Mama’s Kitchen in Shanty Town

 Mama's Kitchen is a project born in response to the global pandemic Covid-19 with a mission to deliver plant-based nutritious food to the most vulnerable in our society. They believe that no one should ever go hungry, be it humans or animals.

Shanty Town Spirit Association is very grateful to Mama’s Kitchen for their food deliveries they were able to organise for the families in the Community in Boeung Trabek.   They were able to provide 150 nutritious delicious vegan lunches to the most vulnerable people - children, elderly and disabled - in the slums.

Mrs Yulia Khouri, the head of this new Program of Mama’s Kitchen is really trying her best to provide food to the poorest.

Clearly there is huge need of nutrition in the large impoverished pockets of this city. Yulia can be very proud of her fantastic & very hardworking team she has, and she is very happy to be able to support manies communities in need. . 

Mama’s Kitchen, at the beginning of the Corona Virus, came three times a week to deliver those meals, but now the situation is getting better in our community, it turns to be one time a week, because the Association wants to help other poor people. 

People in the Shanty Town are waiting for those meals, distribution is made every Monday  , the beneficiaries of this programme are coming with a provided ticket.

At first, the target are children, elderly, and families who lost their job.

They are very excited, waiting for the Association to come.

Mama’s Kitchen and Shanty Town have a very good communication, turning around the slums after the distribution and planning the next distribution.

Everything is going very well.

Thank you to all the team of   Mama's Kitchen for your support during this difficult time.

The courageous and sweet children of Light of Mercy !

We paid a visit to the Light of Mercy Home, which Shanty Town Spirit is used and very pleased to often collaborate with ! 

The Light of Mercy Home (LMH) provides children with disabilities a home and center where they can attend school and live together with other children who have similar challenges. LHM not only supports them to receive formal education, but also provides other extracurricular activities such as extra classes to learn music, dancing, computer skills and simple craft skills. Through the care and activities provided, LMH aims to prepare them to lead an independent life. The center is held by generous and kind Sister Marie-Adelphe.

All the children were very excited to see us, especially since we came with presents for Light of Mercy: indeed, we brought them 120kg of rice and other multiple food basic supplies, such as oil, spices, sugar and all sorts of sauces ! 

Some of the kids then explained us the functioning of their aquaponic garden, which was installed last year by Koyaproject and with the help of Shanty Town Spirit ! Three disabled young adults were trained to take care of the garden and to teach the functioning of it as well. Those young adults have developed, because of their disability, very particular and useful skills, such as crafting various objects with wood, or fixing the plumbing for example. 

                                      

After that, some of the kids offered to make us visit the center: they showed us around the dormitories, the music classrooms, the khmer music classrooms and the computer room. 

And in the end, some volunteers were even taught by the kids to say their names in sign language ! It was such a funny and heartwarming moment ! 

Every child, however their mental or physical condition, deserves to express themselves as they want or to be active and useful to society. For example, one of the blind young adults now works in a “Dine in the dark” restaurant and is very happy to be able to have a job ! We congratulate him and all the other children of Light of Mercy for their courage and determination ! 

                                                   One Spirit, One Heart, One Community                                      

                   You can help us by sponsoring the Shanty Town Spirit program:

      Click on Make a difference

                             OR contact  Ermine Norodom: +855 (0) 17 49 27 19 (French and English)

                 norodomermine@gmail.com

                                     Phirun Prak (Arun): +855 (0) 96 663 6666 (English and Khmer)

                    arun.aenorodom@gmail.com

                 words by Matthieu Membrez

Nice association gathering for a long-lasting partnership !

We had the chance to be invited by Flame to visit a new project of theirs: a youth center that they were able to build thanks to very generous donors in one of the poor communities of Phnom Penh. They are also paying the teacher themselves for a period of three years. 

The action of Flame is based on the idea of “The Full Circle”, which represents the process of a child from slums becoming a young leader: “The kids you help emerge as confident leaders in their communities, inspiring others in education, service and leadership.” (https://www.flamecambodia.org/our-mission ). Flame is an association that Shanty Town Spirit is used and very pleased to collaborate with. 

The center we visited is a day-center where the kids of the community mainly come to learn khmer basis. They can also be helped with some school homework and receive support if they have issues with their families.

We came with presents for the kids: each of them would get a pencil-case full of school supplies ! We also had a limited number of backpacks that the children would get if they won little games. 

They therefore played various little games in front of us ! They were all very happy to have some unusual company that morning ! 

