BEHAVIOR CHANGE THROUGH LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM – Local Authority

Mr Pin Sarin has worked for Boskhnol commune as secretary of commune and is now 49 years. He lives within the target area of the “Turn Up the Volume project, in To Ong village, Ta Ong commune, Chamkar Leu district of Kampong Cham Province. He first became know to staff as the one person that did not cooperate and support the Project. Sarin often complained to project staff on the process of Project during the beginning of the project. He had never had to care for the youth in communities and he had never arranged meeting with youth groups in communities.

One day Turn Up the Volume project staff gave him the project summary paper and took time to talk as well as explain that the objectives of the project were to strengthen youth capacity and empower youth in community to advocate for their health through a Leadership Development Program method. They also invited him to attend the alignment workshop at Phnom Pros Hotel in the Kampong Cham Provincial Capital.

Since Sarin attached that workshop, he started to change his behavior from negative thinking to positive thinking, from complaining to suggesting and supported the project well. He said that he was very interested with Leadership Development Program method, even though he did not attend the four workshop cycle, but he tried to learn from his son who is youth leader and attended the first workshop. He also learned to transform his thinking and dreams to action.

After a youth group came from the “Jombok Hoas,” ADRA’s Adventure Learning Center, Sarin made an appointment and arranged a meeting with the youth group to discuss how to strengthen the youth group in their community. He also supported youth groups to select youth members and encouraged them to make plans for improving youth sexual and reproductive health service in Health Centers. He committed to do activities involved with youth in the community and encouraged them to use Youth Friendly Health Center services. Mr. Pin Sarin has told the project staff, “the project is a very short time for the youth group. They need more support to be strong and independent.” He also requested that the project continue to support youth groups more and expand to the commune council. Right now he remains proactive.

BEHAVIOR CHANGE THROUGH LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM – Health Center Chief

Mr Heng Kim Leang is the Health Center Chief of Dankdar-Aumlou Health Center. He reports that since he has joined the Leadership Development Program (LDP) Workshops 1 and 2, he has applied the LDP theory with his family and with his staff. Before attending LDP workshops Leang says that he was a stubborn guide who never listened to other even his mother or his wife, he decided to do everything without discussion with his family member or his staff. Leang says that he always blamed his family members as well as his staff when they made mistakes, he never acknowledged them when they did something good, and his business did not improve.

After the LDP workshops Leang was very satisfy with the LDP theory and he tried to implement most LDP theory that he had learnt and began to understand well about their benefit. He changed his behavior a lot and he began discussions with his family before deciding to do something. He also listened to other staff members ideas. He approached the challenges and problems related to Youth Friendly Sexual Reproductive Health Service (YFSRHS) in his Health Center by using 8 practices of managing and leadership. Now his personnel business, his family environment and Health Center staff work climate are all improving as well as the YFSRHS at his Health Center. Also, Leang reports that he had persuaded six among nine youths who left school and just came back from the Leadership Development Program workshop held at ADRA’s JamboK Hoas Adventure and Learning Centre to re-enroll in school. He also motivated a couple of his friend who always had conflicts with each other to use some LDP theory such as giving positive feedback, making requests instead of complaining, gaining and maintain trust and, leading change initiatives to challenge his friend family conflict problem. At the Turn Up the Volume Evaluation Dissemination Workshop, Leang was able to share his experience in LDP to encourage other people that good change will happen through the LDP process.

BEHAVIOR CHANGE THROUGH LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM - Youth

Pin Dara Phirun, 22 years old, was former student of Hun Sen Chamkar Leu High School in Chamkar Leu District, Kampong Pong Cham Province, who had to drop out from the school at grade 11 to help his family earn money by working in the rice fields. He lives at home with his father, Pin Sarin 49 years old, and his mother, An Sam On, 48 years old. He is the third among six siblings. Pirun’s family lives at Ta Ong Village, Ta Ong Commune in Chamkar Leu District, Kampong Cham Province.

Phirun, like many other village youth, never bothered to know about community challenges or participate in community activities. He thought only about himself. He was disappointed as he thought that the society did not give attention to youth like him. He did not want to share his feeling and disappointment with others and just wanted to be alone. The project found Phirun as a young men with limited knowledge and capacity. He did not understand behaviors and did not know how to assist other youth in his community. He always said that those community youth issues were the responsibility of the authorities. He had no desire to change.

This thinking is all in the past for Phiron as he is now transformed into positive thinking and optimistic young man. This happened after Phiron participated in the Leadership Development Program (LDP) at Jamboc Hoas Adventure Learning Center in Preah vihear province. Pin Dara Phirun, says, “…after I became a youth leader and I attended the LDP workshop at Jambok Hoas, I and my friends were very surprised about the interesting program of Leadership Development Program (LDP). Now, I understood the importance of human value to join with family and society activity especially activities in community to promote youth’s health. I also learned how to speak and communicate effectively, through activities that strengthen my confidence to face challenges. I could use skill of leading and managing to advocate for Youth Reproductive Health with the Health Center and I inspired other youth like me in community to join with our youth group and become a positive changing force in the community.”

Phirun said that he appreciate Leadership Development Program (LDP) as a good program to improve youth’s ideas in the rural community to raise awareness of youth potential to become part in all society activities. The Leadership Development Program (LDP) motivated youth to become confident and support each other by avoiding activities that can lead to the destruction of youth morals and thus the community and the society.

The Leadership Development Program (LDP) and Jamboc Hoas learning session integrate methods on how to become a leader by focusing and activites to build confidence in facing challenges. The activities simulated real situation challenges and facilitated youth to reflect and accept the responsibility to change. This program helped youth to improve their thinking, positive feelings, ideas and awareness of their ability to control themselves and to become flexible and useful for society.

