Cambodia, World Vision Join Hands To Combat Child Sex In Tourism

PHNOM PENH, Aug 22 (Bernama) -- Cambodia's Tourism Ministry and World Vision-Cambodia on Wednesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to forge partnership in combating sexual exploitation of children in tourism.

A joint press release said under the MoU, the ministry and World Vision will work together with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and Interpol to address sexual exploitation of children in tourism in a dual prevention and protection approach.

Together with the Cambodian government and tourism sector, World vision will work to become more aware of vulnerabilities of at-risk children and support responsible tourism practices that prioritise child protection, Xinhua news agency reported.

US Provides Additional Flood Relief to Cambodia

Tuesday, November 1st, 2011
Voice of America

The United States is providing nearly $1.5 million to Cambodia to address critical needs in drinking water, sanitation, agriculture and livelihoods in flood-ravaged areas.

The U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh issued a statement Tuesday saying the aid will be supplied through the U.S. Agency for International Development's Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance.

The money will go to relief organizations working in Cambodia, Save the Children and World Vision.

The embassy statement says the two organizations will reach close to 60,000 of the most vulnerable people in the next six months.

Cambodia and Thailand: World Vision responds after devastating floods affect millions

13 Oct 2011
Source: World Vision East Asia Communications

Victims of massive widespread flooding in Cambodia and Thailand have begun receiving aid from World Vision with the agency committed to meeting the long-term recovery needs of disasters.

Heavy rains have, so far, killed 269 people in Thailand and over 200 in Cambodia, while affecting millions. A large percentage of those who have died are children.

In Cambodia, World Vision’s initial response has included the distribution of food and hygiene kits to 1,500 families, as well as alerting communities to the health and child protection risks related to flooding. Respiratory diseases and diarrhoea commonly impact those living in flood zones.

The country’s National Committee for Disaster Management (NCDM) also reported that 1,132 schools had been affected preventing children from returning to school. Many classrooms are also doubling up as evacuation centres.

Relay marathon to raise funds for Cambodia

Winners 'Team Mad' (l-r) Dave Wylie, Anderson Santos and Mark Roy with a team time of 2:55:58. Photo: Supplied

18th October 2010
Michele McPherson
Bay of Plenty Times (New Zealand)

The soggy weather failed to dampen the spirits of the 29 teams that competed in a Tauranga team relay marathon event to raise money for water sanitation in Cambodia.

The A $ A K marathon, held on Sunday at Fergusson Park, saw each of the teams donate $1 for each kilometre they ran to the World Vision water sanitation project in Cambodia, with the event raising $1218 for the cause.

First to cross the finish-line was Team Mad, consisting of Anderson Santos, Dave Wylie and Mark Roy, who finished in 2:55:18.

Second was Mount Joggers, Team 3, in 3:18:49 and third was The Three in 3:31:23.

The first runner from each team ran 7km, followed by the second who ran 14km and the

third who ran 21km to complete the 42km course.

The event was organised by Tauranga woman Ang Jackson on behalf of Life Network Charitable Trust.

Mrs Jackson said 100 per cent of the funds raised would go to the three-year project,

which is fully funded by New Zealanders.

Mrs Jackson said the event attracted all levels of runners and there was amazing

camaraderie between teams and marshalls.

She said a closing speech from a World Vision representative helped reinforce the message about what could be achieved by the 87 competitors when they worked in

teams.

"It's not a one-person job to do anything for another community."

Helping hand in Cambodia

INSPIRED: Takapuna Grammar School head girl Amelia McDonald was amazed by her experiences in Cambodia. (Photo: BEN WATSON)

23/03/2010
SARAH CODDINGTON
North Shore Times (New Zealand)

A trip to Cambodia was a life-changing experience for Amelia McDonald, who is one of five World Vision youth ambassadors in the country.

The Takapuna Grammar School head girl says it was amazing to meet people who benefit from the 40-hour famine and see what a difference it makes to their lives.

"Usually we raise money and that's it, but to see the difference it makes in their lives was a beautiful experience," the 17-year-old says.

Amelia travelled to Cambodia with other World Vision youth ambassadors and was sponsored by Sanitarium.

She says it is a really hard life for people in the villages of Cambodia and a lot of them have no hope and dire living conditions until charities such as World Vision arrive to help them change their lives.

"It brought huge grins to my face to hear the people talk about their plans and dreams and to see what an amazing effect our 40-hour famine funds have made by equipping villages and schools with clean water, food, health care and sanitation," Amelia says.

She says they ate mainly rice that was grown in nearby rice paddies, as well as vegetables. One night they ate chicken feet.

