EF is in partnership with the Ratanak Foundation- a Canadian non-profit organization dedicated to bringing Christian hope to the Khmer people of Cambodia by rebuilding social and medical services. In January of 2009, God opened opportunities for EF and Ratanak Foundation to join in the spirit of unity and work together to accomplish His purpose for Cambodia. With this partnership, EF is able to tap into all the ministries that Ratanak Foundation is already supporting in Cambodia. In return, Ratanak Foundation will get a partner in USA who will act as a liason for Ratanak Foundation’s US-based donors and expand the organizations support and awareness in the US.
The Ratanak Foundation is named after a little girl named Ratanak who, in the late 1989, passed away in a hospital in northwest Cambodia. While her illness was curable, no medication or medical equipment was available at that time to save her. To prevent similar situations, Ratanak Foundation projects have focused primarily on rebuilding and improving health care services in Cambodia such as shipping medical supplies, building hospitals and clinics, developing immunization programs, and supplying ambulances. In crisis situations, the Ratanak Foundation has funded emergency food distribution efforts and a variety of community-based food-for-work programs. Also, the plight of orphans and abused and exploited children led to the development of schools, orphanages, and rehabilitation centers. Finally, social service programs, such as literacy and sanitation programs, were developed in local communities and prisons. All projects are designed to be self-sustainable. With years of experience, the Ratanak Foundation continues to support rural and urban projects in many provinces and is privileged to assist in changing thousands of lives in Cambodia. For more information, please visit http://www.ratanak.org.
Prison Fellowship is a global association of over 100 national Prison Fellowship organizations with a network of more than 100,000 volunteers worldwide working for the spiritual, moral, social and physical well-being of prisoners, ex-prisoners, their families and victims of crime. PF promotes restorative justice that work to heal broken relationships, repair the damage done by crime and restore the offender to a meaningful role in society. Started by volunteers in 2001, Prison Fellowship (PF) Cambodia provides in-prison classes in literacy, painting, weaving, electronics, music and sports. Also, staff members hold in-prison Bible studies and “discipleship classes,” which consists of a four-hour per week Bible course to two prisoners from each cellblock. In 2004, PF Cambodia launched “The Blue Gate House,” which provides shelter and support for recently released prisoners, offering educational classes, job skills training, counseling and even micro-enterprise loans. Since its launch, PF has seen an increase in the number of ex-prisoners using the facility—this year 25 percent more people accessed the services over last year. PF Cambodia also has several programs for families and children of prisoners. PF’s “Family Assistance Program” provides needy families with food, clothing, medical health and assistance with debts and income generation. In September, PF launched “Michael House,” a temporary and safe shelter for the children of prisoners when they discovered that many children were living in unsafe conditions after their parents went to prison. For more information, please visit http://www.pfi.org.
Daughters is a Cambodian non-governmental organization that focuses on ministering to victims of sex trafficking in Cambodia. In January of 2007, a Daughters day center opened in the center of an area filled with brothels. At the Daughters Day Center, sex trafficked girls receive medical treatment, therapeutic counseling services, a variety of activities that promote holistic recovery, and an educational program focused on life skills training in a safe and nurturing environment. Social work services provide life-skills education and interventions to prevent younger siblings and/or children from being sold. Girls are given opportunities to leave the sex industry through provision of salaried jobs in Daughters Fair Trade business. Most of the girls in the Daughters Day Center are between the ages of 13 years to 25 years. Since Daughters started in January 2007, over 100 girls have left the sex industry. For more information on Daughters, please visit http://www.daughterscambodia.org.
Servants Asia is a network of Christian communities living and working beside the urban poor in cities across Asia. In 2004, Servants Asia officially handed over the leadership of all the ministries in Cambodia to Cambodian Christian partners, who have renamed themselves TASK (a Khmer acronym). TASK supports the health, nutrition, and education of impoverished women and children in Cambodia’s urban slums. Their programs include orphan care and support services, disabled children’s medical and physiotherapy care and education, healthcare and clinics for women and children living in brothels, immunizations, nutrition and basic hygiene for malnourished women and children, family planning, women health services, and HIV/AIDS education and homecare. For more information, please visit http://www.servantsasia.org/index.php/cambodia.
