[Original by Mariko OMURA, Cambodia Project (February 14, 2019); Translated by M. Goto/A. Taguchi]
Here is the inside story of the meeting about “Where should we dig a reservoir?“, which we have reported on recently.
Two members of the JVC activity area named Somach and Pok planned and facilitated the meeting that was held at the end of December 2018. Pok is a daughter of a farmer whom JVC has supported. By looking at her mother who had been enthusiastically attending the training organized by JVC, she got interested in JVC and applied to become a staff as well. They have been working here as assistants for a few years now along with their managers. However, one of their managers went to study abroad and the other became a part-time staff because of illness, so Pok and Somach finally had to take leadership at this meeting.
Pok (right) and Somach (middle) are talking about the meeting.
The challenge of training Somach and Pok to become leaders is a very important opportunity for our team. But our top priority is to make the meeting successful and looked upon favorably by the villagers. So, I supported them in the background. Also, I kept it a secret until the day of the meeting that the part-time manager will attend and help them. Eventually, Somach and Pok succeeded at facilitating the meeting, although there were some points for improvement.
Somach (right) explains about the flow of the meeting to other members.
Pok is a hard worker. She looks more earnest than usual today. Photo by Garden Journalism
They collected a lot of opinions from the participants at the meeting.
A Japanese journalist, Mr. Jun Hori, interviewed Somach after the meeting. He asked her, “What is your impression of the meeting today?” She answered nervously, “It was my first time to conduct a meeting and I encountered some difficulties, but it was a good experience. I want to do my best from now on.”
She looked relieved when the meeting finished. Photo by Garden Journalism
Their part-time manager, Kong, recognized the success of Somach and Pok as well. He said, “They had been my assistants so far, but today I was their assistant. That made me really glad. Giving them more opportunities to take leadership roles is beneficial for our team.”
Kong (right) assisted Pok during the meeting. Photo by Garden Journalism
The meeting was also favorably received by the participants. The village head commented, “I am glad that we could talk with everyone. Making more reservoirs is essential and discussing about it with JVC and the executive officer was worth the time.”
After the meeting, Pok and Somach took a photo with Mr. Hori, which they were eagerly looking forward to.
Pok and Somach are smiling with Mr. Hori, having a magazine in which his photo appears.
Thanks Mr. Hori, he also took pictures of our new staff members. Please stay tuned to the JVC Cambodia team!
From left to right: Rith (driver), Kong (manager), Bunheang (field staff), Pok (field staff), Omura, and Somach (field staff). Photo by Garden Journalism
