they do to become an effective leader.
Some students wanted to have their own concerns addressed, so they asked Mr. Sok Chea to speak about their specific problems. They didn’t want to share their private thoughts in detail, but just to have some examples including the basic points. Even during break time, they tried to talk and ask how to communicate effectively.


Sok Chea said he has found three things about the students in Cambodia--difficulty getting a job because they do not have good leadership skills, English proficiency and computer skills. We were all born with the capacity for leadership, but they do not know what a leader is. So it is difficult for them to lead themselves toward a better future in life.

Finally, there were five attendees who shared their feelings with the class about what they learned and their intent to apply all their knowledge that they got from leadership training to daily life and people around them. At the end of the workshop, the monk who was a trainee wished for the teacher and all participants to have happiness and peace.

Leadership Development Course in Sihanouk Province
By Attitude
Sihanouk Province is about 230Km from Phnom Penh. The province is among Cambodia’s most famous and beautiful places to visit. The Attitude Centre conducted a leadership course at Stung Hua in Sihanouk Province. Attitude brought 13 students from Aziza and Lakeside school. They have been practicing, so we could tell how much they have improved. There were 34 participants. Most of them are fishing people and Stung Hau’s staff. Before, they did not have good communication skills, except within their families. They did not express
themselves or work well in groups.
This leadership course was very focused on how to help the participants to be brave, to have good relationships and social life and to make future plan. There were 10 students from Phnom Penh who shared their personal stories as examples and told the difference before and after studying leadership.
Mr. Sokchea worked very hard to help them to be confident. They had a lot to learn to improve their social life skils, but the next day they were much better. They worked in groups and discussed the topic that we gave them. The training encouraged them to be open-minded and made them feel self-confident. The students from Phnom Penh who volunteered also helped attendees understand social relationships. It was also a chance to show their speaking abilities. Most of the participants’ presentations were the first ever for them.
One of the Lakeside students, Chanta, told about his life. He used to live in this community. There were a lot of problems in his life. He used to take drugs and did a lot of bad things, but he has started a new life. The participants were so happy to hear that he has turned his life around to be a good person.
There were several students who wanted to share their feelings with the class, to say thanks and offer good wishes. The last one, Sa Bine, who is a volunteer at Stung Hua, said “I am so thrilled to see my students are improving in necessary leadership skills, especially communication. Thanks so much to Mr. Sok Chea. I wish you good luck, good health and success.”


Leadership Development Course at Tiny Toones Club
By Attitude
Tuy Sobil, who prefers to go by his street name “KK”, was born in a refugee camp on the Thailand/Cambodia border and grew up in Long Beach, California, where he was exposed to break dancing and did it for four years after seeing it in local parks. However, KK became involved in a gang, which caused him to be deported to Cambodia in late 2004. KK’s story is similar to nearly 1500 other deportees who try to survive in their parents’ homeland. Some of them have not been able to adjust to life in Cambodia.
Tiny Toones was founded after kids learned from the Khor Sang staff that KK used to break-dance and asked him teach them.
Now they have moved to a two-story building which about 150 kids comes to for break dancing practice. The kids who come to dance are all from very poor families and live on the street or in slum areas.
Wednesday, April 8th, 2009, Attitude visited Tiny Toones. From 8 to 11 am. There were 29 participants who joined the training. It was not during the weekend. Leadership development skills were the basic goal. The course helps participants to understand how to be an influential leader.
When it first started, the participants talked in the class and blamed each other. They were very confident but not inspired leaders. While working in groups, some of them talked loudly and didn’t care much about the topic. This was the first group work for the course.

