Community Development by RTC: Draktsho Vocational Training Centre for Special Children and Youth

At RTC in Bhutan, the Community Plan designed through the FRIENDS project aims to develop support for children and young people with special needs who study at Draktsho Vocational Training Centre for Special Children and Youth. With all the activities conducted during the FRIENDS project lifetime and planned to continue after 2022 too, RTC believes that the students with disabilities at Draktsho Vocational Training Centre will become more confident and also interested to learn about other cultures and about communication in intercultural settings. RTC plan’s key objective is to help strengthen and support the needs of the children in care, as well as to provide better environment for studying. Through this collaboration, RTC hopes to also promote the concept of Internationalisation at Home at the Draktsho Vocational Training Centre and to encourage the development of intercultural awareness and skills of the children with special needs.

RTC Community Development Plan

Community Development by RIM: Layap Community

RIM has been long time engaged in supporting the human resource development in Bhutan, especially for the civil servants. RIM’s intervention in the national human resource capacity building was primarily through training, research and consultancy activities. The institute has a total of 335 students undergoing courses and has five students from the Laya remote community undergoing different courses at the institute. Being situated at an elevation of approximately 3,700 metres above sea level, Laya Gewog is one of the remotest communities in Gasa Dzongkhag. Therefore, as a part of the Community Development Plan for FRIENDS project, RIM provides students from this community with all the required basic level of free tutoring in preparation for Preliminary Exams (PE), Civil Service entrance exams, English language class, Dzongkha Bridging courses, etc. All the classes are taught by the past Civil Service Exam topper students and capable faculty members of RIM. RIM is also actively involved in providing free coaching classes to the students who would like to pursue their further education outside Bhutan.

RIM Community Development Plan

Community Development by SRU: Tnot Commune

Under the FRIENDS project, SRU has chosen the Tnot commune, and in particular poor young women who live in the commune, as the focus for the Community Development Plan activity. This was chosen to do in partnership with the Cambodian Center for the Protection of Children’s Rights (CCPCR). Tnot commune is a very poor area right on the border with Vietnam and it is an area where a lot of child trafficking across the border takes place and where young women in particular are vulnerable.

SRU Community Development Plan

Community Development by DIU: Cham (Khmer Islam) Community

For its Community Development Plan DIU has chosen to work with the Khmer Islam Community. The data shows that the education of Muslim students is still behind, even though there is an Education Strategic Plan (ESP) of Cambodia from 2019-2023. This project work will benefit students in an Intensive English Program IEP class at the Methapheap Primary School located in Slakaet Commune, Battambang province.

DIU Community Development Plan

Agenda of 4 October 2022 Workshop

Community Development by APU: Home of Peace Orphanage

The purpose of the Community Development Plan at APU is to provide direct support for the poor children of the Home of Peace Orphanage. The project’s aim is to work with the Home of Peace Orphanage and Rumah Penyayang Anak Yatim dan Asnaf Ulu Yam Selangor – Dar Asnaf Alfateeh to build partnerships and provide educational and co-curricular activities, while participating in a fully immersed experience, followed by the Home of Peace Orphanage’s and Rumah Penyayang Anak Yatim dan Asnaf Ulu Yam Selangor – Dar Asnaf Alfateeh integration into the APU community.

Short Video from an APU Visit to the Orphanage

APU Community Development Plan by APU

Community Development by BUC: Orang Asli Community of Pos Kuala Woh

In FRIENDS, BUC is working with the indigenous Orang Asli Community on the Selangor/ Negeri Sembilan state border. The Orang Asli community are a minority group in Malaysia, considered historically the original settlers in the region. On the one hand, BUC community development work revolves around raising funds to buy necessities, including food, school supplies and medication, as well as donating books in the national languages, Malay, and English. Furthermore, the aim of the community development activities at BUC is to promote primary education and encourage Orang Asli children to go to school, as well as to raise funds for basic IT needs of Orang Asli community members.

BUC Community Development Plan

Community Development by SLU: Domolpos Community

The community of Domolpos in the Philippines has spectacular scenery and the coffee trees found just at the foot of Mt. Ugo are believed to be centuries old. Mt. Ugo is a popular hiking trail in the Cordilleras. Mountain climbers are in awe of the beauty that this trail offers. Traverses include stopping by Sitio Domolpos before reaching the Mt. Ugo summit. Aside from such natural wonders, the hospitality of the whole community is likewise remarkable. Based on these assessments, as part of the Community Development Plans activity in FRIENDS, SLU proposed interventions along agri-tourism and coffee making for sustainable livelihood of heirloom coffee and cultural preservation of Domolpos remote community. (Profile of Barangay Tinongdan, Activity Plan – Timeline, High Level Planning, Research Meeting Report – Sept 12th, 2022, Promotional Tarpaulin Design, Intercultural Dialogue: Coffee Agri-Tourism Program, Minutes of the Engagement – 15 October 2022)