Founded in 1997 by Gary Haugen, the International Justice Mission is a human rights agency that secures justice for victims of slavery, sexual exploitation and other forms of violent oppression. IJM lawyers, investigators and aftercare professionals work with local governments to ensure victim rescue, to prosecute perpetrators and to strengthen the community and civic factors that promote functioning public justice systems.
In Southeast Asia, IJM staff work on the frontlines to bring rescue and relief to victims of sexual violence, including trafficked women and children, and to prosecute their perpetrators. IJM staff work to ensure that national anti-trafficking laws are brought to bear on behalf of those victimized by this crime. Despite a growing commitment to fight this illegal activity in the region, trafficking continues to constitute a major human rights violation in Southeast Asia. Poverty, overburdened legal systems and social instability all contribute to the prevalence of trafficking. For more information, please visit www.ijm.org
Chab Dai is a coalition of more than 40 Christian organizations working against sexual abuse and trafficking in Cambodia. Chab Dai projects focus on building a learning community with partner organizations and local communities, advocacy and research, and prevention and intervention. Currently, the Ratanak Foundation is helping to fund Chab Dai’s Church and Community Training Program- which promotes awareness and provides prevention and intervention training on issues pertaining to abuse and trafficking in communities that are geographically located in the most vulnerable areas for cross border migration and trafficking. Since the program began in 2006, more than 400 community leaders have been trained. These community leaders have trained over 9,000 individuals within their own communities and surrounding areas. As a result, more than 30 cases of trafficking have been either averted or addressed. To learn more about Chab Dai, please visit www.chabdai.org.
Hagar International is a Swiss-based Christian development organization that focuses on the prevention, rehabilitation and reintegration of abused, abandoned, trafficked and impoverished women and children. Hagar projects and businesses operate in tandem to support the spiritual, educational, social and economic needs of vulnerable women and children. Approximately 80% of the women and children in Hagar’s program for women have been successfully reintegrated into their community and live productive lives. Also, Hagar’s program for children provided long term residential care and support services to over 250 children in 2007. For a complete list of Hagar’s programs, businesses and services, please visit http://www.hagarcambodia.org.
The “NewSong” project is named after two little girls, Nhu and Sung, who were sold into prostitution. Brian McConaghy- the founder of Ratanak Foundation- has actively searched and prayed for these two girls since 2004. Since then, Nhu has been found. In July of 2005, the New Song Project opened a rehabilitation center in a secluded and undisclosed location for 40 to 60 little girls who have been rescued from various brothels in Cambodia. Currently, the rehabilitation center provides intensive physical and psychological rehabilitation programs; which will be followed by placement in carefully chosen orphanages and/or trained foster homes. The Ratanak Foundation hopes to expand their educational and rehabilitation programs for children in the rehabilitation center in the near future. For more information, please visit http://www.ratanak.org.
Rahab House is a former brothel for child sex trafficking that has been rehabilitated into a community center in Svay Pak, Phnom Penh. After being raided by the International Justice Mission and emptied of its child sex slaves, the brothel sat chained and locked for 5 years. Then, in August of 2007, Agape International Missions (AIM) leased the building and re-opened it as a community center that provides free food, medical care, dental care and education to villagers. Currently, Rahab’s House is open two days a week in an effort to build relationships with families in the community. Rahab House staff opens a free healthcare clinic for the community one day each week. In addition, the Rahab House hopes to open an elementary school focused on academic instruction, life skills training, and Christian education for children too poor to attend government schools in Svay Pak, Cambodia. In addition, the facility hopes to house a church that is open daily and can provide adult literacy training, humanitarian aid and disaster relief, and simply a safe place to come and be loved. For more information, please visit http://aim4asia.org/.
Established in 2001, Yejj provides high quality IT related services & training combined with capacity development & employment opportunities to disadvantaged and at risk young people, local businesses and agencies in Cambodia. Yejj offers scholarships to students in underprivileged backgrounds interested in enrolling in Yejj’s training programs. Yejj eAcademy offers training in Microsoft Office (ICDL), Cisco networking, and English language skills. Yejj Hospitality Training Centre provides training in hygiene, cooking, housekeeping, and English language skills. All of Yejj’s training programs emphasize gender equality and enrolls approximately 300 students per year. M-Ploy Careers, the career and employment department of Yejj, assists students with work placement and employment. In addition to Yejj students and graduates, the career and employment department serve students and young people from shelters, orphanages, universities, churches, and NGO programs. For more information, please visit www.yejj.com.