Will Nugent Interviewed by Charleston City Paper
Read this
interiew with Fight For Others founder Will Nugent in the March 18th issue of the Charleston City Paper.
Fundraising for Transitions Global
We are now committed to raising a minimum of 30,000 dollars for Transitions Global (formerly Transitions Cambodia). This money will go to help the Cambodian and Vietnamese girls in Phnom Penh Cambodia. To learn more about Transitions Global, visit their website at
www.transitionsglobal.org or see this
informational video (on YouTube) on the work Transitions Global is doing. This program is worth the donations, so please help these young women start a new life. You can make a donation via our website (non tax-deductable), or directly at the website of Transitions Global (tax deductable).
Transitions Cambodia, Inc.
I met with James Pond of Transitions Cambodia, Inc. (TCI). James and his wife Athena started TCI in 2007, having moved to Cambodia in 2004 after being inspired by an investigative report about the abuses women and girls face in Cambodia. TCI is an Oregon based NGO serving the needs of Cambodian and Vietnamese female survivors of sex trafficking. TCI provides these girls with a safe shelter, counseling, social work, health care, education, vocational training and reintegration opportunities. James was able to take me to view their project in Phnom Penh and I met with his Vietnamese and Cambodian staff members. This, I have to say, is a really amazing program. This is also not a huge organization or NGO; they only have a maximum of twenty girls right now which is very interesting because they get a lot of personal care. From all the services listed above this is a voluntary program. The girls are not kept under lock and key. The girls also work together in peer groups and make suggestions about how to improve the programs. TCI will also take in girls that are HIV positive and has staff that are able to speak Vietnamese, considering the fact that Vietnamese women are trafficked to and through Cambodia. This is one of the few NGOs that actually has a yoga program for the girls to participate. James expressed to me the importance (with which I agree) of health in body and mind aside from the many services they provide for reintegration.
TCI is only working in Phnom Penh right now but they are actually setting up a shelter in Portland, Oregon as well. TCI works in partnership with other NGOs and is not a large NGO that is run by a huge staff that is impersonal. This is one of the few groups that will actually work with older women. TCI is soon to be featured in a report by Chris Hansen on American TV. I am hoping that this will contribute significantly to TCI's funding needs, but that said, this is a small NGO with a solid program that actually works and is more personal than most. James expressed to me that they do not need volunteers without skills. If someone is interested they can provide a professional level internship for a social worker, ESL teacher, community development planner or program development worker. It was easy for me to talk with James considering we are both former US Marines and he was very open and honest about the fact that when they started TCI things have changed. It was very inspiring to listen to him be honest about the fact that they are willing to grow and change with the help of the girls as opposed to being stuck in one mindset. Hence the name Transitions, not only for women but for the programs as well. This seems to me a very healthy attitude. James made it clear that some things they did in the past did not work so well and they changed that are willing to keep changing in order to better help the girls who need help. I was really impressed with the success that TCI has had at the level they are at. They are small yet incredibly professional. I hope anyone reading this will take the time to visit the TCI website and learn more at
www.transitionscambodia.org
Above: Meeting with Transitions Cambodia staff in Phnom Penh
Above: Will and James Pond, founder of Transitions Cambodia, Inc.
Aziza's Place
I met with Mr. Nader Ebrahimi, Director of Aziza's Place, which runs programs for children from slums in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. This is a school for children that opened in 2007. They have about 21 children with some western volunteers and paid local staff. A key factor in Aziza's Place is the importance of a well rounded education for the children. They learn computer skills, reading, writing, math, karate, dance, Chinese, art and soccer. Learning through computers is an important program for the children. After looking over the school, Mr. Ebrahimi and I discussed how small donations can make a large impact on their programs and in the lives of the children at Aziza's Place. Aziza's Place will take volunteers from abroad if they are willing to stay for at least six months, if not longer.
To learn more about Aziza's Place and how you can help, visit their site at www.azizasplace.org On their site, you can also learn about their child sponsorship program.