Phirun would like to request for all levels of authorities and other stakeholder to support youth activities in community, and recognize that youth are part of the country’s development. Below were examples of activities conducted by Phiron and his group without coaching, support and facilitation from the project. These pictures were taken because former TUV staffs were invited and volunteered themselves to witness and covered this activities. Phiron and his group worked together to align with the authorities to organize a youth club in community. They expressed commitment to continue youth activities even though the project has finished. They will make time from their work to do youth activities. Together with others community youth groups, they were able to conduct a youth sharing meeting where those youth who participated in Jamboc Hoas could share their experiences. School teachers, Women’s Affairs representatives, and commune council officers were invited and attended. They inspired other youths to contribute funds for drinking water at the meeting as well.

Khon Sok Na is a youth leader, 22 years old, who is from Thlok Kra Vann village, Boskhnol commune, Chamkar Leu District in the Kampong Cham Province. Sok Na said that so far, he had never considered himself of value as student out of school or anything else. He always thought that he could not do anything because he failed is examination at the 12 th grade. When he heard that he was expected to arrange youth meeting without snack or per diem, he did not think he could do it. Sok Na has always worked by himself; he was not involved in social settings. He thought that he could not explain and encourage other students to work with him as youth group because he failed his examination and stopped studying.

Since Sok Na attended his first Leadership and Development Program workshop with the Turn Up the Volume project he was very happy and he was very interested in the project. He enjoyed the experiences on leading and managing and he applied the technique of scanning, focusing, aligning/mobilizing and inspiring, planning, organizing, implementing, and monitoring and evaluation to real situations in community. Sok Na aligned authorities and other youth to join and support his group. He arranged meetings for sharing knowledge with youth in community. He also inspired others to pay for snacks during meeting. At the end of project evaluation dissemination workshop, Sok Na was not afraid to speak his mind and share his concerns for his youth group with all in attendance including high level government officials. Sok Na now knows that he does have value.

Un Sokha, 18 years old, is the daughter of Mr Bi Thy, 43 years old and Mrs Vann Kim Sreang, 35 years old who live in Sre Prang village, Ta Prok commune, Chamkar Leu district, Kampong Cham Province. She is studying at grade 10 of Hun Sen Chamkar Leu High School and has two siblings.

Sokha was shy, quiet and a hot tempered girl. She got upset easily with those who cracked jokes around her. She was innocent about community issues and health information. She never participated in community activities and never wanted to be involved with other youth. She has some friends but she never encouraged or motivated them go to the Health Center when they had health problems.

When the TUV project requested community leaders to enlist their village youth leader representative, Sokha was selected to represent Srepang village youths. She was sent to the TUV project alignment workshop and later on joined with the other village selected youth leaders to participate in the LDP workshop at Jambok Hoas. Since then, Sokha changed and transformed to a charming, brave youth leader.

Back in her village, Sokha organized her friends and share her newly gained knowledge about youth Sexual Reproductive Health needs. She inspired them to advocate with their local health center to provide access for village youth to Sexual Reproductive health services and information. Her group wrote a letter to the authorities asking permission to conduct a meeting with the local health center management staff. She also made an invitation letter to the Health Center Management Committee and Commune Leaders to attend the meeting. With the help of her team, she successfully coordinated and led the meeting herself and received commitment from the Health Center for increased youth access to Sexual reproductive Health services and information. And she did this without any help, support, coach or facilitation from the TUV project staff.

Sokha says that she experiences increased capacity in thinking skills and strategizing ideas for specific goals. She had put into practice the skills learnt during the LDP workshop at Jamboc Hoas such as scanning, focusing, aligning/mobilizing and inspiring other to support her group aspiration. Sokha appreciates the LDP workshop as a very good program in providing knowledge, thinking skills and innovative way of communicating ideas and influencing others. She and her youth-leader friends were very happy to have the opportunity to learn LDP. She and her group would like to propose that the TUV Project should continue, and that more village youth will have the benefit of LDP training and thus increase the potential of changing the life of youth in the village.

Touch Sok Hour at 19 years old is the youngest daughter among 6 children. Her parents, Ourng Touch and Eang Hun are, 61 and 59 years old, respectively and live in Boskhnol village, Boskhnol commune, Chamkar Leu district, Kampong Cham Province. Hour is a former student of Boskhnol High School, but she stopped studying at grade 9 in 2007 because her parents did not have enough money to support her studies. Hour lost confidence and become very shy after dropping out of school. She did not dare to speak out with other people in her village and she shied away from crowds of people. She thought that she did not have communication skills, could not lead others and did not know how to motivate others for a good purpose. When the project staff asked Hour to be a youth leader, she first rejected them several times, she said that she could not do it as she could not approach and motivate other youth to become members of her group.

After she attended the Leadership Development Program (LDP) with the Turn Up the Volume for Youth Reproductive Health Project, Hour regained her confidence and improved her critical thinking. She became an optimist and her behavior changed. Hour interpreted the team dream about the village and spoke clearly and confidently. She was able to convey her thoughts in words and let other understood her vision. Hour could facilitate others to find out the result during group discussion and work as a team. She was very active and friendly with others.

Hour transformed after she put her learning into action. She worked with her group to arrange a meeting with other youth in her village to share information on concepts of LDP and motivated them to join with youth group to improve health services in Health Centers and advocated to get youth reproductive health services. Hour and her group are very interested with the Leadership Development Program (LDP) and they would like TUV Project continue to support youth group because they just received an introduction of LDP and they want to learn more on LDP to improve youth’s health in community. “We need more experiences from LDP” they say.