ChildFund Korea will donate $77,000 to a project to help educate more than 275,000 children and their families in 334 villages of Prey Veng, Svay Rieng, Kratie and Battambang provinces on how to protect themselves from Covid-19.

The organisation stated it will continue to ramp up its programmes in disease prevention and containment until the dangers of the virus have passed.

“This project will ensure more than 275,000 children and their families will be equipped with the knowledge they need to protect themselves from Covid-19.

“The training will also provide key learning to families on positive parenting behaviours,” A ChildFund Cambodia press release said on Friday.

ChildFund Cambodia put its Covid-19 second-phase response plans into motion last Thursday in collaboration with commune councils and with the assistance of ChildFund Korea.

Its press release said positive parenting tips will be distributed using posters, booklets, radio campaigns and face-to-face community meetings during May and June in the four provinces.

It said the project will help commune councils to strengthen their Covid-19 response plans with a focus on providing communities with the practical steps they can take to reduce or prevent infection, including hand-washing and social distancing.

ChildFund Cambodia director Prashant Verma said in the press release that preventing the spread of Covid-19 is the best course of action in regions where health facilities may be located long distances from local communities.

“ChildFund will continue to ramp up its programmes in disease prevention and containment until the dangers of the virus have passed,” he said.

Verma told The Post on Sunday that his organisation believed that only through education in rural communities will people change habits, especially vulnerable children.

He said ChildFund mostly worked with commune councils with the support of various institutions. He said his organisation believes that commune councils know what is best for their local people.

“We strongly believe in strengthening existing government mechanisms and therefore decided on direct grant support to respective communes so they could determine the priority and needs of the most vulnerable families,” he said.

Sa Etey, a councillor from Prek Saman commune in Kratie province’s Chhlong district, told The Post on Sunday that her commune had an activity that was incorporated into the project and positive parenting tips will be distributed to children.

“[Through this distribution] we want them to tell their children that the disease has spread across the world. But they can still protect themselves by way of washing hands as advised by the Ministry of Health.

“Hopefully they will educate their children on how to live during the pandemic and how to protect themselves with a high standard of hygiene, maintaining social distancing and wearing facemasks,” she said.

Animation videos titled Happy Family will also be aired on several of Cambodia’s national TV channels for one month and social media starting from May 23.

The videos were produced by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, UNICEF and Save the Children through Breakthrough-ACTION.

A press release said: “The series has a target audience of five to 10-year-olds and revolves around a colourful family of bunnies.

“The storyline and messaging spans hand washing, social distancing, learning from home, mental and physical well-being, and stigma and discrimination.

“Each episode is unique and appealing for parents and other caregivers, who will also learn, alongside their children on how to apply suggested prevention techniques for Covid-19.”