In early April 2016, CARE was honoured to have H.E. George Edgar, European Union Ambassador to the Kingdom of Cambodia, visit our office in Mondul Kiri.
A gallery walk allowed the Ambassador to meet various NGOs working in Mondul Kiri and see
displays of their work. The delegation found this was a good way of getting a better understanding what civil society organistions are focusing on in the area.
In particular, he saw how CARE’s engagement with government officials who train School Support Committees is helping to improve the governance of rural primary schools, which in turn has a positive impact on student and teacher attendance.
The visit was also a great opportunity to highlight CARE’s EU-funded work on social accountability. CARE’s new ISAF project is about to complete the formal selection of partners who will implement the Social Accountability Framework. An expansion of CARE’s Community Scorecard, this framework is a method for improving governance by allowing citizens to provide feedback on local services such as health and education.
During the visit, CARE hosted a meeting of the Mondul Kiri NGO Network. Representatives from 18 NGOs were able to share their comments with the Ambassador. Discussion covered topics such as the access to education by ethnic minority children, health service delivery and the rights of ethnic minorities. Participants were happy to have this opportunity to share their views.
The Ambassador and his delegation were very positive about the visit and valued being able to learn more about the situation in Cambodia from those working directly with communities in the north-east of the country.
CARE has worked with the EU in Cambodia for many years. Previous projects have included Safe Migration and Reduced Trafficking; current projects include the ISAF, Labour Rights for Female Construction Workers and School Governance.