Happy Khmer New Year

HAPPY BELATED KHMER NEW YEAR!!

It’s the year of the Rabbit and hopefully another successful year for HCC!

So lots of exciting news to kick the New Year off. Firstly, we would like to say a big congratulation to Beth who has had her Australian Youth Ambassadors for Development (AYAD) placement accepted and will be joining the HCC team in July, can’t wait to have you on board Beth.

Staying on the topic of volunteers, we would also like to welcome to Tom Cargill to the HCC team. He has just accepted a 3 month placement as a Marketing Officer and will primarily be working on helping with the development of a new web page! Keep your eyes out for it!

Congratulations are the name of the game today as we learnt last week that 3 of the GDC clients who are enrolled at ACE English School have passed their exams with flying colours!! Well done guys.

Spotted (Checked?) Stop.Traffick Scarf

Vision charting - an 'end' versus 'empowerment'

I've begun revising our 'vision' for Stop.Traffick due to being prompted by classes at School for Social Entrepreneurs where ST is my main project. Whilst the majority in the SSE class thought it should be "An end to human trafficking" I think such a simplistic 'pie in the sky' vision misses the more practical yet holistic purpose of the organisation.

I prefer 'a society where individuals, organisations and survivors are empowered to combat the cause and effects of human trafficking". Why? Because if you could envision stamping the act of human and particularly sex trafficking of minors out in one swoop, there are still other factors left out. Indeed, you may have taken out some key people from the industry - brokers, agents, and traffickers through legal enforcement - but if we have learnt anything from the next biggest illegal crime (drugs) in Mexico, a vacuum will be filled by others seeking monetary gain without a care for the value of human life.

I don't write this as if i don't want the end of human trafficking to happen, it's just that in a monovisioned viewpoint key stakeholders who are truly affected are left out. The families living in poverty who are unaware of where their children will work and vulnerable to brokers (cause) and those who have had the opportunity to exit needing care at the shelters (effect) are not addressed in with such a singular focus. if we are to truly help people, shouldn't they be included, particularly survivors?

I see Stop.Traffick's role as being one of connecting. And this is what influences the direction of our vision. Everyday people can combat the cause and effects of trafficking - through fairtrade purchases, by taking a Childwise or Childesafe tuk-tuk in Cambodia, or even choosing a responsible tour company. Our job is to help people realise that they can make a direct difference, and not just contribute to another campaign where they feel they can't.

Thoughts, anyone?

Update from the Good Day Centre

The big news from HCC is that six of the girls in the Good Day Center have been successfully placed into a Hagar Cambodia Career Pathways for the Future program.

Hagar is a well established international NGO with a strong presence in Cambodia . They are committed to assisting young women who our victims of abuse, through human trafficking, domestic violence and sexual exploitation, with the goal of reintegrating them into the community with resilience and dignity.

Their programs are specifically designed to allow women to be able to live their lives with financial independence, dignity and hope.

The initial stages of the program concentrate on building up “soft skills”, such as communication and confidence building, after choosing a career path they move onto the job training in their chosen field. The later stages of the program are aimed at providing students with the skills to find full time employment.

Once they have graduated and successfully found employment Hagar remains in direct contact with the graduates, ensuring that their reintegration into the community remains on track.

The 6 girls from the Good Day Centre moved into a house in Phnom Penh last week and have really enjoyed their first week. HCC will continue to monitor the girls offering any support they may need.

A good example of what the girls can expect can be found in Malis's story here:

http://www.hagarcambodia.org/malis-becomes-business-woman

We wish the girls all the very best as they go about this new and exciting chapter in their lives.

New Projects 2011

We're building a hen house?! We're beginning to look at awareness and fund raising for the year and the first will be to raise money for a large hen house. It will allow the girls at the shelter to not only learn to care for the hens and chicks, but provide them with animal raising skills, responsibility and accountability. Not to mention increased nutrition, tasty food and income opportunities for the Good Day Centre when there are too many eggs to eat!

Planning has started for the 'backyard blitz' at the Good Day Centre. In January 2012 we will be taking a team of volunteers to plant and landscape a working garden, providing increased nutrition and lower running costs for the shelter. High yield low maintenance fruit trees, veggies and herbs for the body, and a sensory garden with frangipani and ylang ylang for the soul.

Official Launch Photos by Nic Bishop

The Tiger and Me

The crowd at Bella Union

Stop.Traffick founder Ian Jones

Tash Parker

Stop.Traffick's Official Launch October 2010

When Ian Jones, a student of RMIT, travelled to the Good Day Centre in Cambodia and heard the touching stories of the women who reside there he simply “had to do something about it”. The Good Day Centre is a project of the Healthcare Center for Children, an NGO operating in Cambodia. In the centre women who have been trafficked are given access to training and education but above all, a home. Upon returning to Melbourne Ian enlisted the help of fellow student Beth Newman and together formed the charity group Stop.traffick which will launch in October.

The group aim to raise awareness of and help implement programs in the prevention of human trafficking. It will also send monetary aid to programs like The Good Day Centre to help improve facilities and ensure the continuance of the programs that give life back to the women affected by Human Trafficking.

Helping to launch the charity are artists The Tiger and Me, Tash Parker and The Hazelman Brothers, all graciously donating their time and talents.