Community Outreach Program Begins New Income-Generating Venture with Family of AP resident

This AP family will see the benefits of a new

income-generating project.

As discussed in previous issues of Courtyard newsletters, AP’s community outreach initiative involves working with the families of our resident children to help them pursue opportunities and connect them with resources that will improve their quality of life.  Program Coordinator Yi Makara and Intern Mick Johns have been strengthening the relationships with our families by maintaining regular and open communication, working with individual families to establish goals and to find avenues for making positive changes to their living situations.

This month an initiative suggested by one of the families has evolved into an entrepreneurial venture that could also be emulated in other areas.  After seeing a neighbour using a sewing machine as a means of creating an income, one of our families asked AP whether it was possible for them to secure a sewing machine for themselves.  Makara and Mick worked together with the family to investigate the feasibility of the sewing venture and were excited to see the many positive attributes and possibilities it could engender.  The concept itself was very simple: a local seller making regular visits to Steung Meanchey delivering pre-cut fabric then commissions the garments to be sewn together (using the sewing machine) and then returns to collect the completed products at a pre-determined price.  This simple enterprise resulted in the seamstress receiving approximately 15-20cents per sewn garment, which then could translate to incremental weekly revenue of at least $20 for the seamstress which is a significant supplement to the family's meagre income earned by picking trash from the dumpsite.  

In order to facilitate and support this project, AP has agreed to purchase the sewing machine to be used by the family to begin their venture and effectively lease the machine to the seamstress and her family (for a minimal lease payment) for an initial six-month period.  After the six months, the family will make the evaluation whether they would like to buy the sewing machine outright from AP, or continue leasing the machine, or return the machine and replace it with an upgraded one.  If the family chooses to return the original machine, AP will then lease it out to another family on similar terms and conditions. We look forward to beginning what we hope is the first of many creative initiatives that support business ventures of the families of our AP residents without the risk of an unfair debt burden on the family.  

Child Savings Plan Kicks Off With Banking Orientation

Mr. Mony, a representative from AMK Bank gives a

presentation on banking and savings to the children

A representative from Angkor Mikroheranhvatho Kampuchea bank (AMK) came to Aziza's Place and provided an orientation on banking and savings to the resident children and staff. Aziza's Place and AMK are working together to develop a child savings program, an idea proposed by AP Intern Michael Johns. The public school system in Michael's native country of Australia offered a child savings plan to students and he grew up understanding the importance of saving. While researching Micro-finance Institutions in Cambodia, Michael realized that his childhood experience of building up savings would be a positive concept to translate to the residents of AP. Currently no other child savings plans exist in Cambodia.

     AP residents receive a small weekly allowance and although their savings would initially be rather small, establishing their bank accounts will set the stage for understanding the concept of saving for their future. As the culture in Cambodia tends to be skeptical of banking, AMK and AP are working to create a foundation of trust in banking institutions. Each child will open their own account in the coming weeks and Aziza's Place will be the co-signatory for the accounts. The children will not have the ability to withdraw money until they are 18 years of age. Furthermore, AP intends to create an incentive program for the children to save throughout the year by matching a percentage of their annual savings. When residents graduate from Aziza's Place they will have a small amount of money saved up for their future and have an understanding of the importance of saving for the rest of their lives.

     Michael began researching Micro-finance Institutions in order to create a partnership for the Community Outreach program before realizing it would be a great opportunity for the AP residents. His research identified AMK's operations as one of the most notable and believed the bank to be critical to the micro-finance industry in Cambodia. In the future AP will work to teach the families in the Community Outreach program about banking and savings and use the child savings scheme as a model to for children to incentivize their families to begin saving as well.