{"id":21611,"date":"2025-07-09T02:03:50","date_gmt":"2025-07-09T02:03:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adracambodia.org\/?p=21611"},"modified":"2025-07-09T02:25:15","modified_gmt":"2025-07-09T02:25:15","slug":"a-voice-for-change-simoms-role-in-building-a-safer-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adracambodia.org\/km\/a-voice-for-change-simoms-role-in-building-a-safer-community\/","title":{"rendered":"A Voice for Change: Simom\u2019s Role in Building a Safer Community"},"content":{"rendered":"
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|\u00a0 By Kong Phano\u200b and Chhoeun Chhoeut, ADRA Cambodia<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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\"\"<\/p>

Ngon Simom is a 37-year-old police officer living in Koh Sralay Commune, Siem Bok District, Stung Treng Province<\/strong>. She is married and a proud mother of three children\u2014two boys and one girl. In addition to her work as a police officer, Simom serves as a dedicated member of the Community Management Committee (CMC)<\/strong>, where she plays an active role in addressing important social issues in her community.<\/p>


Taking a Stand for Her Community<\/strong><\/p>

For Simom, joining the Community Management Committee (CMC) is more than a responsibility\u2014it\u2019s an opportunity to be part of something meaningful. As a police officer and a community member, she is proud to work alongside others who care deeply about creating positive change.<\/p>

\u201cI\u2019m happy to be part of the committee,\u201d she shares. \u201cIt gives me the opportunity to help my community and become more confident when speaking in public.\u201d<\/p>

Now that her community has a CMC in place, Simom is hopeful and motivated.<\/p>

\u201cIt\u2019s time for all of us to work together to develop our community. When we join forces, we can solve problems and build a better future for everyone.\u201d<\/p>

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\u00a0<\/p>

Growing in Confidence and Unity<\/strong><\/p>

Since joining the committee, Simom has experienced meaningful personal growth. She now feels more confident speaking in front of others\u2014something she once found challenging.<\/p>

\u201cBeing part of the committee has helped me build my confidence,\u201d she shares. \u201cAnd I\u2019ve seen how, when we work together and support one another, the committee becomes stronger and more effective in serving our community.\u201d<\/p>

Simom believes that collaboration, commitment, and consistent communication are key to the committee\u2019s continued success.<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

Why She Believes in CoLMEAL<\/strong><\/p>

Simom is a strong supporter of CoLMEAL<\/strong>\u2014the Community-Led Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning<\/strong> approach. She sees the impact of outreach activities carried out by local officials and partner organizations.<\/p>

\u201cWe\u2019ve raised awareness in village meetings, and we plan to keep doing outreach. That\u2019s why I believe this approach can work.\u201d<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

Positive Impacts at Home and in the Community<\/strong><\/p>

Simom has seen the benefits of the project in her own life and in the wider community.<\/p>

\u201cFortunately, my family has never experienced violence, and I hope it stays that way. Through CoLMEAL, I\u2019ve gained valuable knowledge about the harmful effects of drug use and how to prevent violence. In the community, people are becoming more aware, and drug use has started to decline.\u201d<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

Staying Motivated to Create Change<\/strong><\/p>

When asked what keeps her going, Simom points to her curiosity, passion for learning, and the support she receives.<\/p>

\u201cI\u2019m motivated by the chance to learn new things. If I have enough time and support\u2014including financial support for travel\u2014I will stay active in this role.\u201d<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

Explaining CoLMEAL to Her Family and Friends<\/strong><\/p>

Simom is proud to explain the CoLMEAL process to others, including her husband, children, and neighbors.<\/p>

\u201cCoLMEAL is a community-led approach that focuses on solving problems together. We learn, take responsibility, implement actions, and monitor our progress. The committee includes police, schools, health centers, youth, village chiefs, and vulnerable groups.\u201d<\/p>

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\u00a0<\/p>

A Project for Lasting Impact<\/strong><\/p>

Ngon Simom\u2019s journey is part of the broader impact of ADRA Cambodia\u2019s TOGETHER project<\/strong>\u2014”Uniting Towards Gender Equality for the Enjoyment of Women\u2019s and Girls\u2019 Total Health and Rights.” Funded by the Government of Canada<\/strong>, and supported by ADRA Canada<\/strong>, SickKids<\/strong>, and Salanga<\/strong>, this six-year gender-transformative initiative is empowering nearly 200,000 girls, women, boys, and men in Cambodia, Kenya, the Philippines, and Uganda to enjoy their health-related human rights.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For Simom, joining the Community Management Committee (CMC) is more than a responsibility\u2014it\u2019s an opportunity to be part of something meaningful. As a police officer and a community member, she is proud to work alongside others who care deeply about creating positive change.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":21614,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[287,3,195,294],"tags":[306],"class_list":["post-21611","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news","category-promote-to-homepage-carousel","category-promote-to-homepage-stories","category-together-stories","tag-together-stories"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adracambodia.org\/km\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21611","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adracambodia.org\/km\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adracambodia.org\/km\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adracambodia.org\/km\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adracambodia.org\/km\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21611"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/adracambodia.org\/km\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21611\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21628,"href":"https:\/\/adracambodia.org\/km\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21611\/revisions\/21628"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adracambodia.org\/km\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21614"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adracambodia.org\/km\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21611"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adracambodia.org\/km\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21611"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adracambodia.org\/km\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21611"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}