At the end of the class, they all went back home in a special tuk-tuk set up by Flame for them ! 

Seeing those kids happily and safely gathering in this environment is such a heartwarming feeling. It is thanks to the generosity of the donors and the hard work of the volunteers of Flame that such things can happen. Thank you to Flame for their trust ! 

                                                        One Spirit, One Heart, One Community                                      

                              You can help us by sponsoring the Shanty Town Spirit program:

                                                        Click on Make a difference

                             OR contact  Ermine Norodom: +855 (0) 17 49 27 19 (French and English)

                                                       norodomermine@gmail.com

                                   Phirun Prak (Arun): +855 (0) 96 663 6666 (English and Khmer)

                                                          arun.aenorodom@gmail.com

                                                          words by Matthieu Membrez

PHNOM FEM FESTIVAL

We are proud to announce and be part of the first Feminist Arts Festival, Phnom Fem Fest (PFF), the brainchild of a group of local and expat women. 

The festival aims to celebrate and empower women in Cambodia and create positive discourse on women’s rights and gender equality in the kingdom.

The festival will take place over three days at Chinese House. 

Phnom Fem Festival will open on Friday 15th February with a Phnom Penh Players production of the award-winning play by Eve Ensler, 'The Vagina Monologues'. 

For the first time, two monologues have been translated to Khmer and will be performed by local actors.

The main event, the arts festival will take place all day in Chinese House on Saturday 16th, showcasing feminist storytelling, spoken word, workshops, live painting, music, dance, art exhibition & theatre.  

On Sunday 17th the festival will have their closing party and one final production of Vagina Monologues. 

So feel free to come and join us for this Festival.

Get your ticket via PiPay and your vip tickets via Ms Shauna or Ms Lea.

If you have any question, you can send email to :

PHNOMFEMFEST@GMAIL.COM OR

MD@LINX-INTERNATIONAL.COM

OR contact directly the organisators of this event :

MS. SHAUNA, EVENT DIRECTOR  0313871444 

MS.LEA, PARTNER 086945 154

Shanty Town Spirit Team...

PHNON FEM FESTIVAL

(Festival des femmes de Phnom Penh)

15 au 17 février 

Créée par un groupe femmes expatriées, ce festival introduit au Cambodge pour la première fois, le mouvement d’Art Féministe.

Ce festival a pour but de souligner et de mettre en avant le pouvoir des femmes au Cambodge et plus particulièrement souligner les droits des femmes et leur égalité au Cambodge.

Il se tiendra à la « Chinese House », sur Phnom Penh, du 15 au 17 février, et se déroulera sur trois jours, avec trois types d’activité liées à l’art.

Le vendredi 15 février ouvrira ce festival avec la pièce de théâtre, pour la première fois traduit en khmer, mise en scène par Eve Ensler, qui a reçu un prix pour la pièce « the Vagina Monologue » (le monologue du Vagin).

Cette pièce sera donc tournée autour de ce thème et jouée par des acteurs locaux.

Le second jour, Samedi 16 février, qui sera la journée principale, aura lieu toute la journée, et proposera diverses activités, autour de la femme, des ateliers, de la peinture, de la musique, danse et exposition d’art.

Le dimanche 17 février clôtura ce festival par une seconde production de la pièce de théâtre « the Vagina Monologue ».

N’hésitez donc pas à venir, et profitez de ce festival.

Pour toute information supplémentaire vous pouvez contacter par mail :

PHNOMFEMFEST@GMAIL.COM

Où

MD@LINX-INTERNATIONAL.COM

Ou encore directement les organisateurs de cet événement :

MS. SHAUNA, Directrice de l’événement :  0313871444 

MS.LEA, Partenaire : 086945 154

Shanty Town Spirit Team...

Srey Nett touche à sa réalité

Srey Nett touche à sa réalité

Srey Nett et Ermine 

Srey Nett est une jeune fille de 18 ans, qui fait partie du programme de Shanty Town Spirit depuis 8 ans. 

Elle fait partie de la communauté de Boeung Trabek avec ses parents et ses 4 frères.

Comme de nombreux enfants, elle collectait les poubelles afin de gagner un peu d’argent.

Son père, avant était moto dop, maintenant il est conducteur de tuk tuk, sa mère a travaillée pendant 7 ans, mais désormais, elle peut rester à la maison pour cuisiner et s’occuper de la famille, car sur ses 4 fils, 2 travaillent. Les deux plus petits frères sont Ron et Rath et vont à l’école, ils sont inclus dans le programme de Shanty Town Spirit.