While over there, Amelia had a chance to visit a World Vision Cambodia street children project. Once a fortnight, the children were given food in a local park by the charity.

"The children were my favourite part of the trip because, despite everything, they are still just children," Amelia says.

"They love to play and they loved my blonde hair," she says.

Amelia says that now she has returned from Cambodia she wants to help make differences in other people's lives.

She hopes she can inspire people to sponsor children.

For now, her role as World Vision youth ambassador is keeping her busy.

She often travels to help at student leadership courses and speaks at schools to encourage them to take part in the 40-hour famine.

[Cambodia's "wild east" border town] Poipet: Where Cambodians Are Trafficked into Thailand

June 12, 2009
Huffington Post (USA)

I had traveled to Cambodia's "wild west" border town of Poipet, in search of a story about human trafficking.

It was certainly the edgiest assignment I'd ever undertaken with World Vision. Everyone knew that trafficking was rife, yet nobody wanted to talk to us about it.

"There are no illegal crossings on our border," said an officer with the Cambodian border police. "Trafficking happens through the immigration post."

"There is no way people can pass through immigration illegally," said a Cambodian immigration officer. "That would require a high level of corruption from both Thai and Cambodian officials. They cross the border instead."

In fact, we were told in an anonymous interview, people go willingly and illegally across borders, across rivers, in casino cars straight through immigration. Hundreds of them every month. As many as half of them under-age.

Our source refused to be named because he said that would endanger his family. He said he was telling us because he was tired of it all, he wanted it to stop. He had children of his own.

The immigration officer told us that one of his duties was to bring back the bodies of Cambodians killed in Thailand. According to him, there were several each month, sometimes shot in bungled drug deals or arrests, sometimes beaten and left to die, or drowned in the river that forms the border.

Most of them had crossed illegally; without paperwork, it was difficult, upsetting, and sometimes impossible, to identify them.

"Why do people go with traffickers?" I asked everyone I met.

"Because they are poor. Because here they earn $3 a day; there they earn $8."

"Are children trafficked?" I asked.

"Yes," they answered. "But not on our watch."

Grasping at Poipet's slippery underbelly felt more like investigation than reporting. I will admit to suffering a twinge of regret that I could not push harder, break the crime rings with an exclusive "hidden camera" expose and the masked evidence of my anonymous source.

But in fact, what World Vision is already doing is probably more important than that. One major solution to the problem lies in advocacy, in working with governments across borders on their will to change, working with communities to teach them how to protect themselves and understand their rights.

World Vision has formed and joined coalitions that push governments to ratify and uphold legislation, including last year's groundbreaking Thailand law that finally recognized that boys and men could be considered victims of trafficking.

Last year World Vision also hosted a workshop for border authorities in Poipet, with both Thai and Cambodian officials in attendance to learn about the causes, effects and legalities of human trafficking.

Many of the police we met told us with pride that they had been in attendance.

"The situation is definitely improving," our source told us.

It's not time to rest just yet, though. Poipet is still a transient, dirty, lawless little town. Poverty still pushes people to take risks that will cost them dearly.

We met Phu Pean, a grandmother at home with her two grandchildren; her daughter travels across the border to Thailand each day to make shoes at 2 baht a pair.

"When should children work?" I asked her.

"Oh, once they can talk," she said. "Then they are able to look after themselves."

"Your grandchildren are talking now," I told her. "Would you ever send them to live and work in Thailand?"

She thought. "I would," she said, "but I don't know how to find the people that would take them."

At least -- unlike most of the other people I met in Poipet -- she was telling the truth.

-- Katie Chalk

World Vision released a report today called "Ten Things You Need to Know About Human Trafficking" [PDF]. Video of the interview with Phu Pean, as well as other people living and working in Poipet, is available online at World Vision.

Katie Chalk is a writer and researcher who has been working for World Vision in the Asia-Pacific for the last four years.

Children working in Cambodia brickyards talk about their working condition

Children working in brickyards (Photo: Licadho)

07 May 2008
By Ka-Set
Unofficial translation from French by Luc Sâr
Click here to read the original article in French

Work accomplished by numerous children in Cambodia brickyards bring serious concerns to two NGOs which conducted an investigation among 132 young workers in July 2007, in the province of Battambang, In a public report distributed on Wednesday 07 May, Licadho and World Vision provide a picture of these children, the majority of whom work full time for a daily earning of 5,000 riels ($1.25), whereas the younger ones – between 8 and 10-year-old – earn only 1,000 riels ($0.25) per day, because they work less and do not show up regularly at the brickyards. The first protest made by the young workers surveyed, is the long hours of work in a difficult, dangerous and unhealthy working environment. More than half of the children surveyed called the working condition “bad.” Eyes irritation, backache, chest pain, headache are among the major health problems these children claim they suffer from. Nevertheless, for those who have not completely abandoned school yet, the majority of them do not want to continue their schooling, but they indicated that they wish to find a job “elsewhere.”

