University Education for Young Women in Cambodia

In 2018, 300 students under CATALYST have graduated with either a four-year bachelor’s degree, a two-year associate’s degree, or from an eleven-month skills training program. These 300 graduates are now receiving fair wages in various field such as nursing, midwifery, research, food processing, law, accounting, teaching, IT, social work, marketing, business, administration, banking, government, hospitality, and agriculture. Three of our students have also won scholarships to study abroad (one to do bachelor’s degree in the USA, one to do bachelor’s degree in China and another to do master’s degree in Thailand)!

Women’s Health Workshop:

As you know, education is an antidote to poverty and sexual exploitation. Although our CATALYST girls are receiving an education at school, they often miss out on other types of education. Having noticed the lack of understanding among our current young female scholars on health issues, the CATALYST program organized a full day workshop on women’s heath focused on menstruation, breast cancer and cervical cancer which was held on February 11th at the Lotus Outreach Cambodia Office. The CATALYST program invited its very own nursing graduate, Ms. Man Kanda, to teach. Ms. Man Kanda currently works at a Tuberculosis hospital in Phnom Penh and arrived excited to share knowledge on the topic of women’s health.

Along with the thirteen students who attended the workshop, the content of the training was also shared with fifteen other CATALYST scholars in the province by the CATALYST officer, following the training in Phnom Penh.

Before starting the workshop, students were asked if they knew the purpose of workshop and what their expectations of the workshop were. Students wrote down their hopes and expectations on a piece of paper so they could refer back to their expectations during the workshop to ensure all the points of their interests were addressed and discussed.

During the workshop, the students were very engaged and asked a lot of questions as the topics were practical and relevant to their everyday life and well-being.

After every break (coffee and lunch), students were led to play energizing games to keep them interested and engaged. After the lunch break, students were divided into 2 groups to discuss what they had learned from the workshop. Then, a representative of each group presented the key points to the class. Then, the students received feedback from the Ms. Man Kanda on any points the students were not sure about. Below are what students had learned according to their presentation:

• How to practice hygiene and take care of themselves during menstruation period.
• Signs/symptoms of cervical and breast cancer.
• How to do self-exams of their body, especially breast.
• At a certain age they should see doctor to do regular check up.
• How to mitigate risk of cervical and breast cancer.
• How to choose underwear properly.
• Types of healthy foods.
• PH levels vary person to person.

Students found the workshop very useful as they gained new knowledge and also got to know their senior and peers. They suggested that the program organize more workshops/trainings in the near future.

These students would not have been able to achieve these feats without Lotus Outreach therefore they all feel very grateful and are inspired to pay it forward. Thank you to all the donors who have contributed to this program allowing these young women to move forward in pursuit of their education and careers and in this case with a better understanding of women’s health.

Links:

• Lotus Outreach Facebook