Students are leaving their school in the capital's Chroy Changvar district. Hong Menea
International Day of the Girl on October 10 saw Plan International Cambodia celebrate with children and youth its 20 years of operating in the Kingdom at an event presided over by Im Sithe, secretary of state at the Ministry of Women’s Affairs.
The occasion at Plan International's Phnom Penh headquarters was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, the Maternal and Child Health Centre, relevant ministries, embassies, UN agencies and NGO partners.
The life-changing stories of girls and young women were heard as children and young people were placed at the fore.
International Day of the Girl is observed every October 10 to increase awareness of gender inequality faced by girls worldwide, with this year's theme “Girls and Young Women in Decision Making".
"Plan International Cambodia has been operating in the Kingdom for 20 years, working to advance children’s rights and equality for girls, especially adolescent girls and young women in all of their diversity in Cambodia.
“We are as young and dynamic and full of energy as 20-year-old young women and men, but we are wise and full of expertise, including in education, nutrition, child protection, child rights, WASH and more,” said Gwynneth Wong, Plan International Cambodia country director.
As part of the government’s “Education for All” strategy, Plan International Cambodia has built more than 440 community preschool centres, home-based learning centres and state preschools for children aged three to five years of age over the past 20 years.
Plan International Cambodia opened an office in the Kingdom in 2002, implementing its first programme in Siem Reap in early 2003 and second programme in Kampong Cham in mid-2004.
In its early years, it worked closely with the Ministry of Interior and cooperated with the Asian Development Bank to advance the Universal Birth Registration campaign over the country, covering 24 provinces.
For the past 20 years, Plan International Cambodia initiated the School Improvement Programme by supporting the Ministry of Education to develop the policy and concept of the Child Protection in School and School Safety for all public schools.
A release from the child-centred development organisation to mark the major anniversary highlighted some achievements in its 20 years of working in the Kingdom.
“We built more than 80 primary and lower secondary schools and equipped them with furniture. We also built more than 40 libraries and 430 school latrines separate for males and females.
“We combated educational problems, including enrolment, a high drop-out rate, illiteracy and low standard education, by creating remedial education, scholarships and non-formal education – village classes – to encourage children from low-income families to go to school,” the release said.
More than 630,000 children – 310,000 of them girls – in primary school have benefited from the school feeding programme, which included a hot meal breakfast, hygiene services, sanitation facilities and water systems.
Plan International Cambodia has also provided more than 520 school water supply systems and over 1,000 school hand-washing stations, while also setting up basic computer education and English teaching programmes in four schools in Siem Reap.
With the anniversary celebrations held on International Day of the Girl, Plan international highlighted its girl leadership programme, with 2,591 children benefiting from it.
It said around 485 children and youth participants shared with friends their knowledge on negative gender stereotypes and how they affected girls' lives.
Seventy-five youth representatives attended meetings with commune committees for women and children and provincial women's and children's consultative committees, raising girls' rights issues, girls dropping out of school and child marriage.
And as it marked the historic milestone, Wong said Plan International remained focused on the future.
"We would like to thank the government, NGO partners, donors, local authorities, as well as beneficiaries, especially children, girls and young women, for their great support for these achievements.
"For the next five years, we aim to reach around 2.5 million girls and young women in Cambodia through our four strategic programmes and country-wide campaign," she said.