Above: Will with staff of Aziza's Place, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Asia Foundation
I met with the Asia Foundation in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The Asia Foundation's programs in Cambodia are focused on economic reform and development, civil society development and counter-trafficking. The Asia Foundation works with local government and NGOs to coordinate programs and activities addressing local needs.
The individual I met with at the Asia Foundation discussed the complex issues of trafficking in Cambodia today and how the Asia Foundation plays a role in combatting trafficking. They provided me with information on various local and international NGOs with which to make contact. You can visit their website at
www.asiafoundation.org
Friends-International
I met with Friends-International again in Phnom Penh Cambodia. I spoke with one of the key founders, Mr. Mark Turgesen, the ChildSafe Network International Coordinator. Friends-International was started in Cambodia in 1994 and has grown to expand their program model to other areas of the world. The ChildSafe Network is a program started three years ago. It is one of the successful programs that FI has initiated. Other programs include the CYTI Network program and the THINK Campaign. Penny Tynan of FI gave me a tour of the Phnom Penh programs. FI focuses on children and youth ages 0 to 24. At the friends center I was able to see their vocational training programs for girls and boys, ranging from metal working and engine mechanics to hair dressing and beauty school.On the same premises they have classes for children to learn English as well as basic classes to help prepare them to enter local schools. An interesting and successful program here is the culinary school. The talents of the graduates from this program can be sampled at the Friends restaurant in Phnom Penh. FI has been very successful and has great programs and initiatives.
I also met with one of the FI ChildSafe Center Managers in a Phnom Penh, Ms. Pon Kaknika, in a center that provides free information for travelers and tourists as well as providing information for local hotels, guest houses and taxi and took-took drivers. The center is open 24 hours in case children need a place to go or if someone has something to report. Ms. Pon Kaknika made it clear to travelers to Cambodia that you should think before you give money to street children and think about your actions, as giving money to children does very little to help them. You can learn more about this from the ChildSafe THINK Campaign, and learn more about FI at their website
www.friends-international.org
Above: ChildSafe Center in Phnom Penh.
Above: Friends-International Restaurant (Friends) in Phnom Penh
Above: Ms. Pon Kaknika of ChildSafe and Will.
Legal Support for Children and Women
I met with Mr. Sokchar and Mr. Phnonn Thearin of the Cambodian NGO LSCW, Legal Support For Children & Women. This local NGO focuses on providing free legal aid for men, women and children in poor communities as well as dealing with cases involving labor exploitation, sexual exploitation, domestic violence, rape and human trafficking. LSCW faces a lot of challenges as they deal with government offices, various NGOs, foreign governments and the many aspects of partnerships with NGOs in other countries. LSCW has five offices and only a total of about 40 staff and six lawyers. Needless to say they are very busy with a lot of cases. During our meeting we discussed some aspects of human trafficking related to labor issues and the cultural connections that many foreign tourists fail to understand when discussion human trafficking in the sub Mekong region.
To learn more about LSCW please visit their website at
www.lscw.org
Above: Meeting with LSCW, a Cambodian NGO focusing on legal advocacy
UNIAP (United Nations Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking)
I met today with Mr. Lim Tith
(below), the National Project Coordinator for the United Nations Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking in the Greater Mekong Sub-region (UNIAP). This UN program has existed for eight years and aims to coordinate the various UN offices that deal with human trafficking as well as coordinating with governments and various NGOs in the greater Mekong Sub region. This office provides technical support, networking, information gathering and sharing as well as their website at
www.no-trafficking.orgDuring our meeting we discussed the major trafficking issues of Cambodia being mainly internal trafficking of women and children for sexual exploitation as well as labor trafficking of men and women into the commercial fishing industries of Thailand and Malaysia. There have been reports and projects focusing on the trafficking of children to Vietnam and Thailand for the purposes of organized begging rings. UNIAP works with some very large NGOs such as the Asia Foundation, World Vision, ECPAT,OXFAM and others. The main office for UNAIP is in Bangkok Thailand , Mr. Tith is the project coordinator for the Phnom Penh Cambodia office.
