POIPET, CAMBODIA
By living in a border city like Poipet, where traffickers prey on economically vulnerable families seeking higher wages, Kannitha was highly susceptible to unsafe jobs and labor trafficking snares. Kannitha has always dreamed of getting a financially stable job to support her family better. After the sixth grade, Kannitha had to drop out of school to work as a shop assistant and cassava farm worker to bring in more income to support her family.
Before joining the Workforce Development Program, she applied for a job as a garment worker twice but got rejected. At the end of her first training phase at Nomi Network, our field staff saw how much Kannitha had grown in communication, time management, and teamwork. They also noticed Kannitha’s boost in confidence. Her sewing skills had improved so much that she started making and selling product trims. By the end of the first training phase, Kannitha saved half of her earnings!
During the second program phase, Kannitha began technical training with the Cambodian Garment Training Institute (CGTI), a job creation partner of Nomi Network Cambodia, to learn to sew at the industry standard. Kannitha excelled in her technical training and learned to operate different machines and master various stitches. Though Kannitha received excellent scores on her final sewing exam, she decided to take a local position as a cable manufacturer, where she started last August. Even though Kannitha decided to switch industries, she passed an exam in an industry where she had been previously rejected, and that is a huge deal! Kannitha knows she can strengthen any skill set with concentrated effort and determination.
Today Kannitha is happy and fulfilled in her new role. She earns up to 300 USD per month while her base salary is 194 USD, a much more substantial wage than her times as a cassava farm worker. Kannitha also enjoys health insurance benefits, free daily lunches, and a pension fund.
Kannitha is proud of her work and so happy that she is better positioned to help her family and live with more stability. We are grateful for our various employment partners in Poipet who can provide women like Kannitha with robust benefits and healthy, safe work atmospheres.
*Name changed to protect privacy