La famille de Sret Nett 

Lorsque Srey Nett a commencé l’école, elle avait d’excellents résultats, elle voulait devenir médecin ; mais au fur et à mesure qu’elle s’apercevait que le chemin était long et difficile, ses résultats scolaires devenaient de plus en plus mauvais.

Elle a été totalement découragée par le parcours.

Shanty Town Spirit étant toujours derrière « ses » enfants, à profiter de l’invitation au forum de l’Université de Puthisastra (UP) le 28 et 29 juin 2018 pour amener Srey Nett et l’aider à identifier la carrière qu’elle veut avoir.

Pendant toute la matinée, elle a ainsi pu participer au cours et ateliers de présentation dans les domaines tels que :

-       Dentisterie,

-       Infirmière en laboratoire,

-       Pharmacienne,

-       Infirmière en médecine,

Elle a également visité la bibliothèque ; les salles de médecine, le laboratoire de simulation dentaire.

La bibliotheque 

Labo en pharmacie

Srey Nett, Ermine et 2 étudiantes en médecine 

Tout cela l’a beaucoup intéressée, elle est très enthousiaste à l’idée de rejoindre l’université.

Il lui reste trois années encore, pour améliorer ses résultats et avoir un dossier présentable pour pouvoir entrer à l’université.

Shanty Town Spirit va participer aux frais pour les cours privés d’anglais. 

Elle doit avoir d’excellents résultats en maths, physique, chimie et anglais.

De plus sa motivation comptera énormément dans cela.  En fonction de son dossier, de ses résultats et de sa motivation, l’Université pourrait décider de prendre en charge sa scolarité, ce qui représente 2500 dollars à l’année.

Bonne chance Srey Nett.

Elisa, Srey Nett et Ermine 

Merci pour la matinée aux étudiants 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Srey Nett's dreams come true 

Srey Nett&Ermine

Srey Nett is a young lady of 18 years old,  part of the Shanty Town Spirit program for 8 years now.

She come from the Boeung Trabek community with her parents and her 4 brothers.

Her father was a moto dop in the past, but now he is a very serious  tuk tuk driver.

 Her mother, can now be a house wife, taking care of her family because there is three salaries come in from her husband and the two biggest sons .

Over the four boys, two are working, the other two, Ron and Rat, are going to school, they both are, also part of the Shanty Town Spirit project and excel very nicely at school.

 Srey Nett, as many other kids, she was forced to collect the rubbish to be able to earn some money.

When she started school, she had really good results ; she wanted to become a doctor ; but with the time she realised that the road was really hard, and the results started to fall down.    She lost faith and was completely discouraged.

Shanty Town Spirit has the goal to always be there for the people. We took the opportunity to attend a Discovery Festional on 28 – 29 June at The University of Puthisastra (UP). This Discovery Festival was meant to introduce high school students to the degrees and programs that they offer and to campus life at UP.

Midwife class 

pharmacy labo

There was a campus tours, career talks, mini-workshops with the different academic departments, experiential activities in the department booths and many more. UP students, faculty and staff were there to share what it is like to pursue careers in the health sciences and technology fields.

Srey Nett during this event could therefore attend workshop on :

-       Dentistry,

-       Nursing laboratory,

-       Medical laboratory lab,

-       Pharmacy laboratory,

-       Medicine class,

-       And also visited the library,

She came out of the Discovery Festival  very enthousiastic and has the real goal to be better in school.

Presentation of the Forum

Shanty Town Spirit will pay for additional private english lessons, to improve her skills.

She has now, three years, to keep progressing and to have a good follow up file on her results in maths, chemistry, english, and physics.

Moreover she also has to demonstrate her motivation, together with her good file, to be able to join the University.

 If she is accepted, the University will pay the full scholarship, which represents 2.500 dollars for a year.

So all the Best for Srey Nett.

Elisa, Srey Nett and Ermine

                                  One Spirit, One Heart, One Community.                                        

  You can help us by sponsoring the Shanty Town Spirit program:

                                                Click on Make a difference

                                                    OR contact                                                                        Ermine Norodom: +855 (0) 17 49 27 19 (French and English)

norodomermine@gmail.com

      Phirun Prak (Arun): +855 (0) 96 663 6666 (English and Khmer)

                                              arun.aenorodom@gmail.com

                      Nathalie Bonpain:  +855 (0) 15 652 691 (English and French)
                                               bonpainnathalie@gmail.com

  

words by Nathalie Bonpain