Consumer Education Experiences from Sin Liva – in Malaysia!
Phnom Penh, 19th January 2010
From 10th to 17th January 2010, I have participated in the Consumer Education Program at Consumer Association of Penang , Penang state, Malaysia where the regional consumer training is and where many countries coming for many kind of training about comsumer since 1969. The course goes along with product analysis, solution skills and also study about the cause and effect of plastic using and sugar effected. And the other topic was talking about the way to make compost which is very necessary for farmer to make that natural product on their farm and also to get more income from those healthy growth. The program provided to the participant time to meet and to listen to many interested speakers from many fields of CAP, as well as carry out some activities with market survey and compost practice.. This training, there were 15 participants coming from 5 local organizations: Youth For Peace (YFP), KYSD, RADO, CVS and Sre Khmer.
My expectation, from the course at CAP, was to learn about the various factors contributing to consumer issues. Furthermore, I wished to share my concerns and hopes for my country effectiveness of using product and more clearly about both cheap sale and cheat sale, beside this I also intent to share my experiences to the participants and to learn experiences of challenges and successes in community development from other participants. Moreover, I hoped that I could learn and analyze well about the product and using product carefully.
It was my first time to be trained about the Consumer Education and carry out the activities at the same time. And I have found that it was a very unique time for me to find out roof causes that can make people’s health become worse and worse. Beside this it is my gold opportunity to take time for special training for sharing with my colleagues and provide them to my students whom I have trained at community. And I hope they will also share all those information to their friends and their people.
We began our training with an introduction to market survey as well as survey analyzes which let us understand the importance of products in the market and ingredient which being combined in product and let me know how to make the critical thinking before I decide to buy any product. After that, we went through with the cause of the effected of using plastic and sugar effect on health and body which let us discover how important of product, food choosing important are and also other important topics for us to apply in daily life and also for adding into our protect process as we can. Moreover, we have been doing many exercises especially the compost work to understand the clear trough a real practice which we found very powerfully efficient.
Even the course couldn’t answer all the things I expected before I come to CAP, but I have learned so many valuable things or topics and met many important and great people. To talk many speakers who were talking about their experience and to hear what they have done in their countries really inspired me to look at what I could do for my own country. I acknowledged that I have part to make a difference in the world by starting from my own action and with my community. It is not too late to start now even there are so many issues in Cambodia. Now I have hope!
After meeting people from the real place, I am curious to learn more about their countries and want to be informed all the information around the world. Moreover, the CAP Scholars Program is my great start the first action of consumer education in Cambodia to be occurred. I hope to use all the knowledge I have received from my time in Penang to serve my community and my country.
Now I am back in Cambodia and I am in the real place to start all of those training born with truth body. I feel that it is very hard to keep my strong spirit and commitment with me but I hope that keeping in touch with my professors, my friends who I have met in CAP and meeting people who work for the same direction is a great help for me to become a real consumer issue helper.