Cambodian child labor along the border with Thailand

Child labor in Poipet (Photo: Vannara, Koh Santepheap newspaper)

LET THE CHILDREN PLAY

Child labour worrying child rights advocates on Thai-Cambodian border

Saturday December 15, 2007
Story by ANCHALEE KONGRUT
Bangkok Post

It's 6am and the Thai-Cambodian border gate is already crowded with people. Scores of migrant workers, including children as young as 10, have thronged the gate, waiting for it to be unlocked and pushed open by border guards. The crowd is destined for Talat Rong Kluea, the bustling border market known for its second-hand goods in Aranyaprathet district of Sa Kaeo province.

Children at work is a familiar sight in this market. Youngsters can be seen all over the place, offering push-cart services, getting paid for holding umbrellas for travellers, or removing the wings of insects, like grasshoppers, before they are fried as snacks, which can earn them as much as 60 baht a day.

Most of the children are either school dropouts, or have never attended one.

According to the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef), one-fifth, or 2,000 of the 10,000 labouring at the Cambodian border market, are children aged between 12-18.

The number is a conservative estimate as many youngsters accompanying their parents also do other kinds of jobs. Children crossing illegally through the nearby barb wire fence into the territory to work is also a daily occurrence.

A growing demand for labour in the area recently prompted the Thai and Cambodian governments to strike a new deal, allowing Cambodian children no less than 12 years of age to work in the market.

However, the deal is worrying child rights advocates.

''We cannot keep children from helping their families,'' said Sirirath Chunnasart, a child protection officer attached to the Unicef's Thailand office.

''But we are also worried they would become targets of child exploitation. Some have been physically abused while many have fallen victim to human trafficking or prostitution gangs,'' she said.

According to Ms Sirirath, the situation in this part of the border is different from the situation at the Burma and Lao borders, where child smuggling is more rampant.

''It is clear that Cambodian children are drawn to jobs. They forsake education just to tap a lucrative income,'' she said.

Unicef has classified the market as a child labour risk area.

Since 2003, the agency has set aside an annual budget of three million baht for the World Vision Foundation to run the ''Drop In Centre Project'' - a health centre for Cambodian child workers in the area.

Open daily from 8am to 5pm, the centre provides free medical check-ups, basic medical treatment and medicines to these children. The centre also offers child development courses such as free Thai and Khmer language classes and recreational activities such as painting, singing, toys and a library.

Chittra Plongthong, 29, a staff of the World Vision Foundation, said nearly 100 children turn up at the centre every day. Many bear scars and bruises on their bodies, she said.

''These kids are hit or abused physically by their employers. We once found a child who was hit by a pipe and another who was punished with electric shocks. Many had their heads shaved,'' she said.

The centre has become a popular place for Cambodian child labourers. Among them is Loy, an 18-year-old worker who has worked at the market for five years. He usually drops by to meet friends and staff at the centre.

He said he lost his father to a landmine and needed to work to support his family.

He works at a construction site and earns a daily wage of around 200-300 baht - a relatively handsome amount as the monthly salary of a teacher in Cambodia is only around 3,000 baht.

''I have never been to school. But the money I make enables my younger brothers and sisters to get schooling,'' he said, adding it is a tradition that older children work to support their younger family members.

Loy has been a regular at the centre for three years. One of the reasons is that the centre helps him to stay clear of drugs. Loy was once addicted to amphetamines _ the drug that enabled him to work long hours. He still occasionally sniffs glue, but is trying to kick the habit.

The centre staff is also tasked with monitoring child trafficking. Men pretending to represent job placement agencies have approached children or their parents, promising them jobs in Bangkok or Pattaya. These agents usually look for good looking boys and girls.

Apart from the health centre, the foundation also runs another project, called the Border Victim Support Team (BVST), a mobile unit providing help to child workers. BVST also works with other Cambodia-based non-governmental organisations such as Don Bosco, Krousar Thmey, Goutte d'Eau and Cambodian Hope Organisation to convince parents of the importance of education in the hope they will send their children back to school, or at least reduce work hours in order that these children can attend classes regularly.

It's not an easy task, though.

Kimthean Shan, 29, a member of the staff of the World Vision Foundation's Cambodia office, said only a small number of children, 58 cases, have returned to school as most parents are still struggling with poverty.

