Awareness-Building Sessions For Young Factory Workers Launched

Posted: 9th August 2007

PHNOM PENH (UCAN) A short film has opened the eyes of young women factory workers to urban life realities and helped prepare them to relate with men.

On Aug. 5, 11 young women gathered in a small room in the factory compound where they live and work in the capital's western district, to watch the 15-minute film produced by UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund) in Cambodia.

A lay Church worker who helps the Daughters of Charity St. Vincent de Paul in their ministry to factory workers led the discussion after the screening.
Reang Lidad from Kompong Thom, about 165 kilometers north of Phnom Penh, told UCA News, "This is the first time I could learn about relationships."
The 17-year-old, who has been at the factory for five months, said she never was in a relationship with a man before, but "after this session, I understand how to protect myself from being taken advantage of by men."
In the first of the film's two stories, a girl and her boyfriend stay on in a quiet place after an outing with friends. At nightfall, he asks her to stay there with him for the night. She refuses, saying they are young, unmarried, unemployed, and unable to take care of children. The boy agrees to go home.

The second story also revolves around a young couple together in a quiet place. This time, the boy forces the girl to drink beer until she gets drunk, and then takes her into a room to have sex. The reluctant girl relents because she is afraid of losing her boyfriend.
After the screening, Ly Sovanna, the Church worker, and the factory workers discussed the values of relationship and love in relation to Khmer culture.

Sovanna, 27, later explained to UCA News the importance of educating upcountry young women about urban life realities. He noted, for example, that many attend school only up to the third- or fifth-grade, and some never go to school at all. The factory workers generally are unaware of city life dynamics, he said, and they usually do not leave the factory compound.

Von Sreyrong, 20, who has had a factory job for about a year, told UCA News the session taught her and her colleagues how to care for themselves and how to choose a marriage partner. "I used to think man-woman relations are very simple," she admitted, "but now I understand it is something magnificent, so I must think more carefully about this."
The recent session was just one of the monthly sessions the Daughters of Charity sisters have planned as part of their ministry to factory workers. Three other sessions of film viewing and discussion have also been carried out for various groups, and all were "a good success," according to Sovanna.

Sister Sol Delicia Lara, who is in charge of the project, told UCA News that building awareness among young factory workers is important because many of them enjoy dating but develop problems due to their inability to communicate.

According to Sister Lara, married couples also encounter misunderstandings, especially when one works in an urban factory and the other stays upcountry. Problems can also develop for couples whose marriages were arranged by their parents, she said, and some of those marriages end in divorce.

In her view, young women "push themselves to work because they need the money for themselves and for their families." She said this trend motivated her congregation to launch its ministry to factory workers last year.

The sisters' ministry includes helping children who live with their parents in the factory area to attend school. They also offer health assistance to factory workers, and daily food to 35 workers for a monthly fee of US$10 each.

Article Source: UCAN