A Day In The Life – ChildSafe Hotline Manager

In this edition of ‘A Day In The Life’ we are introduced to Bunna, a ChildSafe Hotline Manager and student.

My name is Bunna and I work as the Hotline Manager for the ChildSafe Network in Cambodia. I live in Phnom Penh with my younger brother. Every morning I get up at around 5.30am. I spend time exercising, cleaning the house or just reading a book before my brother drops me to the office on his motorbike.

At work, the first thing I do each morning is talk to my staff and check the reports from the night before. Sometimes I need to follow up and contact a partner to help with a case, at other times I will meet with children and their families for counseling and assessment. Children are often referred to partners, such as Mith Samlanh or other NGOs, and I work very closely with them to follow up on each child’s situation. Some days I will go out into the community to meet key people such as local police or other organizations. At the same time, I am in charge of the hotline phone and will respond to any calls we receive about children who need assistance.

I eat lunch at around 12.30pm. There is a small shop near my house that sells delicious meals for only 6000 riel ($1.50), so I often go there. In the afternoons I work on any administrative tasks that need completed, such as replying to emails, writing monthly reports and compiling information about services available for children. I will go on outreach if I hear of a case that needs investigation or intervention. Otherwise, there is certainly enough to keep me busy between hotline calls!

I go home at 5.00pm and eat dinner with my brother. Sunset is my favorite time of day; I like driving a moto around the city or along the riverside. I am studying for an M.A in Clinical Psychology and Counseling at Royal University of Phnom Penh, so in the evenings I usually work on assignments. I am in my last semester, so I am currently working on my thesis, which is a big project for me, but I hope that it will help my work in the future.

By Bunna Phoeun

You can visit the Childsafe website here and read our Childsafe traveler tips here.