Cambodia

Focusing on Cambodia...

Facts about Cambodia:

Capital: Phnom Penh

Currency: Cambodian Riel

King: Norodom Sihamoni

Official Language: Khmer Language

Cambodia, officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia  and once known as the Khmer Empire, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. Its total landmass is 181,035 square kilometres (69,898 sq mi), bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the northeast, Vietnam to the east, and the Gulf of Thailand to the southwest.

With a population of over 14.8 million, Cambodia is the 69th most populous country in the world. The official religion is Theravada Buddhism, which is practiced by approximately 95% of the Cambodian population. The country's minority groups include Vietnamese, Chinese, Chams, and 30 hill tribes. The capital and largest city is Phnom Penh, the political, economic, and cultural center of Cambodia. The kingdom is a constitutional monarchy with Norodom Sihamoni, a monarch chosen by the Royal Throne Council, as head of state. The head of government is Hun Sen, who is currently the longest serving non-royal leader in South East Asia and has ruled Cambodia for over 25 years.

Cambodia's ancient name is "Kambuja" (Sanskrit: कंबुज). In 802 AD, Jayavarman II declared himself king marking the beginning of the Khmer Empire which flourished for over 600 years allowing successive kings to dominate much of Southeast Asia and accumulate immense power and wealth. The Indianized kingdom built monumental temples including Angkor Wat, now a World Heritage Site, and facilitated the spread of firstHinduism, then Buddhism to much of Southeast Asia. After the fall of Angkor to Ayutthaya in the 15th century, Cambodia was then ruled as a vassal between its neighbors.

Cambodia became a protectorate of France in 1863, and later gained independence in 1953.

The Vietnam War extended into Cambodia, during which the Khmer Rouge took Phnom Penh in 1975 and later carried out the Cambodian Genocide from 1975-1979 when they were ousted by Vietnam and then fought against the Vietnamese backed People's Republic of Kampuchea in the Cambodian–Vietnamese War (1979-1991). Following the 1991 Paris Peace Accords Cambodia was governed briefly by a United Nations mission(1992-1993). The UN withdrew after holding elections in which around 90% of the registered voters cast ballots. The 1997 coup placed power solely in the hands of Prime Minister Hun Sen and the Cambodian People's Party who remain in power as of 2013.

Cambodia is a "vaguely communist free-market state with a relatively authoritarian coalition ruling over a superficial democracy." Cambodia still faces numerous challenges and sociopolitical issues that stunt its development as a nation. In 2013, Cambodia scored a 20 out of a scale of a 100 (highly clean) to 0 (highly corrupt) on the 2013 Corruption Perceptions Index, which also ranked the nation as the a ranking of 160 out of 175 nations (tied with other nations) making the nation one of the most corrupt in the world and Cambodia is the 2nd most corrupt nation in Asia with North Korea being the 1st. According to Freedom House in their 2013 report Cambodia scored a 5.5 out of a scale of 1 (Free) to 7 (Not Free) indicating ^[13] As of 2013, the Human Development Index (HDI) ranks Cambodia 138th place (tied withLaos) making the nation one of the lowest ranking in terms of human development and that it indicates that Cambodia has lower medium to low development presently. Cambodia is a low income economy with it having one of the lowest annual incomes in the world with the agriculture sector dominating the country's economy, followed by the service and industrial sectors. According to the Global Hunger Index, Cambodia currently ranks as the 32nd hungriest nation in the world out of the list of the 56 nations with the worst hunger situation(s) in the world.

Cambodia has had one of the best economic records in Asia, with economic growth averaging 6 percent for the last 10 years. Strong textiles, agriculture, construction, garments, and tourism sectors led to foreign investments and international trade. Oil and natural gas deposits found beneath Cambodia's territorial waters in 2005 remain mostly untapped, due in part to territorial disputes with ASEAN countries, Cambodia ranked last in terms of quality of life in ASEAN.

