“Pour un Sourire d'Enfant” (PSE) [For a child’s smile] association's actions to help scavenging women and children in Phnom Penh

• Main Author: Marie-Annick Maspoli
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Institut Veolia Environnement 2012-04-01
• Series: Field Actions Science Reports
• Subjects: Cambodia; children; education; healthcare; poverty; women’s health
• Online Access: http://journals.openedition.org/factsreports/1398

Founded 15 years ago, the association “Pour un Sourire d’Enfant” (PSE) [For a Child’s Smile] is a private initiative with the primary objective of educating scavenging children in Phnom Penh to enable them to find a place in society and live in dignity. In pursuing this goal, PSE adapts its actions to meet needs as they arise and thus has considerable influence on the health of mothers and children. To give these children access to education and quality professional training, PSE’s first task was to feed them and provide healthcare. Education and training in health issues, the medical monitoring of the children and their mothers, as well as the residential care of the most severe cases, today accounts for a large part of the association’s administrative activities. It has of course been necessary to build more than just classrooms: sanitary facilities, dispensaries, childcare centers, etc, were also necessary. In addition, in view of the country’s historical context, the combat against domestic violence is necessarily given serious attention. The precarious balance thus obtained is consolidated by paying the mothers to compensate for the children stopping work. Step by step, PSE is making progress by taking into account the Khmer culture, working in collaboration with other solutions locally, and encouraging Cambodians themselves to become involved. The association, working to improve the physical and mental health of the children and their mothers, is recognized by Cambodian businesses and authorities.