Association for Aid and Relief - Japan

COLLABORATING AGENCIS

Vocational training project: Ministry of Social Affairs, Labour, Vocational Training and Youth Rehabilitation (MoSALVY), Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA),Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport ( MoEY), MoE, Disability Action Council(DAC),Action on Disability and Development (ADD), Comité Executif International de l'Ordre de Malte pour l'Assistance aux Lepreux (CIOMAL), Veterans International (VI), Rose charity, Association of the Blind in Cambodia (BAC), National Centre of Disabled Persons (NCDP), Cambodia Trust (CT),Gender and Development for Cambodia(GAD),Cambodia Human Rights and Development Association( ADHOC),Association of Medical Doctors of Asia (AMDA), etc.

Wheelchair workshop project: Ministry of Social Affairs, Labour, Vocational Training and Youth Rehabilitation (MoSALVY), CHA, HI, JSC, AmCross, VI, Rose, ADD, Hallo Trust, DTW, CT, etc.

Fields of focus:

• Vocational Training School for Persons with Disabilities (PwD)
• Wheelchair Production and Service Centre

Description of the projects

Mission:

• To support the social, economic and mental independence of persons with disabilities in countries or regions where social services are inadequate.
• To advocate the equal rights of persons with disabilities in cooperation with local and international communities.
• To respect decision-making by persons with disabilities and promote their self-help activities.

Aim:

-To achieve equal participation in society by all persons with disabilities.

1-Vocational training

Goal: Through the provision of skills training to enable the disabled to improve their standards of living and fully participate in society, without discrimination.

Activities: The project was launched in 1993 in response to the significant need for vocational training among PwD in Cambodia. The Kien Khleang Vocational Training Centre provides three courses: sewing, motorbike repair and TV & radio repair. Approximately forty trainees are selected each year from Phnom Penh and nine target provinces.

After one year of training most trainees find employment, either by initiating their own workshops or through employment by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and private companies. The centre provides tools and materials to those trainees who want to start their own workshops. The training, accommodation and food are provided without charge. AAR provides various stages of post-training follow-up.

The project had trained 414 PwD by the end of 2003, including 190 mine victims. It is estimated that 75 percent of these are either self-employed or employed by NGOs or companies. In 2004 we started a community based apprenticeship project. We selected three trainers from our graduates to set up their own training workshops, and we supported them with funds for food, transport and daily needs. They teach three students at their training workshops who are members of Action on Disability and Development’s (ADD) self-help groups. The duration of the training is six months, and on completion we provide the students with the necessary tools and materials to start their own workshop businesses.

2- Wheelchair workshop

Goal: To improve the mobility and social and economic participation in society of disabled people, through the provision of wheelchairs.

Activities: The project began in 1994 in response to the significant need for wheelchairs among PwD in Cambodia. The Kien Khleang Wheelchair Workshop produces about 300 folding wheelchairs each year, and distributes them to people in need. After distribution, staff members visit the wheelchair users to see their living conditions and assess their wheelchair repair needs. Repair services are provided either at Kien Khleang or the users’ house. Wheelchairs and repair services are provided without charge.

Beneficiaries

• Vocational Training: People with disabilities in Phnom Penh and nine provinces in Cambodia
• Wheelchair Workshop: People with disabilities in Phnom Penh and eleven provinces in Cambodia.

Location of Project

Kien Khleang Vocational Training Centre and Wheelchair Production & Service Centre.Sangkat Chroychanva, Khan Russey Keo, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Funding agency

AAR’s own fund, Japan International Cooperation Foundation, ADRA International Support Fund, etc.

Additional information: AAR has offices in seven countries: Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Myanmar, Laos, Zambia, Angola and Cambodia.