Helping others to support the children

Lynne Barnett, of Sprotbrough, is on her 15th mercy mission to the Far Eastern country and, after years of helping youngsters face-to-face, she is now aiming to give Cambodian people the skills to do the work.

Lynne, a freelance therapist, hopes that this will mean more children get the support they need because she cannot help them all on her own.

Lynne said: “I won’t be face to face with children anymore but for every person I train they will be able to work with 20 to 30 children.”

In recent years, Lynne has worked in the Siem Reap region in the north of Cambodia but now she will be working in the country’s capital Phnom Penh.

Cambodia is still dragging itself out of the horror of Pol Pot’s Year Zero genocide in the 1970s – in which millions died – and which has left the country in grinding poverty.

Many families still sell children into sexual slavery.

Lynne said: “Two years working with rescued sexually trafficked children opened my eyes to how vast and complex the need is for professional Cambodian counsellors.

“Currently counselling provision is negligible. Most counselling here appears to be via non-government organisations and is criteria-specific. Professional counselling services are of crucial importance to help heal the nation of the vast trauma suffered. 

“I have left the anti-sex trafficking project to embark on developing accredited professional counselling training. This was an extremely hard decision and tore at my heartstrings as I left the girls and a wonderful team of Cambodian colleagues. 

“I am now working with a Cambodian woman and another expat to develop this training at diploma level. We share the same vision, to open a counselling and training centre, accessible to all.

“I will be moving to the capital city soon. Even though there is great need in the provinces, it is in the city where we must start, to get recognition of a high standard quality training course.”

Lynne said that counselling training will take a long time and funding and finding a place to set up a training centre have proved a problem.

She said that a lack of books and journals written in the native Khmer language is also a difficulty, as is finding suitably qualified teaching staff. Developing an accreditation acceptable to the authorities could be a headache.

Lynne said: “There is a lack of funding especially as it does not appeal to donors so much. It will have a greater positive impact on the nation, but donors cannot identify so easily with the beneficiaries. In fact all ages, gender, issues etc, can be helped more effectively. It will also be sustainable and less reliant on other countries in the future.

“Personal donors have greatly reduced due to many factors, including fears during Brexit, and the currency exchange rate is terrible.”

But there are people who are willing to help Lynne, and have been doing so throughout her 15 visits.

Parishioners at Sprotbrough Methodist Church and All Saints Church in Darfield have made donations and held fundraisers. A bacon buttie morning at Sprotbrough Methodist Church in early November was one such community event.

Veronica Bevan, who comes from High Melton, has supported Lynne’s work by giving talks and has even travelled to Cambodia to get first-hand experience there.

Previously, Lynne has spoken about the difficulties of getting positive change in Cambodia due to official inaction and poverty, as well as the trauma left over from past horrors.

But she believed her work would reap rewards.

Lynne said: “If healing is enabled, then relationships and society will benefit as a whole. There will be more unity and sharing of resources and skills.

“Parenting skills will improve and it will reduce anger issues, violence, drug and alcohol abuse.”

If you would like to support Lynne’s work, this can be done via Helen Smyly at Sprotbrough Methodist Church at [email protected].