Reintegration of Children Outside of Target Area
As a single mother without regular employment, Sreynuch* decided to leave her hometown in Battambang to look for a job in Phnom Penh as a construction worker. She left her two sons, Bora and Chamroeurn, with their grandmother.
The boys were often bullied by other children in the village because of the family’s economic status. Their grandmother heard about a Residential Care Institution (RCI) in Siem Reap from a neighbor. She called her daughter to discuss sending the boys there. Because Sreynuch still could not afford to raise the children properly, she reluctantly agreed. In 2014, Bora and Chamroeurn, who were 10 and 11 years old, were sent by their grandmother to live at the RCI.
(Photo: This Life Cambodia,
Chamroeurn and Bora and their new bicycles that they ride to school on)
A year after Sreynuch left home, her mother changed her phone number. As she didn’t have enough money to visit her hometown, Sreynuch lost contact with her mother and had no way to keep in touch with her sons.
While cooperating with the RCI and Siem Reap Department of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation (DoSVY) on reuniting children back to their family, This Life Cambodia opened a case for Bora and Chamroeurn, who desperately wanted to go back home.
For almost nine months, DoSVY and local authorities across Siem Reap, Battambang and Kandal provinces collaborated to find the boys’ family. The team finally found out that Sreynuch had remarried and had two daughters. The family was living in Kandal province, where Sreynuch sells food at a local market. After an initial assessment, the family agreed to take the boys into their care in June 2020.
Reuniting children back to their family during COVID-19 posed some additional challenges. Therefore, This Life Cambodia supported the family by providing emergency support packages, bicycles for the children to travel to school and helped strengthen Sreynuch’s existing small business. The family was very grateful for all the support they received from USAID, through FCF|REACT, as well as from the local authorities, DoSVY and the Department of Education who had been very supportive throughout the reunification period.
“I want to take care and educate my children. I want to see them having a good future,” said Sreynuch, Chamroeurn and Bora’s mother.
Bora and Chamroeurn have integrated well into their family. The teenagers are doing well both at school and at home. They are more involved in learning and practicing life skills while helping out around the house and caring for their younger siblings. Bora and Chamrouern reported to be much happier living in a family setting, than they were in the RCI.
*Names have been changed.