Services & Activities
Learning and acquiring Buddhism spirit, practicing the spirit, and living with it in daily life will be fundamental that people themselves, others, and societies become happy.
To brush the sprit up in everyone’s mind, it is important for he/she to engage in social activities by believing probabilities of Buddhism, and to polish him/herself by following Buddhism principles or searching him/herself for solutions when he/she face difficulties.
・Cultivating the Heart
Projects based on Buddhism that support the development of morality and humanity
1. Distribution and propagation of picture papers and books based on Buddhism narratives
While the domestic economy has been rapidly growing in Cambodia, circumstances of people in materialism have also been changing, which will lead to increase the number of mentally ailing people and will deprive people of sympathy and compassion to the others.
This project aims at nourishing sympathy and compassion for children and their parents, and young generations by conveying the compassion and the wisdom based on Buddhism through picture books or two-way lessons in order to live with peaceful and stable minds. Hence, the project can prevent them from from being at the mercy of plentiful information or raid transition of views.
We cooperate with university students, well-informed people, and Buddhist monks in Cambodia in order to promote the project and provide our materials to villagers.
Cooperator
Sna Dai Khmer
Pannasaustra University of Cambodia(PUC) Model Teens of PUC
RKK-Cambodia (Rissio-Kouseikai Cambodia)
2. Dialogue with the youth who will take responsibilities for societies in Cambodia
We periodically hold symposiums and study meetings at university and with study groups in Phnom Penh. We have opportunities to converse with young generations who will take responsibilities for the country and societies in the future.
Through those activities and by learning Buddhism principles, we think together about how people can face themselves to find better ways of lives, how they spontaneously communicate with their societies, and how they can solve problems and issues.
Also, we can make a bridge between Japanese and Cambodian students, provide opportunities to communicate among young people in cities and those in villages, and to enable people in cities to participate in social activities.
Cooperator
the Royal University of Phnom Penh, Japanese Language Department
Pannasaustra University of Cambodia(PUC)
・Agricultural Support
Projects based on agriculture supporting farmers by economic side
Catuddisa Sangha, CS (http://catuddisa-sangha.org), a nongovernmental organization, which provides international cooperation and aids chiefly in Buddhist countries in Asia. These projects had started from trusting projects by CS.
1. the Rice Bank
・Concept
One of the projects provided by CS since 2005. CS has started a microfinance service in Battambang Province, located in northern part of Cambodia, in order to solve famine by cooperating with local Buddhist monks and villagers. It has aimed at eradicating famine caused by penury by promoting a financial independence toward their future.
The number of those who joined the rice bank has been increasing up to 500 households since it's started, and the bank has been independently and sustainably managed in five villages; two of them in Battambang, one of them in Kampong Chnang, and the other two in Kampong Speu Province.
・Management System
Four representatives are appointed in each village, and they manage the system by following rules which a conference with villagers has defined. It lends money to applicants by the ratio of amount of rice seeds, and borrowers will refund the 20% more amount of rice seeds including taxes.
A committee has meetings in order to decide how and what to use stocked rice seeds. The stocked rice seeds are usually used to support new applicants as their principals or to develop infrastructure around a village by maintaining roads, digging new wells. Also, some of them stockpile for emergency.
2. Buddha Pond Project
In 2003, people in Battambang Province suffered from chronic shortage of water, and CS helped them in digging new ponds with 50m x 30m x 5m, called Buddha Pond, in order to store water up during the rainy season.
It has dug five ponds in Cambodia, and each pond is managed by villagers, and supplies water for about 1,500 residents for their dairy use.
Buddha Pond 1. Battambang Province (constructed in 2003)
Buddha Pond 2. Battambang Province (constructed in 2005)
Buddha Pond 3. Takeo Province (constructed in 2007)
Buddha Pond 4. Kampong Spoe Province (constructed in 2010)
Buddha Pond 5. Kampong Spoe Proviince (constructed in 2015)
*Buddha Pond 1 to 4 were constructed by CS, 5 was constructed by CEP supported by Nichiren Shu in Japan.
Cooperator
Nichiren Shu Japan https://www.nichiren.or.jp/english/
3. Promote of side business, Cooperative of Buddha Projects
Currently in the community based on the Rice Bank, the farmers have faced several issues that difficulty of economic stability only by cultivating the rice, because of climate and market condition change. Also development of Phnom Penh caused a gap-widening society, and inflow of population to the city caused underpopulation to the rural area in Cambodia.
Thus aim to solve these issues on the bases of rice bank community, we're going to operate these projects step by step: ⅰ. Improvement of the quality of rice by technical development, and finding new market. ⅱ. Developing the side business like growing vegetables, feeding chicken, pork and fish. ⅲ. Networking of each rice bank community by setting up the Buddha Cooperative.
Project site
Preypreal Village, Tangen Village in Battambang Province, Sreprey Village in Kampong Chunang Province, Tropeanweng Village, Snul Village in Kampong Spoe Provine
Cooperator
Nichiren Shu https://www.nichiren.or.jp
Continue to the next page: Regional Vitalization Programs