PSE’s Summer Program has no less than 18 different projects and each one has its own place, history and specificities. In Phnom Penh, 14 kilometers away from Central, deeply hidden in the suburbs there is a very new colorful gem called Sen Sok.
Sen Sok turns into a magical and colorful playground for the village’s kids in August
Sen Sok is actually the name of this northern district of Phnom Penh where the so-called paillote is located. This Community Services Center exists for 5 years now – created to meet local people demand – and has just been moved two streets further away this year. Day-care center throughout the year, Sen Sok turns into a magical and colorful playground for the village’s kids in August. To do so, monitors benefit from the help of the teacher and the Center’s employees: they know the kids, their families and help them settling everything down to make the program a success.
The district is one of the poorest of Phnom Penh, which makes it a difficult place for the kids to grow up. “The presence of PSE helps gathering children, makes them stay in one place where they can get education and protection. It prevents them to go anywhere outside where they could do other activities harming them” explains the teacher Vann from Sen Sok Center. Kong Kimchhoung, one of the 9 Khmer monitors confirms: “I think this camp is very helpful for the children, to give them happiness and avoid them to have any problem outside”. “Currently, the number of children coming is increasing and their parents start to understand more about PSE, its education and caretaking purpose. However, some parents are still not fully cooperating with us, so we invite them to discuss over some points.”, adds the teacher.
To come here, every morning European and Khmer monitors jump in a pick up that drop them off 45 minutes later in front of Sen Sok’s gate, where dozens of kids are already waiting for them, welcoming the monitors with their biggest smiles ready to dance and have their showers.
Every day starts with a shower: all the kemey kemey (children) form two lines, one for the boys and one for the girls. They get changed, roll themselves in some kramas (traditional cambodian scarves) and get showered by the monitors. The kids here are really compliant and the shower time is never a problem: soap, shampoo, teeth brushing, everything goes smoothly. In the meantime, the rice for the breakfast is cooked, allowing everyone to eat once the showers are done. In this paillote, the different tasks like cooking, cleaning the kramas, preparing the showers and so on, are done both by Sen Sok’s staff and two monitors who are called to be “Service Team” for a day. Miguel, monitor for the 3rd time explains that the local Khmer people are doing most of the work, and without their help the program could not work as well as it does.
“It takes very little to make them happy. I mean, it takes very little but a lot of love”
According to the teacher, Sen Sok’s kids are especially polite and listening to what they are told, a thought which Marta, the coordinator the program, agrees with: “The kids are really nice and educated. If you say “chuchua” – “get in lines” they make chuchua really quickly ! This used to be completely different. I don’t know what changed but they are really easy-going”. Getting along with the kids might be hard for the European monitors as they don’t speak Khmer, however it always end up working somehow.
“With the kids, it’s just so simple. You only need to smile to them, to make them dance and everything’s fine. It takes very little to make them happy. I mean, it takes very little but a lot of love” explains Alyette, 1st year European monitor.
In the middle of Sen Sok’s courtyard, under its green veils, there’s a big, colorful playground where the kids cannot stop playing. Jumping, climbing, sliding, hanging on: there’s always something to do on these multi-coloured stairs and slides. Later, it is in front of this playground that the kids will assist to the flag ceremony before they get splitted in different activities that the monitors prepared for them.
Here, everyone is just as one big family, dancing all together.
“Sen Sok is a really small paillote in term of available rooms, so we are all the time together and very close to each other. We also really have to make the most out of the room available and we have to organize activities that fits in the space we have.” explains Santi, 3rd year European monitor.
Indeed, the Community Services Center is quite small to welcome the more than 150 children coming every day. Although there is one shift during the lunch – so that the children who go to school in the morning can also benefit from the summer program – most of the kids stay the whole day. According to the 18 monitors, the smallness of the paillote creates a very warm atmosphere, makes them get really close to each other – monitors and kids, and anyone who enters the Center would have the same feeling: here, everyone is just as one big family, dancing all together.
Yeurn Samnang, one of the children benefiting from the program says: “It is very joyful to come here. I can play a lot of fun activities, and have delicious food and a shower. They take care of me very well and always tell me to play. So I’m tired but happy. If I am not here I get bored at home”.
Every day this summer Marta and Chantou – the coordinators of the program – are mobilizing their imagination, organization and leaderships skills to make this program better that it has ever been and make the children give their best smiles.
Located in one of the poorest neighborhood of Phnom Penh, Sen Sok in August is just one colored and joyful gem, filled with laughter, games and music where the orange T-shirts of the monitors and the smiles of the latter are synonyms of happiness.
A huge thanks to Sam, Khmer student in political sciences, who will work with the communication team during the Summer Program, to help them exchange with the children and the Khmer monitors.
PSE would like to thank McKinsey & Company for their economic support to this project.