During break time, a girl named Sovanna said that she wanted to study in this course because she was not good at communicating. She said she did not know to set goals for herself.
Before the break time Thida shared what he had leaned from the morning session. He was interested in the personal power of a leader and explained that he knows there are many points that he needed to improve about himself. “I requested that all teachers and staff that work in the centre to have helped kids by happy, non-violent and kindness heart,” said Sarmon, HIV trainer.
In the afternoon we talked about the qualities of a leader. Teacher Sok Chea was very focused on this point because it talked about the attitude of leaders. Most of the participants were break dancers.
“I am a break dancing teacher. I was very angry
with the students when they didn't listen to me though I told them a few times,” said Srey Leak.
“I was not a good child. I did not go to school. Sometime I blamed my parents when they made me angry, so I moved to Phnom Penh because I could not live with my family anymore. When I arrived in Phnom Penh I lived with Friend NGO. I was not a good person, so Friend NGO did not allow me to live there anymore. I used to be a street child and used drugs. Then I met Sarmon and some people who live with Tiny Toones. They told me about Tiny Toones, and I decided to live in here. My life in the centre was changing step by step. I could change some,” said Vanarak.
Pektra said, “I was a very bad and easily angered person. When somebody said something wrong I was angry and also wanted to fight them. No one talked loudly or made fun of me because they knew my behavior. I liked violence and using rude words. I tried to change but only a few times that I could. I wanted to get some advice from teachers to encourage myself. I haven’t known how to change my life.”
Many of the people at Tiny Toones have bad backgrounds and still have problems. Conflict resolution was the one of their favorite subjects. At first each of them really wanted to win arguments and did not listen to each other. They liked blaming and fighting. But they work very hard to learn break dancing. After studying they understood and tried to calm down. They do not have bad intentions in doing something. They tried to use their goodness in their mind.
The statements that motivated participants: “Life is decision. If you do not make your decision, other people will make it for you.” “To be a good leader you have to use your good to control your evil.” This was the part that inspired them in the lesson. Actually, the next group work time went well, with sharing ideas and teamwork. Everyone in the workshop did presentations.
Finally, these were some statements in which attendees shared their feelings about the workshop. “I make a lo t of mistakes in the centre I am apologize to everyone,” said Yav.
“I will stop using violence in my family because leadership training helps me to know the meaning of life. If I still using violence, my children will copy it from me. I wanted to be a good leader, husband and father for everyone,” said Yav's husband.
Pahna, will use what he has learnt from leadership training to help him in his daily life. He hopes Tiny Toones will be the best centre: “We really need everybody help and work together. Don't use violence anymore.”
Most of the participants improved a surprising amount, which was amazing. In only two days they changed and improved more than expected. “I am so appreciative,” said Synoeun.
Right now seven members of Tiny Toones are on tour in the US from April 14 to May 5. We wish them good luck on their trip.

Village Earth's Reference for Saing Sokchea

I am pleased to give reference for Saing Sokchea, whom I have worked with Sokchea for almost 3 years, and have experienced the results of his transforming youth from poor communities in Cambodia first hand.

In April 2006 Sokchea and I started Aziza Schoolhouse in the Dey Krahorm slum community of Phnom Penh, which in the beginning was a small after school program offering free English. Thanks to Sokchea’s ability to partner with the community, notorious for its issues with violence, gangs, prostitution and drugs, we’ve become a trusted institution and community center providing trainings and services to the community 7 days a week. As the Country Manager I am routinely told that what we accomplished is extraordinary, to which I reply that the credit belongs largely to Sokchea.

Sokchea has significant firsthand experience with conflict. His primary responsibilities have been to work in slum communities, where he has spent thousands of hours and has more insight than most experts in the development field. During this time he has become a person of respect within the community, where conflict is routine, and he has been instrumental in facilitating discussion around conflict on many occasions. I could cite numerous examples, including the time where a member of the community came inside our school and began punching a student, a gangster who lived nearby who was caught stealing a part from a staff member’s motorbike during class, a student’s sister was been beat by her husband, and many more, all of which Sokchea handled with grace and compassion. But more important is his vision to create unity and get a mass of students and neighbors to be on the side of our school, look out for us, and gain tools to transform their community.

Sokchea’s greatest contribution has been his work as a leadership trainer, where he teaches a comprehensive curriculum on life skills with an emphasis on relationships. The result from these trainings on our students has been truly transformative, where the visible difference in their attitudes and self confidence was unmistakable. Seeing that he was so effective, we have been invited by 5 additional NGOs to date to do training in their communities, and each one has been an impressive effort with great results.

I consider Sokchea to have a gift, as a trainer, since he can inspire people and transform communities. After his trainings students reconcile issues with their family and friends, take on new initiatives, and have a greater sense of themselves. This may sound too good to be true, but I do not embellish what has taken place.

Sokchea’s spoken English is excellent, having worked extensively with western people over the past 3 years, in addition to formal classroom training. His comprehension is high, and he has extensive knowledge of conflict and peacebuilding vocabulary, having studied/co-trained with a psychologist, a trainer of non-violent communication, and several personal growth related studies.

I hope that as you read this glowing recommendation, you keep in mind that it represents a compilation of feedback from multiple people who have worked with Sokchea, foreigners and Khmer, all of whom are amazed with his energy and abilities.

You can see stories that include Sokchea’s work and learn more about our projects on the Village Earth website, under the Cambodia project page. Please contact me if I can be of assistance or provide additional information.

Thank you,

Drew McDowell
Country Manager