Blue Bird Education Cambodia
Activities 2021
★ The latest article will be listed below.
January
We had the first meetings of the year with our translation team. We couldn’t meet up together due to covid19 since last autumn.
Along with actually participating in our activities in rural areas, they help translating picture books and children’s writings from our educational programs.
Anyone interested in joining the volunteer team is always welcome! :-)
April
Free distribution of baby formulas.
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Since cities are in lockdown, transportations are restricted and many businesses have been temporary closed. It’s not easy to get daily necessities and particularly for daily-paid worker the life is hard. To support mother with small children of such families in need, we set up a milk stand to provide nutrition-rich powdered milks.
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We targeted families in Red Zone of the same district where our office is located. They came to pick up one by one, avoiding to get crowded, under a supervision of the local village chief.
May
Cities are continuously in lockdown. Transportations are under some restrictions.
In this situation, vaccination among citizens is in progress. Medical as well as military personnel who engage in the covid treatment and control were vaccinated first. Civil officers get vaccinated in their work places, and any citizens who are willing to can get at schools and business facilities according to the area of their residences.
The water of the Mekong River has increased.
This is the season that people grow corns.
The water of the Mekong River has increased.
July (1)
We visited Kratie with dentists for dental treatment for children.
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The rainy reason has begun and it seems the water of the Mekong River has increased. The corns are growing.
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With local nurses we cleaned teeth and provided fissure sealant to prevent cavities in the future.
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But of course this is not the end. Many children’s oral conditions are very bad. We need to think how to solve this problem fundamentally.
The sun was coming up while we were crossing the river.
July (2)
Drawing opportunity for children.
We let children gathering at the site draw pictures and encouraged them to express their ideas through art.
Some children like to draw and others don’t. But anyway many of them tried. They don’t have art materials in daily lives and it should be a very interesting experience for them.
Here are how they described their happiness.
IDD...iodine deficiency disorders
IDD...iodine deficiency disorders
July (3)
We’ve been conducting an iodine deficiency improvement project with Japan medical team. In Cambodia people usually have a difficulty to access iodine-rich food and thyroid disorder is common.
In Koh Chreng and Thmor Krea, we met our following-up thyroid disease patients as well as new cases.
Usually at least 1 doctor visits from Japan but for 2 years it’s impossible due to covid pandemic. We visited together with a cooperative Cambodian doctor. By providing kelp cooking powders, we attempt to recover their thyroid functions.
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During the pandemic, the demand for online lessons increased. Most of the children and students in rural areas had difficulty in taking classes.
August
We visited BunRany HunSen Saop Kroum prime school in Kratie in starting the nutrition and growth survey of children.
As in every remote and rural areas in Cambodia, the supply of electricity is limited in this area as well. Therefore, we donated solar panels to create a more comfortable educational environment for children.
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We went around 3 primary schools to meet children and their guardians.
First in Koh Chreng.
if children don't wear one.
Sometimes we had sunny moments.
First in Koh Chreng.
September
Though Iodine is one of the important nutrition for human growth, Iodine intake tends to be low in Cambodia just like other countries without the sea. A research team visited Cambodia from Japan to study about the correlation between iodine deficiency and child growth.
We cooperated with the team to conduct physical measurements and a cognitive test for total 300 children from 2 communes in Kratie.
When all these data are analyzed, we will be able to present the scientific basis to encourage people to take proper nutrition for children's healthier growth. We are grateful for parents’ understanding and local teachers’ sincere cooperation.
-Preparation
According to Declaration of Helsinki as the ethical basis, we explained the study contents and procedures to guardians of all participating children. In order to avoid covid infection, we paid a lot of attention to sterilize the environment and keep distances between people. It was a hard task to give thorough explanations for them to fully understand, but at least we gained their positive agreements.
-Measurement
We measured children’s height, weight, and grip strength, and we collected their daily meal records and urine samples. We also had Kohs brock design test to measure their ability of visual cognition. As for the meal records, local teachers worked hard to check and translate them from Khmer to English. As for the block test, we were careful for children to play well without being nervous or bothered by the environment.
All the data is going to analyzed by the research team in Japan. Local authorities, teachers, and parents are all interested in the result.
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