Center for Children’s Happiness

Opening Ceremony for CCH II Facility

Special Events

 On August 19, 2006, CCH had the opening ceremony of the new CCH II facility, which is located within walking and biking distance from CCH I. The two story CCH II facility has the capacity to house about 25 children, and also has large downstairs areas for vocational skill training. The building was funded by Japan Team of Young Human Power (JHP), the Japanese NGO which has supported CCH since its inception in 2002. About 50 Japanese students were on hand for the ceremony, plus representatives from the Japanese embassy in Phnom Penh. Ms. Osanai Mieko, Sokha’s godmother, and a member of JHP, was present at the event as well.  

 The boys formerly living at the CCH I facility have now moved in to CCH II, leaving CCH I to the girls there. CCH I will continue to serve meals to all children at CCH I and II, and be the site for the general education programs. CCH II now houses all the sewing operations that were previously at CCH I. Sewing teacher Seang Heang works at CCH II during the days, teaching girls sewing skills, and making items such a purses for sale. Computers formerly located in the dorm rooms at CCH I are now at CCH II, providing students with opportunities for training in Microsoft Office and Adobe Photoshop .  

Education News

CCH student Un Narun is now studying in 10 th grade student at United World College in Singapore. He is doing well, busy taking in a whole new world.  

 The Charity Factory Foundation (http://www.charityfactory.org), an NGO from the Netherlands, is now partnering with CCH to provide job training and experience for some CCH children. Teenagers will receive about $1.50 per hour for 5 hours of work at a CFF shop. The idea is to give these older children some work experience and some income as well. Hout Ravuth, a youth living at CCH II, will earn income by providing motorbike transportation for students to and from work. Ravuth’s income will also be underwritten by Charity Factory Foundation.  

Youth Leadership

Following up on July’s activities, on Saturday, August 26, children from CCH made a special trip to the CDCC campus to read stories to the children there. The CCH children read the picture books in English first, then retell the stories to the CDCC children in Khmer, while showing them the pictures. 

Child Health and Welfare

 CCH/CDCC has formed a partnership with English audiologist Glyn Vaughn, a Phnom Penh resident from the UK, who runs a clinic called “All Ears Cambodia,” devoted to diagnosing and treating problems related to hearing. All Ears Cambodia checked the hearing of all children at CDCC on August 23. Three children will make special visits to Glyn’s clinic on September 6, and he will return to CDCC on September 9. A similar visit to CCH I & II is anticipated in the future. The connection between CCH and All Ears Cambodia was arranged by Mr. Marc Gold of 100 Friends Project in the United States.

Phalla Sokkea, a girl living at CDCC, recently underwent a successful heart surgery in Phnom Penh. The doctors expect that Sokkea will be able to return home to CDCC very soon.

Amazingly, only about 10% of CCH and CDCC children have valid birth certificates. CCH will be cooperating with Cambodian authorities over the next nine months to try to create valid birth certificates for all the children at CCH and CDCC who need them.   

Volunteers and Visitors

Six volunteers from United World College have arrived at CCH as of September 1. They are high school graduates who will be spending up to six months volunteering at CCH and CDCC before turning their attention toward further formal education.

Tom from Belgium visited CCH during August, and has kindly purchased six bicycles for use by students shuttling back and forth between CCH I and CCH II.

Finances and Administration

 JHP ( Japan Team of Young Human Power) has said it will attempt to raise $100,000 in 2009 and 2010 to initiate the CCH Foundation. The intention of the CCH Foundation will be to provide scholarship money for CCH children who need financial help to pursue advanced levels of education.. The principle will remain in the foundation, and the income from the principle will be used toward scholarships.

Special Projects

 CCH I has had problems with its electricity supply. Cambodia does not have a system of public easements for utilities, so it is often necessary to pay adjacent property owners for rights to run an electrical line, and the results are frequent outages. Sokha is now in the process of submitting a proposal to local authorities to obtain a direct connection to publicly supplied electric service. For the time being, CCH II will need to function with privately supplied electricity.

 CCH I is fortunate to have a publicly supplied water source. CCH II does not. Therefore, water is trucked from CCH I to CCH II on a regular basis, and pumped into a water tower on site, so that CCH II can have running water.

 A few hundred meters of the access road to CCH II is virtually impassible during the rainy season, so a crushed rock and brick road is being installed to improve access.

Construction of the business building at CCH I continues. The first two floors are expected to be completed by the end of October. Thereafter, two CCH businesses can be initiated on the ground floor (which will face the street and be blocked off from the residential area of CCH I). The floor above will house Sokha and his family.

Major health and safety construction is underway at CDCC. A sewer connection is nearly complete, mosquito screening is being installed for dorm rooms, and a new roof is being built for the second story wooden structure. Phanith, who is also the faithful driver for CCH and CDCC, and a great role model for the children, has taken on supervision of the CDCC construction projects, in consultation with Sokha.   

Special Events and Projects for the Coming Month

 Construction projects will continue at CCH I and CDCC.

 UWC volunteers will get settled into a routine at CCH and CDCC.

 The birth certificate project will begin.

 Enrollment of all CCH and CDCC children in Cambodian public schools will begin in September. The children return to school in October. Staff will need to prepare all the materials needed for school for all of the children, including uniforms, school supplies, bags, and bicycles.

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