Making right decisions can change the family

Forty-one years of age, Mrs. Touch Pov has been in a Reflect Circle member in Pjek Chum village since ADRA’s Literacy for Wemen’s Health and Empowerment project first began in 2004 began. When she joined the Reflect Circle, Pov was illiterate having never attended school and she could not read and write, her family having lived in this village under Khmer Rouge for a long time.

Married with seven children, Pov had never wanted to be educated or share any information with her family or neighbours. She felt very tired when she woke up each day and saw her children around her and only wanted to go out into the forest to find “chor” (tree sap) to sell. Unfortunately income from this was barely enough to help them survive for half a year. Sometimes there was domestic violence in her family and she had no way to solve it or get help from others because her husband sometimes took the money from selling tree sap to buy alcohol for drinking. Pov was so sad for her poor children because she did not have any money to send the children to school.

When the Reflect Circles were forming in Pov’s village, she was encouraged by her neighbour and the Reflect Facilitator to become member. Week after week Reflect Circle members prepared graphics such as income and expense trees, seasonal calendars, maps and drew pictures to discuss and analyse income and expense management, health care, health prevention and other topics. Pov found these very interesting and the topics useful for her and her family and she enjoyed gaining literacy and numeracy skills. She also felt bad that because before she had never wanted to listen and share any information with others.

Now Pov often takes what she learns from the Reflect Circle to share with her family, especially her husband who she was able to convince to stop drinking alcohol. Pov has had success with this and in improving her family’s condition to became better because she could discuss and make the plans within her family. Some of her younger children have been sent to school. Pov has also shared information with her neighbours when she comes home from the Reflect Circle and her neighbours respect her.

Pov is thankful that ADRA began the project which trained her reflect facilitator and established her reflect circle in Pjek Chum village. She is very happy that she has moved from being a poor communicator to now having respect from her neighbours who come to ask her when they want to know about health information.

The Literacy for Women’s Health and Empowerment project was funded by ADRA Norway and a follow-on project working with the same Reflect Circles is funded by ADRA Norway and ADRA Australia/AusAID.

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