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The Steve Sinnott Foundation Response to COVID-19 Crises in Phnom Penh
Nicola Palairet is the Partnership Development Director for Flame and
has been working in Phnom Penh for more than five years now.
Life for the marginalised families living in Phnom Penh’s slum
communities is tenuous at the best of times. Flame staff identify
families whose children are unable to attend school because of
financial pressure. We give these children the opportunity to go to
school. For many it’s not just a chance for education, it’s a radical
change in their life’s trajectory. Without it, these children would
be unable to break out of the cycle of poverty. SSF and Flame are
partnering to make a difference in their lives.
While official cases of COVID have been remarkably low in Cambodia,
closing borders and the overall shrinking of the economy has led to
massive losses in the tourism and hospitality sectors. COVID-19 has
increased stress and financial hardship significantly. For some, there
has been the threat of homelessness; for others, a decrease in daily
wages has impacted the ability to put food on the table. Incomes
for those ‘at risk’ is so low that hunger was already a serious issue
pre-COVID. So, even when a family recognises the importance of
education, food is the first priority – and school takes second place.
Many children have a deep desire to learn in school but are prohibited
by the financial strain on their families. We have sought to address this.
Children who in the past have had to work to support their families
or provide care for younger siblings are now regulars in school and
attend the Flame After School Centres daily where they laugh and
learn, as well as get a nutritious snack and have their own toothbrush!
There are computer classes for the older kids and daily literacy and
numeracy lessons for each child. The centres are clean and bright, and
the teachers who have also come from hard backgrounds, appreciate
the challenges of education for these young kids. They know exactly
what it’s like to face huge obstacles and overcome them. This is what
we call ‘The Full Circle’.
As a young child, one of the children in our program, Sokea, walked
the streets with a huge plastic sack of recycled bottles on his back.
His recycling work to support his family left him no time for school. At
home, his dad was on a small daily wage as a motorbike taxi-driver and
his mother was bedridden. When we first met him at 9 years old, he
told us that he would love to attend school. He had previously been in
school but had to drop out to support his family.
We visited his parents
and asked permission for Sokea to attend public school and our After
School Centre. We said we would supplement the family for the loss of
Sokea’s income and they agreed. When finances were tight, however,
his family continued to send him out to collect plastic, but this is
often part of the transition from working to education. The family and
Sokea understood the importance of regular school attendance but
making school a daily priority was hard.
Sokea has now enrolled at the University of Management to study law. He works part time for Flame
and is a kind and conscientious guy who actively comes alongside
other kids and encourages them to stay in school.
You can read more
about Sokea on the Flame website:
www.flamecambodia.org/blog/sokea-from-collecting-plasticbottles-
to-university21/1/2021.
The Steve Sinnott Foundation has partnered with Flame to support
children of the urban poor in Phnom Penh who struggle to access
education. SSF has provided school supplies for 250 children.
From Engage edition 22.
Nicola Palairet • July 12, 2021
Spring is definitely here, daffodils, blossom and crocuses are all basking in the bright sunshine. There is still a chill in the air in the shade but it's happening and all the seeds that were sown over the last few months are coming to fruition. At the Foundation, we have been planning the year ahead and our Positive Periods and Prevention of Gender Based Violence programmes got underway this weekend in Haiti and Ghana. These projects will have a long-lasting effect on the lives of the women and girls who take part: tackling the root causes of gender-based violence and enabling girls to attend school every day when they have their period, to feel safe at school and know how to take action when they are faced with violence. These are the first of many projects planned for the year ahead as we continue to work towards Education for All children everywhere.
