About SCC
 SCC
was established as a local non-profit Non Government Organisation
(NGO) by two Cambodian University students in 1994. The organization
was established to respond to the urgent need of Cambodian
people for education, care and support relating to HIV/AIDS,
and this initiative has consequently inspired others to initiate
similar activities. SCC strategically works with Buddhist
monks to implement HIV/AIDS prevention and care activities.
Through the compassion and
commitment of a group of core trainer monks, fieldwork volunteers
and a dedicated team of staff, SCC has been able to improve
the lives of many people infected with and affected by HIV/AIDS,
especially orphaned and vulnerable children, in its target
provinces of Phnom Penh, Battambang and Siem Reap.
The monks and their pagodas are playing
a crucial role in the process of support and reform. Among
Khmers, Buddhist monks are trusted, respected, influential
figures who are traditionally revered. This important position
in society provides SCC’s monks with legitimacy and
assists with effectiveness in providing HIV/AIDS prevention
and care services to their communities. Pagodas are a natural
focal point for communities and their needs and for many years
have been serving society as centres for a multitude of education
and health related activities. For example, families with
low income place their children in pagodas for their education,
as they cannot afford school fees. Many who are in need of
medical assistance also find refuge in pagodas.
Pagodas number 4,000 in Cambodia, with
just under 54,000 monks resident. As Buddhism is the national
religion of over 90% of the population, utilizing the Buddhist
monks/ pagoda infrastructure provides great potential for
reducing the impact of HIV/AIDS on communities in Cambodia.
Many monks already act as teachers and community leaders,
providing mental, spiritual and social support to people with
various problems. By adopting a train the trainer approach,
core trainer monks successfully cascade their knowledge, skills
and expertise throughout the monk network to maximum effect.
The Cambodian National Centre for AIDS,
Dermatology and STDs and the Ministry of Health have predicted
that there will be a time when hospitals will have no beds
for AIDS patients. This could place undue pressure on pagodas
as an alternative for the care of people who are suffering
from AIDS related illnesses. SCC therefore encourages people
to take care of their loved ones in their own homes and communities,
and to use pagodas as centres for information, education and
communication . Consequently, it is vital that the work of
the monks and pagodas is recognized and strengthened, and
it is hoped in the near future that Buddhist nuns will also
become equally involved.
With generous support from the Norwegian
Trust for AIDS research via the World Bank in 1994, UNDP/CARERE
support (1997-1999) and ongoing support from ICCO, CAFOD,
KHANA, UNICEF, as well as many small donors, SCC has been
able to ensure the success of projects undertaken so far.
SCC also enjoys support from and is fully authorized by the
Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Culture and Religious
Affairs.
SCC is one of many NGOs and government agencies scaling up
its response to the epidemic. Access to voluntary confidential
counseling and testing and treatment services (such as treatment
of opportunistic infections) and provision of anti-retroviral
therapy, has increased across Cambodia, thanks to the efforts
of organizations like Medicins Sans Frontiers, Family Health
International and the National Centre for HIV/AIDS, Dermatology
and STD (NCHADS).
Collaboration between NGOs and other service providers has
also improved and SCC is an active member in many networks
including the HIV/AIDS Coordinating Committee (HACC) and regional
home based care networks. SCC has also established effective
referral systems with other relevant agencies in each of the
three provinces, providing an essential link between poor,
urban and rural communities, and provincial health services.
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