Molika Meas, a journalist with strong roots
Molika Meas, a Cambodian journalist who has just turned 24, was made for this job. Selected for training under CFI's Media for One Health project, this specialist in social issues has just added another string to her bow: the One Health* approach.
My grandmother always encouraged me to eat healthily. I realised that we have poor practices in Cambodia. Farmers use a lot of fertiliser, says Molika Meas, 24, from Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. She has just completed the second course in the Media for One Health project, run by CFI, in December 2024.
. In the field, on provincial farms, she became aware of the realities of health. She has been working for the Phnom Penh-based media company Kiripost (kiri means mountain in Khmer and symbolises nature and grandeur, ed.) for over two years, observing, questioning and sharing information with her fellow citizens.
Our health is linked to our surroundings and the animals that live in the forest. In Cambodia's open-air markets, chickens are slaughtered without gloves or other protection, which facilitates the transmission of bird flu, says the young woman, curious and lively.
Molika has this great natural ability to focus on people and society. She can take on new subjects and tackle them in depth. That's why she was selected to be trained in the One Health approach, explains Chan Thul Prak, director of Kiripost and a journalism tutor.
Now a messenger
When I was young, I was really shy. I only spoke to close friends and teachers. That was my weakness. The journalism course changed me completely, smiles Molika, who initially studied English at the Beltei International School in Phnom Penh and had plans to be an entrepreneur.
During the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown, in 2020, she enrolled on an online journalism course. After 6 months, she realised that this was the job she wanted to do and the job she was made for. "Journalism is part of me. I grew up in a family where my father and grandfather read the newspapers twice a day and listened to the radio a lot," she says. However, when she told them about her career choice, they feared that one day she would be threatened or arrested, like other journalists before her, if she were to tackle sensitive subjects.
Today, they appreciate the constructive journalism she authors.
She puts all her energy into something she feels strongly about, even to the point of exhaustion. Her dedication makes her an inspiring person. Talking to her is a joy because I always learn something new that makes sense, says Lim KimHoung, one of Molika's friends.
A taekwondo practitioner since the age of 7, Molika also plays badminton and swims in the sea in her spare time. But what she can spend all her time on are her favourite subjects of children's rights and recognition of the role of women.
Because they are the roots that help the younger generations to grow into strong trees with lots of fruit, she concludes.
Portrait by Bérengère Merlot (Journalistes Médiateurs)
*The “One Health” approach invites us to think differently about health, recognising the interdependence of the wellbeing of humans, animals and the ecosystems they share on our one planet. It uses the close and interdependent links between these three facets to develop new methods for monitoring and preventing disease (source: World Health Organization)