The Missing Link

Resources to feed and educate a child, access to shelter and a life free of abuse arc fundamental rights, yet each day millions of Cambodians struggle to meet their basic needs alone.

With more than 30% of the population living below the national poverty line of just over 60 cents a day, gaps between rich and poor, and the in urban and rural areas, continue to grow despite efforts to address wide spread inequality and poverty by NGOs.

Maggie Eno, coordinator of M’Lop Tapang, an organization supporting street children in Sihanoukville, says her work highlight the harsh reality of the lives of Cambodia’s women and children, the groups most at risk of human right abuses.

“Without social work support, poor people and people with troubled lives have no way to rake control and solve their problems,” she says. “People need to feel supported and cared about, instead of isolated and discriminated against, but they also have so few good quality services to access.”

Social workers have been pivotal to rebuilding marginalized segments of Cambodian society. However, for all their expertise, there has been a missing link in the sector, staffed largely by social work professionals and volunteers from abroad.

Local have added value to the work of foreigners through NGO training programs that develop social work concepts.

However, it was not until June 2012, when the first cohort of university social work students completed their graduate level studies with the Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP), that the Kingdom’s social work sector took a pivotal forward step in providing long-term solutions for community development in the country.

When I lived in the countryside, I saw domestic violence, poverty, illiteracy, mental illnesses, gender inequality and human rights violations almost every day. These problems were not solved quickly, and this is why I thought I should help people.

My decision to study social work was not the wrong choice; it was absolutely right because social work is a subject focused on empowering and strengthening vulnerable people, promoting social changes and providing students with critical thinking.

It was not easy to learn and reflect on the many fundamental social work concepts since I had no experience in working with vulnerable people during the first two years. I tried to imagine again and again whether my reflections were logical or not.

After taking many courses on social work and learning skills in the subject, I have gained both personal and professional development. My self-esteem, self-confidence, self-awareness and self-motivation have all improved. Similarly in my professional development, I can work with different kinds of people using good communication skills and compassion.

With my current job, I hope to improve my understanding of community empowerment practice toward sustainable development. My long-term vision is to work for either the government or an NGO. In particular, I like working with vulnerable women and children – I want them all to have access to basic needs and equal rights.