Not too far from the PSE headquarters in Phnom Penh, about 15 minutes by car, is one of the NGO’s community service centres, located in the Phum Rumsey neighbourhood. This is one of PSE’s oldest schools and continuity programmes, marking a special place in the heart of this NGO. Phum Russey works as a kindergarten during the year, reflecting its youthful and fun energy. The walls are brightly coloured and the space small but spacious enough; Phum Russey is a charming little gem.
A neighbourhood centre
Almost four hundred children can come to this PSE centre every day, in two shifts: in the morning and in the afternoon. Waiting with open arms are twenty monitors, half European and half Khmer, plus two Khmer coordinators and one Khmer volunteer, who also happens to be a PSE resident student.
Kunthea, the Khmer coordinator, is a great support for Fonsi, the European coordinator: “At just 20 years old, she is strict with the children who need more discipline, but at the same time very loving with them.” Even so, as a veteran of the summer programme, he admits that the Phum Rumsey centre is one of the easiest to organise. Its very open, square plan means that all areas can be peaked into at a glance, even the roofed classrooms.
“At just 20, she is strict with the children who need more discipline, but at the same time very loving with them,” Fonsi, European coordinator, describing Kunthea.
The Phum Russey team also gets creative with the little helpers they call “tik-tik monitors”: children who are a little older than the others and who volunteer to watch over the youngest children.
“What’s harder for us as monitors is to meet new children every week”, Fonsi
From the very beginning, children from the neighbourhood and the surrounding areas arrive on foot, by bicycle or by PSE bus. “What’s harder for us as monitors is to meet new kids every week,” says Fonsi. Because this centre usually exchanges children with the PSE headquarters, many of them only attend Phum Rumsey for a week, something hard to deal with when it takes that exact time to start getting attached to the kids! Social workers are in charge of the children’s rotations and drawing up the lists of those who come every week.
Learning by playing
Like in all PSE centres, Phum Rumsey is full of activities! There are six groups in total, and the first one is made up of the youngest children. Here they participate, like the rest, in rotations, but monitors need a lot of imagination to adapt the games. When it comes down to physical exercise, however, one little boy wins every competition, Ayea. You can catch his friends glancing over, envying his impressive moves. All the monitors know him, especially the Khmers, who cannot hide their fondness for him.
“When it comes to physical exercise, there is one little boy who wins over many older children. His name is Ayea and his physical power is envied by many, even those older than him”, Fonsi
The dental and medical team pass by every PSE camp and do fun games surrounding personal and food hygiene. They also inform the kids on addiction to drugs such as tobacco or alcohol, which affects a high percentage of the Cambodian adult population.
Little striking stories
Among the children who attend the Phum Russey programme, there is one around the age of ten holding a little baby. Fonsi tells his story: “His name is Rothy and he always carries his brother. It’s impossible to separate the two, because the little boy will cry his eyes out if we do. The dependency is absolute due to their family situation.
Rothy, 9, walks with his brother in his arms for an hour to spend the day at the PSE centre
Rothy is forced to take the fraternal relationship to the point where he is unable to relate to other children in a natural way. Still, he walks with his brother in his arms for an hour so that he can spend the day at the PSE centre where he knows he’ll be surrounded by the joy and affection of the monitors and of other children. A comfort he doesn’t get at home.
As Laura, one of Phum Russey’s monitors, points out, “any small gesture on our part is matched by a big smile from the children; they hardly ask for anything in return.”
The sponsor
This sub programme is possible thanks to the financial aid from our sponsor, Banco Santander. PSE is very grateful for their support.
A day at the camp
