As you might know, due to the spread of Covid-19, the Village Entrepreneur program has been disrupted on multiple occasions, resulting in our Cambodian staff pivoting to the use of video lessons, phone and online communication.

Recently, as the Cambodian government allows the resume of travel around some parts of the country, the Cufa staff travelled to the Kampong Chhnang and Takeo provinces.  As part of the quarterly monitoring and evaluation, Cufa surveyed business progress and provided financial and technical training to the Village Entrepreneurs.  During this visit, our staff was able to meet face-to-face with 24 recipients and share new skills in the areas of agriculture and bookkeeping.  Our staff also had the opportunity to engage with the community and discussed their situation during the pandemic. In general, they expressed their satisfaction to be able to attend group trainings again and share business ideas with other Village Entrepreneurs. Many of the community members found that not only do the group meetings allow the interaction among businesses, but also reinforces their sense of community to lift themselves out of intergenerational poverty.

Once travel to all provinces where we operate the Village Entrepreneur program is allowed, Cufa will recommence face-to-face consultation and training. To protect individuals from the pandemic, our staff will continue applying social distancing measures and hand sanitation.