FORUM FOR FEMALE COMMUNE COUNCILS NETWORK
POVERTY ALLEVIATION PROJECT – WOMEN EMPOWERMENT PROGRAM
1.
Contract Agreements
The projects were created to help the poorest and the vulnerable families in the commune to have ideas on how to generate income and/or at least to help out in the family and to promote an atmosphere of helping one another. There are agreements drawn with an understanding among all participants involved in the projects
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For small credit loan for small business, if the families are very poor, they don't have to pay the interest, except the full amount back within a limit time period, agree upon all the families that wanted the same kind of loan. If some families who are able to pay interest, they would pay between 2% to 4%. The interest generated will be announced to all participants. When the loans were paid back, the next families will get the loan.
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For the project of raising chickens, each family got 2 chickens, and when the chickens laid eggs and have more than 5 chickens, 2 chickens will be given to the next family. Those families who raised chickens must take good care, including feeding and giving injection. If they loose the chickens, they have to pay back. WFP staff assisted the female commune councils to identify organization and/or animal health provider in the areas to give instruction on how to raise chicken to the participants. Any families that the chickens die of disease will not have to pay back the chickens, but would pass on the opportunity to other families.
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For the vegetable planters, they must pay back the loan and also give the vegetable seeds to the next families.
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All interested families must sign in their name for consideration. This is a helping hand project for the poor families.
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So far, a total of 593 families have received loan for small credit, animal raising, growing vegetable.
2.
Process of Organizing Community Meeting on Poverty Alleviation
The female commune councils decided with all the council members on the date and place of the meeting. All members of the commune council, including chiefs of the commune presided over the community meeting. The female commune council who volunteer took the leading role in applying their leadership and facilitation skills to generate the discussions among participants on poverty reduction. She would start with thanking the participants for attending the meeting and introduced all the commune council members and she would ask the commune chief to give a thank you note to WFP. After getting to know each other, she further asked general questions related to why are we poor? reasons for being poor? how and what should we do to combat poverty? Participants responded to the questions and came up with suggestions, and then commune councils and their constituencies discussed of strategies that is affordable and acceptable to all. This mean that with the small amount of money provided by The Royal Netherlands Embassy, they can all decided which families needed the most help, and what project should be implemented to help those families as well as contract agreement and when and who would be the next turn around to get help.
After the joint decision were made, the female commune councils is responsible to see that those families are getting what were agree upon during the meeting and report back to the council member during the council's meeting, and call for a community meeting for the next time around for follow up. The female councilor must pay visit to those families who received help as follow up, and the same requirement were made from the recipient side if they encounter any problems. WFP project coordinators and provincial coordinator acted as facilitators through out the process. The executive director and project coordinators monitored every community meetings that took place.
3.
Projects that were jointly decided by participants and commune council members
1.
BattambangProvince:
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Two communes decided to work on raising chickens. Each commune started with 10 poor families, especially women headed of families, where each family received 2 hens. Some chickens have laid eggs already.
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One commune decided to start on a small credit of small business with 14 families, and some willing to pay interest to the commune.
2.
PursatProvince
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Two communes with a total of 10 families in each commune received 2 hens.
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One commune 10 families received 2 hens each, and 6 families grow vegetables.
3.
KampongChamProvince
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Two communes decided on small credit business loan. They willing to pay 4% interest to the commune. They decided a small amount of interest can be use to help the poor women during illness.
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One commune decided to use the money for civil registration, by paying share of the cost for family who has more than 5 children, and by hiring a temporary assistance to the clerk. There are a lot of people in the commune and the clerk can not handle the work alone, therefore, they decided to use the money to pay a temporary assistance to the clerk to help registering people for civil registration)
4.
KandalProvince
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Two communes decided on small credit business loan, starting with a total of 15 families in each commune.
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One commune decided to dig well (130 families) and pay share of the cost because they need clean water very badly (the people have bad rashes on their skins because of the toxic chemical from the factories that flow in the stream). Unfortunately, the company had tried 4 times and failed (no water source). They are working to find other alternative.
5.
KampongThomProvince
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Two communes decided to use the money for the health services cost and for the transportation cost for the poor women when they go to the health clinic. Some women are pregnant and got very sick, and some got very sick because of using birth control pills. The people in these two communes, especially women, are not in good health condition. One commune also decided to build a small wooden school for the children to start school.
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One commune decided on small credit business loan, starting with a total of 15 families.
6.
SvayRiengProvince
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Two communes decided on raising chickens, starting with 10 families in each commune.
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One commune decided on raising chickens with 10 families and 5 families with small credit loan of business.
7.
Siem Reap Province
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One commune decided on small credit business loan, starting with 13 families.
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One commune decided to raise chickens, starting with 10 families.
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One commune decided to raise chickens, starting with 10 families, and 3 families on small business loan.
4.
Challenges and Constraints
On top of the busy schedule of commune work, the female councilors are pleased to work on this project because it helped them demonstrate their leadership skills and allowing them to keep in contact with their constituencies. The challenges that the female commune council faces can be classified as follow:
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Convince the commune council especially the commune chief to agree to allow them to organize community meeting;
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Convince all members to attend community meeting;
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Involve village chiefs to help mobilize the people;
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Taking the lead in facilitate the discussion;
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Monitor and report back the whole process of the project to the commune, the people, and WFP;
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Small amount of credit;
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Concerns that the villagers can not pay on time.
5.
Impact and Indicators
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32 community meetings on poverty reduction have been organized;
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The villagers are happy that we really help the poor by not asking for interest, only encourage those who have the possibility to pay interest to help other;
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The villagers have some extra income, and some are able to increase their project;
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The villagers don't have to put any thing as collateral;
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The villagers can combat poverty gradually with the help from the female commune council;
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The pilot project that have been created by the commune councils and the villagers, lead by the female commune councils are: 10 projects of Chicken raising; 10 projects of small credit loan; 2 Health related projects; 1 project of growing vegetable; and 1 project of Civil Registration.
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Close collaboration between commune councils and the villagers;
