Short description of situation of children and the project purpose / goal

Up to this reporting time, Khmer Association for Development (KAD) has accepted around 300 local community children to stay in its Children Development Center that provides them with all most needed services such as education, health care, transport means, food, school materials, school uniforms, warm care and protection from various issues. As this Center has just been established, there hasn’t been enough infrastructure to meet the children’s needs yet, for instance, a toilet, a playground, a water tank, a sleeping or an eating place, etc. However, we never ignore all these issues, we always seek to explore the sources of funders who are able to solve them, as evidenced, for this project, there are 2 donors, the Schmitz Foundation and the Mirja Sachs Foundation who had financed the costs of the Happy Child House Construction – Round 2 that enabled us to develop a lot of most needed infrastructures in the Center like a toilet, a playground, a road, a metal roof, a plastic water tank, etc. in the purpose of refining the living condition of children and protecting them from various problems and even providing them with comfort, security and safety. In addition, to improve infrastructure in the Center will prompt the child welfare and promote their rights to a proper living.

Completed activities up to the reporting time

• To develop a playground in front of child day care building on which the children can play. This place was previously full of dirt that made it dirty when it was windy and slippery when it was rainy, but right now, these problems have been solved through the concretion and the children can play on it happily and cozily.
• To concrete the back ground floor of child day care building. This area was previously riddled with dense bushes as a shelter of mosquitos and other poisonous animals that always harmed the children, especially caused dengue fever, but right now, this problem has been resolved through the concretion as well.
• To concrete ground floors for 2 meters from new building (surrounding areas). If no concretion around it, mice can make big holes in which they use as their nests and in the long run they will multiply a great deal and disturb the children’s living.
• To make concrete floors in front of new building including the entry to it. This area was very low before. It was flooded when raining and also dirty when it was hot. Concreting this place is that the children have a good place where they can play happily during their break.
• To burry concrete water pipe (size 0.5m x 1m) = 56m connected to make the rain flow from the road to the rice field. Concrete water pipes were installed to carry the rain from lower areas to the rice field; otherwise, the flooding in the Center would happen that caused water-borne diseases.
• To construct a stretch of granite roads in the Center. This project was conducted because the road in the Center was completely ruined by the rain flood each year that made it slip and caused difficulty traveling and transporting the children to and fro during the rainy season. In addition, it was also dirty. Right now after all these problems had been resolved, the condition of the children has been improved very much.
• To make a metal roof covering the kitchen to get shade and to avoid the rain both in dry and rainy seasons. In the Center, kitchen is also important part of the entire program because it is the place where daily meals are cooked for the children who stay all day. There were a few problems happening to cause some obstacles to the cooking activities; for instance, rain leakage through the roofs, slippery ground floor, loss of sanitation, etc. In order to keep it sanitary, it needed to be reconstructed; otherwise, it could badly affect the children’s health.
• To make a metal roof covering a walking path used by children to avoid the rain was made.  (In fact, in the project plans, a flower garden trellis would be made, but after being carefully thought, it was changed). This is the place through which the children walk to get on the vehicles. It was noticed that during rainy season they had difficulty passing it, so in order to avoid getting wet that can cause the flu and fever or other kinds of diseases, the metal roof had to be covered over it.
• To install two plastic water tanks and two metal water tanks to get the rain. The lack of water used in the Center to meet the children’s needs is a big factor that we always encounter. Several hundred children come to learn and stay in the Center, so they need much water per day. We mainly depend upon the rain that is considered to be a clean source of water used for drinking, cooking and washing. Currently, there is a serious climate change in Cambodia that sometimes there is much rain and sometimes there is a severe drought, so it is the best way to solve the lack of water by installing many water tanks. Right now, we can have enough water used both for dry and wet seasons.
• To construct five toilets, four of which four are for children and one another is for general guests. A toilet is important for children in our Center as part of sanitary activities to keep them healthy. Currently, there are several hundreds of children learn in the Center and there are only a few toilets used daily by them, so the lack of sanitary system like this is a big issue. The children have to rush to and jam in the toilets in order to claim their uses and sometimes, they quarrel with each other over the use of toilet. More toilets built towards the reduction of a lot of problems.
• To install two hand-washing tanks to let children wash their hands. Hand washing activity is also part of sanitation and hygiene. Normally, children always play on the ground that dirties them. The children are encouraged to clean or wash their hands both before and after meals in order to keep them always hygienic and safe from health issues.
• To fill an area near petrol warehouse with granite to keep poisonous animals out of the Center. KAD’s Center is full of bushes around it, so poisonous animals like a snake, a small scorpion, a large black scorpion, a centipede, etc. In addition, it can be a shelter of mosquito whose bite can cause dengue fever and malaria.
• Rewiring all buildings in the Center. All buildings in the Center have been electrically wired out of order for years, so they need to be rewired to safeguard the children and to avoid short circuit or electrocution.

Outcomes of the project:

• There have been enough spaces in front of buildings where the children play happily and cozily.
• Mosquito and poisonous animal shelters that endanger the children have been completely destroyed.
• There hasn’t been any more rain flood, mud or bad smell because of decayed rubbish in the Center
• There hasn’t been rain flooding in the kitchen any more and it was easy for the cook to prepare daily meals for children on time.
• There has been enough water for various purposes like drinking, cooking, washing, etc. The children have enough clean drinking water that makes them healthy and water-borne diseases have been gone.
• There have been more toilets that have made the children stop quarreling because of the use of toilet any longer.
• The children have had a good habit of washing their hands because there have been enough hand-washing tanks.

Effects of the project on the beneficiaries and communities:

• The community people, especially the children’s parents wax confident in the services or project provided or implemented by Khmer Association for Development that encourages them to put their children in the center for learning, to cooperate with and participate more actively in the project implementation.