News from Aziza's Place - June/July

Dear friends,

  As the school year comes to a close for Cambodian Public School, the resident children of Aziza's Place get ready to embark on a change in their routines and activities for the next two months. The six eldest AP residents are eagerly anticipating new challenges and responsibilities as they seek to enter into work internship programs during August and September. In preparation, these AP residents have spent the month of July pushing past their fears and building confidence after identifying their own areas of interest and beginning the process of contacting people via email or phone calls. They then visited and interviewed for opportunities when potential openings arose. With each step they have assumed a new mantle of independence vital for their personal growth, while also providing them the chance to explore learning opportunities that match their goals through the internships they enter.

  In this same vein, some of the the AP residents have been participating in specially designed life skills activities in the last few weeks, including practicing their map-reading and orientation skills around Phnom Penh. Read below for further detail.

  Other AP children participated in a unique dance performance in a group of 100 children from five NGO's in Phnom Penh. The project spanned nine weeks of rehearsals, resulting in a powerful display of contemporary dance that expressed a message of environmental awareness. See photos on the AP Facebook page.

  While the AP children are pursuing their interests during the summer break, AP Staff are also involved in enriching their knowledge base. Soy Socheat participated in a week-long intensive Management Training Course conducted by a Cambodian organisation named VBNK which specialises in providing tailored programs for Cambodian managers.

  This month we also want to thank Rafick Ramadan for his commitment to Aziza's Place as he participates in the London Triathlon on July 31 and attempts to raise funds on behalf of The Aziza Foundation. We wish him all the best as he swim's, run's and cycles extraordinary distances for a worthy cause!

Yours Gratefully,

Aziza's Place

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This month we thank you for your support:

Carmel Lewin - Thames Wharf Charity • Marcia Bockol

A Norton (Encore Icons LLC) • Craig Nethercott • Network for Good

Kathleen Reardon • Mark Lameier • Mike Brennan

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Rafick Ramadan goes the extra mile for Aziza’s Place

Aziza's Place children send their best wishes

to Raf for his entry in the London Triathlon,

July 31st. 

  The London Triathlon would be a daunting thought for most of us – but not so for Rafick Ramadan (a work colleague at Credit Agricole: London Branch - of Co-Founder Amjad Ghori) who has committed to swim 1500 meters, cycle 40 kilometers and run 10 kilometers in this competitive event on July 31st. This London Triathlon is described as the largest triathlon in the world with more than 13,000 entrants participating. Aside from the impressive task of completing such an event, Rafick has also endeavored to raise £2,000 for The Aziza Foundation. Rafick has himself been a supporter of Aziza’s Place for the past several years and wanted to do something extra this year. Now friends and supporters can show their support for Rafick’s triathlon training and for The Aziza Foundation through Raf's Just Giving website. We are very grateful to Raf's commitment to Aziza's Place and wish the best for a successful effort! Thank You Raf and Good luck!!

Six Eldest Residents Prepare for Summer Internships

Rotha heading out to pursue his interest in

Computer Technology for a two month

work internship.

  Embracing opportunity is a key value and main focus of our efforts at AP. The Cambodian public school closes from August 1st to October 1st, and we viewed this time as a great opportunity for some of our residents to gain valuable work experience through volunteer internship placements.

  Our six eldest residents have been participating in a specially tailored in-house Career Counseling program for the past several months and now have the opportunity to put what they've learned to the test. The program began with encouraging each of these older residents to embrace their natural talents and skills, and to think about how they could evolve these into their career interests. Through this process, each participant identified a career or job in which they expressed strong interest. The Career Counseling program assisted in fostering their unique passions and different areas of interest, including computer technology, the medical field, creative arts, architecture and hairdressing. In June, the eldest residents began searching for internship placements based on their particular career interest. As they were undertaking a job search for the first time, we guided them through this process.

  To assist the participants, a ‘Job Seeking Strategy’ workshop was conducted by the Attitude Centre for Education (a Phnom Penh-based local NGO) which focused on several basic skills necessary to enter the Cambodian job market: how to write and build a CV, interview skills, and how to use local Cambodian resources to search for jobs and internship placements. The AP teenagers very much enjoyed the course, and are utilizing their new skills daily in their efforts to land a summer internship. In addition, we have had many preparation sessions, one-on-one meetings, and provided them with strategic timelines and guidelines to ease the load.

  Their progress to date has been impressive. These six eldest residents have overcome their initial fears and have made great headway towards landing internships of their liking. We will continue to follow their progress and provide updates of their work and accomplishments during their two month internship period.

AP Teenagers Practice Valuable Life Skills



Venn, Cheng, Sreymach and Ny read maps

of Phnom Penh before heading out on bicycles

to find specific locations in the city. 



This month, our residents began participating in new and exciting ‘Life Skills’ activities. With summer vacation on the horizon and public school classes slowing down, we have had a great opportunity to create a variety of valuable life skills activities for the AP teenagers to participate in during their free time.