The outlook for the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4) on global education is far from rosy. But a gloomy future isn’t inevitable. Disappointing statistics are the result of political choices that can be shifted and there are thousands of youth, grassroots activists and civil society organisations across the UK advocating for global education to make these changes. We need more people involved to build the momentum, we need to make a difference in challenging circumstances. You can help! Here’s how; Making global education a UK priority The UK is an important donor and champion for global education. However, education has been gradually deprioritised on the development agenda. Global education spending has plummeted from 13.5% of Official Development Assistance (ODA) in 2013 to just 3.5% in 2023, and education was one of the sectors hit hardest by the abandonment of the 0.7% gross national income (GNI) target for ODA. With Labour’s annual budget confirming another reduction in the aid budget, funding for global education is under threat of being cut even further unless we stand together to say this can’t happen. While education is a domestic priority for the new Government, it has yet to emerge as a strong theme in their development agenda. As the Labour Party continues to develop their approach there is a unique opportunity for advocates to connect these dots and make the case for why education must be a key part of the Government’s international plans. For the Government to take action it needs to hear demand for change. There are many issues MPs recognise are important, but if they do not hear about these issues from constituents it can be hard for MPs to be vocal about them in Parliament. Following an election where many parliamentary seats were won with tight margins, MPs need to hear from the people they represent that global education must be on their agenda. With over half of MPs elected for the first time this year, many are actively looking for a steer on what issues to work on. We can give them one! How to Get Involved Write to your MP about why global education needs to be a bigger priority for the UK Government and encourage members of groups you are a part of, such as your union branch or a local community group, to do the same. This can have a real impact on your MP’s interest and ability to act for global education. You can also connect with other grassroots activists and get resources for taking action from international development advocacy organisations like Results UK. You can learn more about Results UK’s grassroots network on our website. If you are a teacher, get your school involved in the Send My Friend to School Campaign (SMF). Send My Friend is a UK civil society coalition advocating for SDG4 which supports a mass UK schools campaign to amplify student voices calling for universal quality education in solidarity with their peers around the world. Free campaign packs are available on the SMF website for primary and secondary levels with everything teachers need to run the campaign in their school. Parliamentarians can learn more about education issues and how to act by joining the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Global Education, a cross-party group that brings together Parliamentarians interested in the right to education and provides them with knowledge and resources to be champions of the issue. By joining our voices through collective action, we can make a real difference in moving the needle on this issue. Together we have a chance to rechart the course for the realisation of quality education for all. BIOGRAPHY Hannah Frisch is the Senior Policy and Parliamentary Advocacy Officer for Education at Results UK and a Co-Chair of the Send My Friend to School Policy and Parliamentary Working Group. She is a policy advisor for the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Global Education in the UK Parliament.
Last year the Steve Sinnott Foundation supported the work of The Federation of Drama Schools by providing financial aid to new graduates, enabling them to take part in an industry showcase at The Abbey Theatre in Dublin. The showcase is an annual event for Irish graduates who have completed a professional training at one of the Federation’s partner conservatoires in the UK, introducing young actors to the industry they hope to work in. The Federation of Drama Schools partners are institutions that provide conservatoire vocational training for those who want to be professional performers, theatre makers and technical theatre practitioners. The courses they offer are for students of eighteen years and over, who have completed their school level education. In November (2024) fourteen young Irish graduates took part in the showcase and the SSF provided financial support to two graduates who may not otherwise have been able to take part in this showcase, which is a bridge between training and their professional career. Melanie Lavery from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama is one of those who benefitted from this support. Melanie writes of her experience. I would like to say a huge thank you to the Steve Sinnott Foundation for the support I received, making it possible for me to take part in the Dublin Showcase 2024. The opportunity allowed me to work with graduates from across FDS schools and widen my contacts in the industry. Coming from a socio-economically deprived area, I’ve often missed out on opportunities available to my peers. I have had to spend a lot of energy during my three years in drama school working to support myself and this has meant I often don’t have time to follow up network opportunities. In receiving this sponsorship and taking part in the showcase I have been able to connect with other Irish creatives - the people I am acting opposite, directors, casting directors and agents in the industry. These industry showcases are so important for graduates. It gives us the possibility of networking with industry professionals and hopefully the opportunity of taking that first crucial step into the profession we have trained for. As I studied in Wales, it gave me the chance to return to Ireland and to reach out to creatives there. The Foundation gave me this amazing opportunity to kick start my career in my home country. On the day of the showcase, I had such pride watching my fellow Irish peers performing on stage at Ireland’s National Theatre. Working together throughout the rehearsal period, I got to know them individually and we all helped each other to grow as performers. This showcase has helped me to create my own community of actors around me. When it came to talking with other creatives after the show case, I became so much more aware of how large and welcoming the industry is in Ireland and how much work is being produced here. I think this show case is so important as it highlights how vibrant and growing the industry is in Ireland. I feel so lucky that I was able to take part thanks to the help of the Steve Sinnott Foundation. For more information on the Federation of Drama Schools, professional industry showcases, and it’s partner schools please visit www.federationofdramaschools.co.uk
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