Thailand. However, Cambodia is one of the poorest countries in the world with two million people living in poverty, endemic government corruption and a poor record on human rights. One third of the population live on less than a dollar a day. Forty per cent of children are chronically malnourished. Among the ten

For more information on Cambodia read http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambodia

ADRA Cambodia:

The Adventist Development and Relief Agency's involvement in Cambodia started in the 60’s, known then as SAWS (Seventh-day Adventist World Service). ADRA has been actively working in Cambodia since 1988. Today in 2014, ADRA is working with rural poor and at risk populations. Ninety-nine nationals and three expatriate/volunteers work in four privinces in central and northern Cambodia: Kompong Thom, Preah Vihear, Pursat and Siem Reap.

ADRA Cambodia is located in Phnom Penh

Projects:
Examples of some projects:

Agriculture Livelihood Improvements through
Village Empowerment (ALIVE)
01 July 2011 to 30 June 2014 *Bakan district, Pursat Province
* Primary beneficiaries: 2,400 community members
* Secondary beneficiaries: 3,600 community members
* Budget: $462,800Donor/s: AusAID, ADRA Australia and Community Contributions

The Agriculture Livelihood Improvements through Village Empowerment (ALIVE) project targets 22 underserved communities from 156 villages of Bakan district. Working through 138 community volunteers, it works in a holistic manner emphasizing the need for local ownership and self initiation in the change process. It allows households, especially women, to better assess current agriculture and livelihood practices, new appropriate technologies and opportunities and be able to act on identified areas of potential improvement. As agriculture is the backbone of the rural target communities, ALIVE builds on this base of knowledge in rice, vegetable and fruit, animal production and other rural livelihoods and gives households the opportunity to make improvements and changes that will result in increased value of products and incomes in a sustainable manner. A particular emphasis will be placed on increasing the positive contributions of women in family livelihood choices and production.

ALIVE facilitates community members to identify, share and make the choice to seek out new skills and behavior practices using an adaptation of the REFLECT methodology¹ with inclusion of development principles and techniques from the Participatory Extension Approach². Community groups, facilitated by trained community partners, share locally successful solutions, identify opportunities and mobilize themselves to seek additional external technical assistance. Women's groups meet on a weekly basis and men's groups meet once or twice per month. Joint sessions are facilitated when making plans for external training to ensure that the appropriate household members will be involved for sustainable action. Regular group sessions continue after techical training to maximize solidification of skills and learning from results, especially by those not attending the main training sessions to develop village-wide skills.

Where 90% of the population is rural farming households, agriculture and livelihood technical 

training is facilitated by ALIVE staff and local government partners. Training options include Rice Improvement Program techniques including improved field leveling and fertilization, improved rice seed management, younger seedlings etc.. Particular opportunities to expand/improve second-dry season rice crop production are promoted and supported since local management and usage has been chronically poor even after there has been increased irrigation construction in some areas. Farmer cross learning is improving methods of post-harvest storage and marketing to maximize incomes.

Capacity building in vegetable and fruit production techniques assists households to gain skills on improved soil preparation, seed/seedling selection, and appropriate usage of organic and chemical fertilizers, pest management and moisture control. Discussions also lead to improve market planning and access to better information. ALIVE is training local Farmer Business Advisors who work with farmers in their network to better plan and meet market demand for increased sales and value of products. Additional water access is supported based on needs identified during implementation through wells and ponds.

Training of interested HH in animal raising is leading to increased skills in cattle husbandry, chicken    

raising, fish or other livestock. Improved methods and linkages to the local Village Animal Health Workers and marketing services lead to reduced illness and death, higher sale values and improved marketing linkages.

Identification of other livelihood skills by Reflect Circle members leads to custom training where possible such as food production, sewing, local handicrafts construction techniques etc. to supplement agriculture production incomes and reduce migration. Ongoing group activities promotes broader knowledge for members, particularly women, in each of these key agriculture areas and will address household decision making practices. Planning, financial management and marketing is learned with cross visits to successful model farmers and businesses arranged. Women’s vocational literacy and numeracy skills are built to provide long term access to information and improved record keeping and additional community driven economic based initiatives will also be supported.

To know more about ADRA Cambodia read http://www.adracambodia.org/index.html