New Film on the Garbage Dump Kids

Khmer Times
Tin Sokhavuth

A DVD cover of the documentary made by Xavier de Lauzanne about PSE, which has saved and found a future for children living on a garbage dump in Phnom Penh. Supplied

To mark 20 years of the work of NGO Pour un Sourie d’Enfant (PSE), a new film about the founders was premiered at the Chaktomouk Hall on Phnom Penh’s riverside on Friday evening when Queen Mother Norodom Monineath was the guest of honor.

Titled “Little Gems,” the film – in French and Khmer with English subtitles – documents the pre-Cambodian lives of founders Christian and Marie-France des Pallieres, and their subsequent work in Cambodia.

It centers on their work in setting up a school and health facilities next to the Stung Meanchey dump – now closed – to the west of Phnom Penh in 1996, and their continued work with children from the city’s most impoverished communities.

Directed by Xavier de Lauzanne and featuring footage shot by some of the PSE students, the film serves as a reminder not just of how far conditions in Phnom Penh have improved for its most vulnerable inhabitants, but also the big strides in best-practice in the fields of child protection and education.

Souk Sophorn, a communication officer for PSE, told Khmer Times about the challenges the early students faced and why PSE had been so important in their lives.

“The movie tells us the true story of street children who used to survive day by day by picking recyclables in the Stung Meanchey dump. Because of PSE, their lives were changed. They finished school and found a good job.”

In addition to the physical challenges faced by a lack of food and working conditions at the dump, the film documents the mental stresses the children were under; from abusive parents and neighbors to inter-generational PTSD lingering from the Khmer Rouge years.

“They felt rejected by their family and society. Some decided to go back to live their life as before, although we have been trying our best to consolidate them mentally,” said Ms. Sophorn.

According to the PSE website, the NGO has assisted more than 10,000 children get away from working and into a safe environment, an education and employment. The documentary is being screened at Major Cineplex, Platinum Cineplex and Legend Cinema in Phnom Penh from September 13 to 19, with all ticket sales going to PSE.