Channa Pak’s journey from waste picker in an urban slum in Phnom Penh to becoming one of 3,523 Community Accountability Facilitators in Cambodia exemplifies the transformative power of social accountability initiatives. The Social Accountability Forum held in Phnom Penh on March 29, 2024, brought together government ministries, civil society organizations, development partners, the media, and youth groups to highlight the impact of citizen engagement on public service delivery.
The World Bank is supporting two Social Accountability projects that enhance public service performance by informing citizens of their rights, engaging them in monitoring and evaluating service providers, and fostering dialogue between citizens and local authorities.
Growing up in Phnom Penh, Channa Pak endured poverty and social exclusion. As an informal waste collector, she was shunned by neighbors and her efforts to provide for her family were met with scorn. "Neighbors would educate their children by comparing them to my family," she recalls in tears. "Why don’t you go to school? Do you want to be a waste picker like them, living in poverty and with no one wanting to be friends with you?"
Channa's life changed when she became a Community Accountability Facilitator for two Social Accountability projects implemented by the Royal Government of Cambodia and World Vision International, with support from the World Bank, Switzerland, Germany, and Australia. These projects seek to enhance public service performance by informing citizens of their rights, engaging them in the evaluation of service providers, and fostering dialogue between citizens and local authorities.
At the Social Accountability Forum held in Phnom Penh on March 29, 2024, Channa shared her story with a large audience comprised of 270 representatives from various government ministries, civil society organizations, international agencies, the media, and youth groups.
"When I first started as a facilitator," she said. "I felt nervous and anxious. I was scared and would shake when facilitating council meetings sometimes speaking incoherently. However," she continued. "With training from World Vision over time I have become courageous and confident." Her story also reached 67 thousand viewers watching a livestream of the event on Facebook.
Facilitators like Channa play a key role in fostering candid discussions among citizens' service providers' local governments proposing solutions that help advance significant improvements healthcare education administrative services provided local governments thanks Social Accountability projects share service providers projects’ target areas meet key service standards rose 84 percent 2023 from 42 percent 2020 facilitators trained dissemination information open budgets citizen monitoring community scorecards facilitation leadership skills support collective action receive mentoring job coaching help boost sense confidence agency
Social accountability can also help more people access public services. In rural Cambodia where only two decades ago about half population illiterate many citizens not aware rights lack information about services entitled receive poorest often do not know eligible receive healthcare free charge
Channa's journey from silence strength shows transformative potential citizen engagement through empowerment collective action individuals able find voices become catalysts change communities