PROJECTS | Case Studies | Cambodia

M’Lop Tapang – Vocational training for street children

M’Lop Tapang is a community-based NGO that runs a daily drop-in centre and extensive outreach programme for over 600 street children in Sihanoukville, a port city in southern Cambodia. One such child that M’Lop Tapang has helped is Boupha.

Boupha is 16 years old. Her family lives in a very poor area of Sihanoukville. She no longer lives at home as her mother frequently gambles and her father often comes home drunk and turns violent. Boupha used to regularly miss school to look after her sisters and was often forced to sell vegetables to earn an income for the family.

“I worried that because I had missed so much school I would never get a good job and my family would always struggle. I saw my future full of poverty, fear and sadness. I felt afraid to stick up for myself and fight for my right to education. My dream has always been the same, to own my own land and house so I can look after my parents and sisters. I want to have a job so that I can earn a safe income and feel proud to have skills that support me and my family.”

Boupha first heard about M’Lop Tapang through its outreach work in the community. The outreach team identifies vulnerable children and informs them of the services to available to them. They encouraged Boupha to visit the drop-in centre, where she was able to speak to a counsellor about her problems and also her hopes for the future.

“No one had ever asked me about my hopes and dreams before. It gave me hope, confidence and stopped my feeling of fear and isolation. These people seemed to understand me and never passed judgment. It seemed they were very experienced at listening to my problems and offering me and others many choices to improve our lives. I knew that my life would change as I knew I at last had a chance and a channel into learning.”

Boupha used art therapy to share her problems with trained counsellors at M’Lop Tapang. Art is an effective way of encouraging children who have suffered traumatic events to express themselves.

“We used art forms to express our fears, our dreams and our feelings. I felt so safe when I was learning to use art therapy, whether we used mime, drawings, role play or storytelling. I can still hold those images of safety in my mind and when I feel scared I revisit my safe images and feel balanced again.”

Not only has Boupha returned to school and learnt to read and write, but M’Lop Tapang is helping her whole family. Her father attends an alcohol support group and her sister is taking a cookery course at M’Lop Tapang’s Vocational Training Centre. Boupha recently completed an embroidery course and is hoping to start work at M’Lop Tapang’s small retail outlet by the beach, which provides a safe and steady form of income generation, particularly for those who are forced to work and beg on the streets.

“When I have saved up enough money I would like to buy my own sewing machine and set up my own independent business - I would love to train former street youths like myself so they get a chance like I have now.”

Without his help and support from M’Lop Tapang, Boupha thinks she would have ended up working in a karaoke bar, which can often lead to work in the sex industry. She is currently staying at M’Lop Tapang’s night shelter but with ongoing support from M’Lop Tapang, she hopes to return home soon.