''I want my kids to go to school but there are just too many dependants in our family, too many mouths to feed,'' said Nga Ork, 37, a mother of eight.

She can only afford to let two of her children attend school.

''At first, the older ones attended school but then had to drop out for work,'' said the woman, a Sisophon native, who cannot work because of poor health. Her husband left her many years ago.

Having settled in Poipet five years ago, the family crosses the border for odd jobs at the market. They live in a shabby hut made of black cardboard. Since they have no tapwater, they need to buy water for washing, cooking and drinking every day.

''Here we have to work to get money just to survive. I dare not think of the future,'' said Mrs Nga Ork.

Cambodia: Where are all the "good men"?

Villagers march to raise awareness of domestic violence in Kandal Province. (Photo: Sopheak Kong, World Vision)

26 Nov 2007
World Vision - Asia Pacific
Website: http://www.wvasiapacific.org

When children in Cambodia were asked what they considered to be a “good man,”(1) overwhelmingly they described the same person – a family man who was strong but not violent, who provided food and protection for his children and who did not drink too much or behave in a way that harmed the family reputation.

Sadly, too few of Cambodia’s children are living in a family with this “good man.” Gender-based violence, both at home and in the community, is rife in this culture.

Over 90% of children surveyed in the study said they had seen or heard of a child being beaten by their father. As these children grow up, they are in real danger of inheriting the same values that have allowed domestic violence to continue unchecked in Cambodia’s villages and towns.

The results are crippling society - women unable to take any role of power inside or outside the family, children growing up frightened in their own homes, and a perceived link between strength and violence that leads to a high level of sexual abuse and rape perpetuated by teenage boys and young adults outside the home.

Involving men in the solution has long been a goal for agencies working on gender issues in Cambodia. But this has proven to be a difficult conversion in a culture so steeped in gender inequality.

Abuse tolerated by communities

Smey is a mother of four living in a slum along Battambong’s Sangker River. When she begged local shop owners to stop selling alcohol to her abusive husband, they laughed at her. Yet every member of this family bears visible scars of his violence. When he fell into the river and drowned around a year ago, it was not a tragedy for Smey – it was a deliverance.

“My experience was so bitter, I can’t describe it,” she says. “When I was pregnant he beat me all the time. I asked the neighbour if I could stay with them – but he followed me and said he wouldn’t do it again. He took me home, but less than three hours later he was beating me again.”

Smey lost that baby, and later another one, because of the severity of beating she received from him. The neighbours took her to hospital and helped her to pay for the treatment, a debt she struggled to pay back.

“When I got out from the hospital he did not work to support the family, so my children had to work as scrap collectors to earn a little money for food. My husband sometimes beat me when I returned from doing laundry at people’s houses - he suspected me of being unfaithful. Sometimes he was drunk and not thinking clearly. Sometimes I tried to protect my children and he beat me as well.”

Living jammed up against other families, she says it was impossible for her neighbours not to know what was going on. This added to her humiliation; as it was clear her family was in crisis, she felt she was a failure. “Nobody helped us,” she remembers, “because they knew my husband. They didn’t want to help, as if it was not their business.”

Since his death, Smey says she feels released, but she is still frightened of the violence that her community tolerates, even perpetrates. “Being a mother, I worry all the time,” she says. “I am afraid that my children will follow bad people, gamblers, drug users and drinkers. I am also afraid people will rape my daughter.”

As she tells her story, Smey often stops to wipe away tears. Being able to tell her story safely, encouraged by other women in the community to believe she is not to blame, is an emotional and empowering step for her.

But stories like Smey’s have a broader significance. They can help communities to face up to their responsibilities towards women. They reveal the effects of family violence, especially on the capacity and happiness of the next generation. They show where there is room for improvement and need for shame. They help men to harden their resolve to be the “good man” they once admired so much.

Speaking out helps reduce violence

World Vision’s Reduction of Gender-based Violence Project (RGVP) has recently started to use stories to open communication between victims of violence and the people who can work to stop it.

As a group, women share their stories and decide which of them represents best their community’s experiences, needs and achievements. The story they decide on may not be the most moving or the most dramatic, but it is the one that can show the way forward for programme staff, donors and local decision-makers. The women are given the opportunity to explain not just what is happening, but also which community actions are most appropriate to break these cycles.

Often there are revelations; sometimes there are tears. It’s a cathartic process which often brings them closer as neighbours and friends. But how receptive are the men to the messages aimed at them, and the call for change?

