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Work Undertaken by the Children/Youth – Neak Loeung 2009
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Beggar
Farmer
Laundry
Stealing
CarPark
Porter
Scavenger
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Most of the street children/youth in Neak Loeung provided multiple answers to the
question of what activities were undertaken on the streets so as to make a livelihood –
thus working in more than one area. The most common work undertaken is scavenging
at 81.7 percent of the total questionnaires, followed by begging at 31.7 percent. Activities
revolving around vend-ing/selling were other frequent answers at 10 percent. The trend
identified in this year’s profile reveals a rather immense increase of both scavenging
and begging activities compared to the CSCN profile 2008, where these were at 46.1
percent and 7.8 percent respectively.
Regarding the tendency for vending/selling activities in Neak Loeung, there has been a
decrease from 20 percent in the 2008 CSCN profile to 10 percent this year. In the 2008
CSCN profile, the relatively high number of street children engaging in vending activities
compared to other provinces was explained by the flow of people in transit through
Neak Loeung due to the ferry crossing. It appears that this year vending/selling activities
have been replaced by begging. According to CSCN member Damnok Toek (Goutte
d’Eau), begging had become the most rewarding source of income especially with a
growing number of buses and vehicles passing through from/to Vietnam. Begging is
not only a growing phenomenon among street children/youth in Neak Loeung, but also
among elderly and disabled people. Finally, another trend that characterises the street
life in Neak Loeung is the breadth of activities that the street children/youth engage in
to make a livelihood.
CSCN
CSCN Street Children Profile 2009
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