Garment factories

Improving worker well-being

CARE has been working in the garment industry in Cambodia since 1998 and has conducted activities in 48 factories to date. Our staff are familiar with the needs of garment workers, particularly young female migrants, and how these can impact their work. CARE has well-established relationships with key groups within the sector and has built networks of peer educators within factories who are conducting skills training with their co-workers.

Factory managers who have engaged with CARE have reported improved attendance and increased productivity among project participants, as well as much better communication and teamwork. Workers have also had improved access to health and hygiene information through life skills training. CARE’s success in other business sectors, such as the beer promotion industry, has included reducing harassment, improving worker confidence in their abilities and improved occupational health and safety by supporting the creation of industry standards.

Information for factories >

Timeframe

March 2012 – February 2015

Location

Kampong Cham & Prey Veng provinces

Beneficiaries

Community members in two provinces – young women and girls, young men, and parents

Girls’ access to education is often limited by family responsibilities such as collecting water or caring for younger siblings.

CARE has worked in more than 350 schools in Cambodia.

Primary school enrollments in Ratanak Kiri are 12% lower than anywhere else in Cambodia.

More women from ethnic minorities are
becoming teachers.

1

Empowering ethnic minority women through education

CARE began working in the north-east of Cambodia in 2002 to improve literacy rates among ethnic minority communities and continues to empower women and girls in Ratanak Kiri through education.

CARE aims that all women in Cambodia have equal access to and control over their economic resources. Girls from indigenous communities can be doubly disadvantaged because of their gender and their ethnicity—this can impact their ability to access skilled jobs, their voice within their family and how they are valued within their community and Cambodian society.

CARE promotes equal opportunities to access quality education for ethnic minority girls by working with government ministries, local authorities, communities, schools and, of course, the students themselves. CARE’s work has included:

Training multilingual education teachers so ethnic minority girls can learn in their own language.
Promoting girls’ leadership through youth clubs and sport activities.
Developing community action plans and building community wells to reduce the workload of girls at home so they have more time to study.
Encouraging women’s participation in school support committees.