In October World Vision helped to organize a talkback radio broadcast on Cambodia’s Women Media Centre station on the topic of domestic violence. There, 40-year-old Orm Oem, a formerly abusive husband, took the mike to extol the benefits of a non-violent household.

"When we as spouses or parents argue aggressively and scold each other, it will have an effect on our children's feelings and our neighbors,” he said. “But if we respect, forgive and understand each other, the arguments should not occur.”

Since his transformation, Orm Oem feels regret for what he has put his family through, but also pride that he is now providing his wife and children a loving and safe home environment.

"Now I have happiness in my family, and our living condition is improving,” he said.

Vorn Veth, advocacy officer for World Vision’s Reducing Gender-based Violence Project, also went on air to explain the links between violence, mental health and community well-being. He urged listeners to get involved in protecting their communities. “We must work hand in hand to reduce the issue in our country,” he said.

As well as encouraging men to change their ways, he advised victims of ways to help themselves. “You have to be courageous to advocate when you are beaten,” he told listeners. “But you can ask for help from local authorities, NGOs, or neighbours to intervene.”

A rally in Svay Prey village, Kandal, earlier this year, became an opportunity for people from all walks of life to have their say on domestic violence. Around 250 people took part, carrying banners which read “See and end violence” and “We want peace in our village.” As well as local families, the crowd included teachers, students, police and the village chief.

According to one villager, the rally was a sign of the community’s commitment to ending domestic violence once and for all. “It is our own issue,” he said, “and we have to face up to find the solution.”

Spoken like a true “good man.”
--------
(1) Wise before their time:Young People, Gender-based Violence and Pornography in Kandal Stung District, G. Fordham/World Vision 2005 (view document)

Cambodia: Survivor of Child Sex Tourism Implores Government Leaders to Take Action

In 2004, World Vision joined forces with national governments, law-enforcement agencies and other organizations to combat child-sex tourism through the Child Sex Tourism Prevention Project. One method employed by World Vision as part of the project is deterring would-be child-sex tourists through a targeted media campaign, displaying anti-sex-tourism messages in airports, magazines, on television, on the Internet and elsewhere.

Progress is being made to deter predators; World Vision is helping to lead the way.

July 16, 2007
World Vision

"I was tricked and sold to a brothel when I was only 14. Everyday, I would have to provide services to 10 men against my will."

Srey*, a Cambodian child sex tourism survivor, spoke these words as she shared her story with an audience of high-level government representatives — members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Taskforce. Recently, the group convened in Hanoi, Vietnam, to address the crisis of southeast Asia's sexually exploited children.

'Do Everything You Can...'

"On the weekend, it can be as many as 20 customers; most of them are foreigners. I was sick and disgusted," the teenager added.

Tragically, the teenager's experience is not uncommon in Cambodia. In 2001, research conducted by World Vision, in conjunction with the Cambodian Ministry of Tourism, revealed:

• Some 45 percent of Cambodian travel agents interviewed said they had witnessed tour guides "supplying" children to foreign visitors.
• More than 70 percent of children surveyed in the vicinity of Angkor Watt, a popular tourist destination, said tourists had approached them for sex.

And, according to ECPAT-USA, an organization that works to end child prostitution, an estimated 25 percent of child sex tourists are Americans.

Srey implored: "I would like all of you to understand that child sex tourism is a real problem, and I would like all of you to do everything you can to prevent other children from facing the same problem I did."

World Vision Tackling Child-Sex Tourism

While child sex tourism remains a serious problem in Cambodia and other southeast Asian nations, progress is being made to deter predators. This is due in part to the work of governments and NGOs, including World Vision, which are taking steps to curb child exploitation — particularly sexual exploitation by foreigners.

In 2004, as part of World Vision's commitment to protecting children, the organization joined forces with national governments, law enforcement agencies and other organizations to combat child sex tourism through the Child Sex Tourism Prevention Project.

With backing from the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, World Vision is tackling this problem with a three-pronged strategy:

• Deterrent messages: World Vision deters would-be child sex tourists with a targeted media campaign, displaying anti-sex-tourism messages in airports, magazines, on television, the Internet and elsewhere.
• Law-enforcement assistance: Working with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), World Vision helps identify child sex tourists and provides information that could lead to their prosecution and conviction.
• Prevention programs: To prevent children from being drawn into the commercial sex trade, World Vision offers interventions that include education, advocacy and the creation of other means to make a living.

The Child Sex Tourism Prevention Project has been implemented in Cambodia, Brazil, Costa Rica, Thailand, Mexico and the United States. For the millions of vulnerable youth who deserve every possible protection from child sex predators, it is a welcome step.

*Srey's name was changed to protect her privacy.