A New, Exciting Chapter for MRO

On Thursday the 19th March 2026, M’lup Russey staff gathered at the National Institute of Social Affairs for their award ceremony, where they received their Child Protection Social Service Workforce (Level 1) certificate. They were joined by MRO board members, donor representatives, the Principle of the Institute, the teachers of the course and other school officials to celebrate this important achievement.

For seven months, the MRO team have been working hard on this course to earn their certificates; doing three and a half hours of online lessons every weeknight after work. In total, the team studied for 180 hours, did homework, sat exams and all while doing their usual day to day work. They were commended by one of their course instructors, who said, “You were studying and then there was the conflict on the border and you all went straight to help the people and joined lessons from there.” Every single participant worked incredibly hard to complete and pass this course all while actively working in the field.


Great Achievements

M’lup Russey is the very first NGO in Cambodia to support its team to gain this vital qualification. With this certificate, the team are recognised by the Institute and the Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation as being trained Para Social Workers with high child protection standards. Every participant is pleased to have had this opportunity and is proud of their achievements, they worked tirelessly to earn their certificates and were praised for their hard work by one of their teachers, who said, “I praise you all because you all put the theory you were learning into practice.” The team see the recognition of NISA and the Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation as confirmation that they’re more than just social work staff. They feel that they can now quickly and effectively help those in need by implementing their plans at a higher standard and quality. Filling in the gaps in their knowledge of the theory behind their work has meant that they are now able to provide improved services to ensure more positive impact in people's lives, from the protection of the vulnerable to supporting people to change their circumstances for the better, protecting MRO’s target groups as well as protecting MRO team members in the field. They now feel able to adjust their work through ethical practices and better case management, as well as being able to work more inclusively with MRO’s stakeholders. The team feels that MRO has increased its credibility with this certificate and they now feel confident that they can perform their work to an even higher, professional standard.


Knowledge and Experience

When the course first started, some participants found that they had lacked the basic skills that the course introduced initially, having never studied the more theoretical material. They realised that in order to respond to the needs of the communities, they would need the education and experience the course provided to be able to improve the effectiveness and quality of their work. Previously, some participants hadn’t been confident that they were doing the right thing for the vulnerable people and children they worked with on the field, however, through the progression of the course, they learned that they had been making all the right decisions already. Another one of their teachers praised them, saying, “You weren’t my normal students because you are already working. You are working with and supporting clients already and that truly touched my heart.” The team realised that all the lessons they were being taught fit the work they were already doing to uplift communities and that this course was going to further strengthen their ability to do so. Their confidence grew as they learned how to more effectively protect and support change in those around them, through lessons, reflections, group discussions and through the real-life case studies they were given as examples.

Throughout the course, the team learned how to provide better services to the vulnerable communities and children they work with through lessons on relational skills, positive care methods, case management studies, active listening skills, child development, and the responsibilities of child protection networks. Not only that, but they learned more about child protection, positive parenting and care, child rights, safeguarding principles and to how to provide better mental health and emotional support to vulnerable people and children.


A New Chapter

The National Institute of Social Affairs hopes that in the future more NGOs will follow in the footsteps of MRO and take a social workforce training course and receive certificates. The Institute hopes that MRO can be an advocate for this training and qualification, as the work they can now do because of it will help more people. MRO was the first to take this course as an organisational body and now the Institute has confidence that many more NGOs can achieve the same thing. NISA believes that if every NGO team were to earn these qualifications, social work across Cambodia will be of a higher standard and more vulnerable people can be helped positively.

M’lup Russey is incredibly proud of all the team members who showed such dedication and commitment in working so hard to achieve their Child Protection Social Service Workforce (Level 1) qualification, and everyone is looking forward to putting their knowledge into practice to protect more children and support more vulnerable families and communities throughout Cambodia on into the future.