SLU Community Development Plan

Community Development by UC: Ati Tribe

A cultural development programme has been initiated by UC in collaboration with the Ati tribe to address the tribe’s pressing issues related to socio-cultural aspect of their remote location. Currently, the group is composed of 90 households still battling for survival while preserving their culture under the leadership of Chieftain Joel Elosendo. UC’s Community Development Plan in FRIENDS embraces creativity and intercultural knowledge to uplift an indigenous community’s way of living. It integrates a socio-cultural wide agenda towards sustainable development, vis-a-vis, economic, education, and health, all under the framework of intercultural awareness by the UC students, which is in line with the project goals and objectives. (Message from ATI Chieftain at the UC FRIENDS Reunion, Message from ATI Youth President at the UC FRIENDS Reunion , Message from Chieftain Joel Elosendo and Message from Ati Youth Tribe President, Mr. Marlou Sanger)

UC Community Development Plan

Community Development by CTU: Children in Conflict with the Law at the Regional Rehabilitation Center for Youth at Candabong, Cebu

CTU designed its Community Development Plan which extends a previous programme at CTU aimed at improving the emotional well-being, and promoting arts, reading, technology and scientific processing skills to the children in conflict with the law at the Regional Rehabilitation Center for Youth at Candabong, Cebu.

A study in 2019 suggested the psycho-social well-being of rehabilitated youngsters increased when they engaged in community activities while always respecting the rules. It is with the aforementioned premise that CTU and the Regional Rehabilitation Center of Youth located in Candabong, Cebu, partnered in a project entitled, Technical-Vocational, Literacy, Numeracy & Music Skills Training-Workshop of the Children In Conflict with the Law. The initial study on the impact of the project among recipients is very positive. The center’s after care program revealed that the skills learned and acquired through the project were very useful for them as they reunite with their respective communities.

CTU Community Development Plan

Community Development by PSU: Malay Pattani Region Schoolchildren

The region of southern Thailand has been severely affected by the South Thailand insurgency, a separatist insurgent movement in the historical Malay Pattani Region, made up of the three southernmost provinces of Thailand. The unrest has become increasingly violent since the turn of the millennium, setting the region back in several ways, including lack of access to some educational services, and overall student achievement much lower than the national average. The insurgency has been also affecting schools. The resulting negative impact on teachers is often managed by relocation from the affected areas, causing teacher shortages in local schools and communities. As a result, it is more difficult for students to access sufficient levels education.

Considering the aforementioned points, FRIENDS project team members at PSU have examined the most suitable methods and tools to promote sustainable reading skills for young people from the Malay Pattani Region. The project “Read to Learn” was established to enhance English reading literacy through phonics and children’s literature in the three southern border provinces of Thailand.

Community Development Plan at PSU

Community Development by PYU: Children from Hill Tribe Ethnic Minorities in the Chiang Mai Region

Thailand is a country of cultural diversity. There are many nations and tribes especially in Chiang Mai which is known by City of Cultures. People in each tribe also live differently. More than 40 tribes have settled in Thailand – the La-ear, Hmong, Karen, etc. One of the most populous tribes in Thailand is the Hmong. Mostly they live in harmony with nature, whether in the middle or the top of the mountain. Every family there do farming for living. Their village is quite and far away from the city. Traveling from the village to the city will take more than 4 hours, so it is not very convenient to go in the city center.

Normally, the government provides school for each village, but it is only elementary school. Therefore, in order to continue studying, children need to leave the village and study the secondary or higher level in the city. By living in the city children need to have shelter because they don’t have family there.

Having children in the care of an organisation has both advantages and disadvantages. One of the disadvantages is that children do not have freedom. They are limited in space and cannot go out freely. As a result, children have difficulty adjusting or socialising when they are going to larger racial or social diversity. Therefore in the FRIENDS project, PYU set up this Community Development Plan to lay the groundwork and build a strong understanding among children about cultural diversity so that they can live in diverse societies smartly and happily. (Videos from Meetings – 1, 2, 3)

PYU Community Development Plan

Community Development by MSU: Children from the Khee Sri Sanga Non Siow Village

One of the well developed projects at MSU for many years has been helping transfer knowledge from the university to the community to help people access the information and technology to improve their livelihood. In 2022, as MSU enrolls the FRIENDS Community Development Plan, it has arranged this activity at the Khee Sri Sanga Non Siow Village, Kantarawichai District, Maha Sarakham Province. The project covers 10 to 20 children in the village and provides them with an education on Hoop Taem, or Isan Mural painting, the cultural heritage belonging to their ancestors.

MSU Community Development Plan