  As residents of Phnom Penh, it is extremely important for the children to understand the geography of their city and be able to navigate the main roads.    The activities thus far have been focusing on navigation and map reading skills, reading addresses and being able to locate them accordingly, and seeking the help of others when necessary. In pairs, the AP high school residents have been going on small scavenger hunts around Phnom Penh, looking for specific locations provided to them and answering questions based on the location they have been sent to.

  However the streets and signage in Phnom Penh can often be difficult to follow, thus providing them with a challenging yet rewarding task. Finding an exact location sometimes requires that the children ask others (shop owners, motodop drivers, pedestrians, etc) for help in pinpointing the place they are looking for. As the AP teenagers have discovered, this is a skill in itself, as being able to reach out for help and use people as a resource is often crucial in achieving success.

  The AP residents have enjoyed the activities and often return to Aziza’s Place with smiles and stories. We look forward to continuing these important activities and developing their skills further.



Be Prepared: International SOS Staff Teach Basic First Aid Training at Aziza's Place



Senior Nurse Theavy teaching Sreythy the

art of bandaging a severe bleeding wound.  

Sreythy then practiced on Bopha as her patient. 

 An exciting event took place in June thanks to the initiative of volunteer Elodie Douillard-Potet who has been researching and arranging extra learning opportunities for the Aziza’s Place children and staff. Elodie connected with staff from the International SOS Phnom Penh Medical Clinic and arranged a half-day basic first-aid training course for everyone at Aziza’s Place. The workshop was an interactive afternoon of learning as the children and staff all absorbed vital skills to prepare them for unexpected emergency situations.

  The workshop was arranged by International SOS staff Sotheavy Sok, Ed Creagan, Aine Flanagan and Gareth Bright. Senior Nurse Theavy and Paramedic Ed led the training session with demonstrations and activities for the children also to take part in. They introduced:

• techniques and methods for responding to situations of danger; 
• a step-by-step process to follow if someone is choking – including strong back slaps to dislodge the airway obstruction, the Heimlich Maneuver if choking is serious, chest compressions, placing the patient into the recovery position;
• the appropriate response for a person with serious bleeding;
• and the response for a person with broken or fractured bones.

  The workshop presented a lot of information which was all taught in an interactive manner that enabled the children to get involved and grasp important practical skills. Upon completion of the workshop the children and staff were all presented with certificates to congratulate them on their new knowledge. See photos on the Aziza's Place facebook page. The children were also delighted to share this knowledge with their parents and siblings during the Aziza’s Place June Family Night that soon followed the workshop activity.

  Many thanks to the staff of International SOS Phnom Penh Medical Clinic for taking the time to arrange and develop the first-aid training for the Aziza’s Place children and staff. Everyone enjoyed the activity and came away with invaluable skills and knowledge.

AP Director Soy Socheat Steps Up for VBNK Management Training

AP Director of Programs, Soy Socheat, with

Sengkry, Roth and Theara. 

Staff training is an important focus for Aziza’s Place as a means of developing the capacity of individual staff members and in turn, developing the organization itself. This month Aziza’s Place Director of Programs, Soy Socheat, attended a Management Course run by VBNK – a local organization focused on improving the effectiveness and quality of development practice and management in the social development sector in Cambodia. To do this VBNK offers management and leadership development training courses, facilitation, coaching and consultancy for local and international organizations working within this sector.

Socheat participated in VBNK’s five-day management workshop, ‘Managing Your People’, which provides managers with effective Human Resource Management tools so they can improve the performance of their organization. The topics the course covered included:

• Dynamic roles and competencies of managers
• How to work effectively with different views of people in the workplace
• Methods of delegation and staff motivation
• Building teams through effective communication
• Individual and organizational learning
• Implementing effective appraisal and evaluation systems for staff

Previously Socheat has had little formal training in the field of Management and so he was eager to enhance his capabilities with outside support from specialists. He said the training taught him valuable tools and processes that can make a difference to the effectiveness of the organization as a whole. He said he enjoyed hearing about ways for staff to be motivated, for goal-setting and evaluation, for effective relationship-building and communication from a management perspective, and for staff to build their skills within the workplace and develop as individuals, making for an environment of growth and learning. He came away with a multitude of new perspectives and insights which he was excited to absorb and now implement within his Director role at Aziza’s Place.

How to Help Aziza's Place - Support • Volunteer • Connect

Are you interested in supporting the children and programs of Aziza's Place? We invite you to become a part of our growing global community by donating, volunteering, or simply connecting us to your network of friends and family.

Click here to make a donation via PayPal. For donations over $400, please click here for wire transfer information. U.S. donors receive a tax credit receipt for your contribution. UK donors may elect the Gift Aid option so the tax-gross up is received by the charity. If you are a perspective volunteer, please take a look at our volunteer needs on idealist.org, or simply contact us.

Thank you for supporting the children and families of Aziza's Place.