Video completed: JVC’s 40-year history in Cambodia

[Original by Mariko OMURA, Cambodia Project (September 18, 2021); Translated by J. Tsuchiya/M. Olagoke] Hello. I am Omura, in charge of the Cambodia Project. A video that summarizes the 40-year history of JVC’s activities in Cambodia has now been completed, thanks to our volunteers! We could successfully cover the production expenses (¥ 1,627,280) through donations from many people, which was more than what we had expected. All the production committee members truly appreciate your support. We were encouraged enormously by the amount of money and felt sympathy from many people. Thank you very much indeed. The excess budget is intended for producing an English version, Khmer version, and a DVD…

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The first online tour in Cambodia

[Original by Mariko OMURA, Cambodia Project (May 26, 2021); Translated by J. Tsuchiya/A. Taguchi] Hello. This is Mariko Omura from Cambodia. Shortly after the lockdown was lifted on May 18 in Cambodia, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan raised the level of infectious disease warning for Cambodia to LEVEL 3 (suspension of travel advisory). Indeed, the number of infected people in Cambodia has not decreased as fast as expected. But the country’s economy has been dependent on tourism, and I would love to see the town of Siem Reap be busy with many tourists again. What I can do now is to hope that this pandemic can soon be…

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Unbelievable sales of herbs! Where does this great confidence come from?

[Original by Mariko OMURA, Cambodia Project (May 18, 2021); Translated by E. Miyazaki/M. Olagoke] Hello, this is Mariko Omura from Cambodia. The three-week lockdown finally ended on May 6 except for certain regions! I will finally be able to return to our project site near Siem Reap soon. I thought that the restriction on selling alcohol would also end at the same time, so I drank all the beer stocked at home. But I found out that the restriction will continue until May 22. Oh well… She did it on her own for her son! Ms. Sok Soth. I would like to report about what happened after we were so…

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Riding on a newly bought XXX ever since two decades!

[Original by Mariko OMURA, Cambodia Project (May 11, 2021); Translated by J. Tsuchiya/H. Lai] It has been nearly three months since I updated this page last time. This time I will introduce Ms. Bopper I notified before, who has been working in the project site for many years and has experienced the biggest challenges and changes. You know Ms. Bopper? Ms. Bopper shows up in our blog sometimes. She eagerly participated in the JVC’s training sessions because in her family only she can work to make money and she couldn’t leave the village to work. Besides, one day she gained about US$ 130 in a trade of her processed ginger…

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Changes brought about by the reservoirs – Rapidly changing landscape

[Original by Mariko OMURA, Cambodia Project (February 11, 2021); Translated by J. Tsuchiya/A. Taguchi] I have reported about the changes brought about by the reservoirs in my previous article. Recently, there are further changes in the vegetable gardens around the reservoirs. Look at this huge change! (1) I visited the house of Sim Meas for the first time in a few months. As soon as she saw me, she took me to her vegetable garden. “Look at this! There was nothing here before, but it has changed into like this,” she said enthusiastically and talked a lot about her vegetable garden. Indeed, there was a great change (see photos arranged…

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COVID-19’s Impact on Our Activities in South Africa

[Last updated on March 19, 2021] Due to the spread of the novel coronavirus, our partner organizations in South Africa were left with no other choice but to temporarily close the childcare centers that they operate. The “Drop-in Centers” (DIC) that we set up in order to support “Orphan and Vulnerable Children” (OVC), whose complex family situations resulted from the absence of parents, often influenced by AIDS and poverty. The DICs are operated by care volunteers, who are mainly local women. JVC has provided a variety of training initiatives to provide the care volunteers with the knowledge and skills necessary to care for the OVC. Following the closure of the…

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Agricultural Training – Practice at Home

[Original by Mariko OMURA, Cambodia Project (November 16, 2020); Translated by S. Tokugawa/M. Olagoke] Hi, this is Mariko Omura, the country director of JVC Cambodia. Lately, we have been talking about reservoirs, so this time I would like to write about agricultural training which is another pillar of our activities on this blog. JVC Cambodia conducts technical trainings on a regular basis to provide support for producing kitchen gardens at each home. We welcome everyone, and applicants can join this at any time. Anyone who is interested in it can take part whenever they like. Besides the trainings, we are providing reservoir support for areas in which it is particularly…

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So busy with dry herbs!

[Original by Mariko OMURA, Cambodia Project (December 25, 2020); Translated by E. Miyazaki /A. Taguchi] Roselle hibiscus in bright red! Hi, this is Mariko Omura, the country director of JVC Cambodia. It is now December and the harvest season of Roselle hibiscus. The flowers look like bright red jewels, which are picked, dried, and shipped as a raw material for herb tea. Pretty pink globe amaranth The pretty flowers are globe amaranth. It contains a lot of ingredients for enhancing beauty. We also dry and ship them to Phnom Penh as a raw material for herb tea. Tangy and spicy! Turmeric and ginger It is also the harvest season of…

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Filling in the Blanks: Education in the Age of COVID-19 and Military Conflict

[Original by Ko IMANAKA, Sudan Project (December 24, 2020); Translated by C. Rosenberg] In March of 2020, Sudan’s Ministry of Education decided to close all schools nation-wide in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19. In the state of South Kordofan, where JVC operates, the school attendance rate is low and many children, mainly refugees, do not attend formal schools. To address this issue, we started providing supplemental classes in January this year with the goal of giving children who have not attended school enough academic ability to transfer to formal schools. However, with the closure of schools nationally, by the middle of March we were left with no choice…

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Changes brought about by the reservoirs

[Original by Mariko OMURA, Cambodia Project (October 13, 2020); Translated by M. Kanai/H. Lai] Current situation of COVID-19 in Cambodia I am Mariko Omura, the JVC Cambodia Office Representative. In my last article, I reported that the New Year’s Holidays supposed to be in April was postponed to August because of the new coronavirus. During the nine-day holidays, the domestic migrants reached to 1.4 million due to the rush period of home visits and travelling. However, new cases of infections were limited only to those who returned from overseas. In general, Cambodian people are enjoying calm and peaceful days. Going through the days without raining In March and April, JVC…

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