University Education for Young Women in Cambodia

We continue to support CATALYST scholars in staying on track and engaged with their studies, online or in person. The continued commitment of our staff in Cambodia is crucial and we are happy to support these girls even through such challenging and uncertain times. 

On August 9th, CATALYST invited a former Project Officer of Lotus Outreach, Mrs. SEM Sokhorn, to give a workshop to 21 CATALYST scholars in Phnom Penh. Mrs. Sokhorn earned her Master's Degree in Clinical Psychology from Vietnam and has 5 years of experience in Psychology.

The workshop covered these points:

•   What is Stress?
•   Types of Stress
•   Causes of Stress
•   Signs of Stress
•   Real Practices with assessment tool
•   Stress Management
•   Relaxation Techniques

The participants were asked to fill in an assessment form which asked if they were stressed and how much. They were also asked to reflect on what made them stress, how they react to stress, how they had been dealing with their stress and if it worked. Mrs. Sockorn also shared some stress management techniques with the participants, which they were invited to try out. These techniques included meditation and using the breath to find calmness. 

The workshop was very interactive and students were excited to participate throughout. They asked many questions and engaged in group discussion about signs of stress, sharing ideas and thoughts with one another. They were very brave and confident to present what they had discussed. The following are some reflections on the workshop from participants: 

Rous: "After I have joined the Stress Management workshop, it helps reduce the pressure I am experiencing.  I think it is very useful. I came to realize there are ways to make the problems become simpler, which is to think positive. I am very happy to have joined this workshop. The trainer is very good in explaining the lessons."

Sarik:"After I have learned about Stress Management, I think stress is a disease that we need to know and care about because if we are stressed but we don't have any solutions to reduce it, it will make us become a depressed person and can even make some people commit suicide. I got a lot of knowledge from this workshop. I have learned two types of stress such as Eustress and Distress and three types of stress signs such as emotional, physical and attitude. Teacher is very good because she explained so well that made it easy to understand and didn't make me feel sleepy. Many solutions that I should use when I am stressed are meditation, breathing exercise, and doing some activities that make me happy."

SreyMom: "This lesson is a very new and good experience for me. I got some techniques to control stress and trauma. The points that I will apply in life and keep in mind are: everyone makes mistakes but they are in the past, so in the present we should not think too much and think positive, need to live with present life, don’t let the past haunt us. Thank you so much Lotus Outreach and the donors for always providing training to us. I hope to have more trainings in the future." 

Overall, the Stress Management workshop was a great success, allowing participants to reflect on their relationship to stress and learn some simple stress management techniques. Through this awareness, the hope is that scholars will be better prepared to take on the day to day stress that can build up and ultimately be harmful to our health and wellbeing. 

Thank you today and every day for your support. We couldn't do it without you! 

The COVID-19 crisis has posed challenges for people across the world. For CATALYST scholars, our continued support during these difficult times is crucial as girls are unable to attend school and no longer have the support of in-person meetings. Keeping this in mind, we have made some adjustments to our approach as this virus continues to affect all of our lives. 

On March 14, the government of Cambodia announced the closure of all public and private schools. Most of our CATALYST scholars left their city dwellings and travelled home to stay with their families, some of them however, are still working jobs and doing self-study. The girls continue to write daily journals and stay in contact with one another through Facebook and WhatsApp groups. Students are engaged with online learning and are able to continue their studies with at home materials. We have ensured access to online learning by providing cell phones to CATALYST girls who did not have internet access. 

Monthly CATALYST meetings have been shifted to online video calls. CATALYST Year 3 girls are continuing group projects while Year 4 students are working on their theses, even as data collection has become difficult. Everyone is very happy that they can stay connected and the monthly meetings encourage and support focus on their studies. One scholar, Sreynich, said “Monthly meetings online are very powerful. They encourage me not to forget my lessons.”

We also began conducting daily online English language classes for all 56 CATALYST scholars. The girls are divided into their language levels and every morning they receive an assignment to complete by the end of the day. We have 90% participation! CATALYST scholar Theary reflects on the online English class: "I have learned and researched with different exercises, and learned to do it on time."

Here are some stories we would like to highlight:

Dina, a 4th year student in Accounting at Vanda Accounting Institute in Phnom Penh, is working in Phnom Penh and still receives her full salary but her studies are affected by COVID-19. Her school has begun giving online classes (through FB live, FB messenger & Telegram) but in order to attend the classes she must use extra data, her phone bill has gone up from $2/month to $5/month to support her online studies. Additionally, the class schedule sometimes clashes with her work and teachers can change the schedule suddenly which makes the balance between online learning and work challenging.

Yanida is a 4th year Economics student at Royal University of Law and Economics in Phnom Penh. Her school doesn't provide online study or any form of group assignments. She is currently writing her thesis and contacts her teachers online when she needs assistance. Her thesis topic is “Improving Family Livelihood Through Informal Economy”. COVID-19 has impacted her ability to collect data and it has thus been difficult to get work done. 

We are so impressed by the dedication of every scholarship recipient during these challenging times. First year CATALYST girls are anxious to get back to school while 3rd and 4th year girls are eager to graduate. They miss living in the new CATALYST residential home and can’t wait to be back together and in school. 

Thank you so much for being a part of their journey and for your support during this unpredictable time.