Above: Will and Mr. Lim Tith, the National Project Coordinator for the United Nations Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking in the Greater Mekong Sub-region (UNIAP).
Digital Divide Data
I met with Mr. Sontheary Sor, the External Relations Coordinator for Digital Divide Data, an international NGO that uses a sustainable, private sector business model to break the cycle of poverty in the developing world. They use what they call the "double bottom line approach" measuring success with business growth and social impact. This NGO has been very successful in the last eight years. They have trained over a thousand people and are continuing to do more. By training individuals in IT solutions and data entry, they are doing a lot of good and willing to take volunteers with computer teaching skills. Check out their site at
www.digitaldividedata.org
Above: Visiting Digital Data Divide, an international NGO that gives training and scholorships to the poor, the handicapped and victims of trafficking in Cambodia as well as Laos.
Above: Will meeting with Mr. Sontheary Sor, the External Relations Coordinator in the Phnom Penh center.
Pictures from North Thailand
From the Editor: Here, Will shares with us some of his pictures from his journey in Northern Thailand.
I'm here in Mai Sai northern Thailand on the Thai-Burma border with Kru Nam, one of the two key founders of the VCDF. This is another safe house for women and children. They also run a home for children farther south in Cheng Seng.
These are goods made by women in the area to whom the VCDF is trying to give alternatives. You can look over and order these items online at the notforsalecampaing.org website.
Here VCDF volunteers, speaking Burmese, and Ahka make regular rounds in the evenings in Mai Sai talking with mothers on the street with at-risk children. They also hand out free medicine and let them know about the drop in center. These young girls who volunteer are very dedicated and courageous considering the many challenges they face.
Aside from donations, a major need of the VCDF is finding dedicated volunteers. They need volunteers that can help teach kids in the long term. It's very difficult because most foreign volunteers will only stay for a short period of time and then once some bonds are made with the children they have to leave. This makes it much harder for the older children, as they may be standoffish and untrusting of new faces.
Above: The Thai-Burmese border crossing
How to Help Volunteers for Children Development Foundation
Americans wishing to make a donation in support of Volunteers for Children Development Foundation in Chiang Mai (see previous post, below), a check payable to River of Life Church may be sent to the following address:
VCDF
c/o River of Life Church
8003 E. Main St.
Berlin Hts. OH 44814
(River of Life is a humanitarian-focused group which regularly sends funding to support the children's homes and drop-in center)
To send packages to VCDF Chiang Mai, use the following address:
J K Klaiber c/o YMCA Chiang Mai
11 Soi Menrairasmi, Sermsuk Road
Tambol Chang Puak, Chiang Mai 50300
Thailand
Report from Chiang Mai: Volunteers for Children Development Foundation
I met with VCDF volunteers in Chiang Mai, Thailand's second largest city. VCDF is a Thai NGO that receives support from groups in France and Japan, as well as from private donors including the NFS Campaign. I just want to say a few things right now about the work of this organization in their Chiang Mai branch and later I will discuss two other aspects of this group after meeting with them. This part of the VCDF deals with street children in Chiang Mai that are mainly considered stateless, meaning they are from Burma or hill tribes not recognized by the Thai government. The volunteers focus mainly on boys but work with whoever needs help. They do sex awareness, medical care as well as trying to get the kids jobs, schooling and alternatives to working in the sex trade. Their job is extremely difficult considering the stateless status of the majority of the children. The two volunteers I met with here, Khun Pot and JK, were kind enough to take me with them in the evening to check up on kids in specific areas of the city. Khun Pot makes a point of doing this on a regular basis and it is a rare dedication. The evening I went out with them we visited a known bar that is frequented by foreign pedophiles. This bar is mainly for foreign men who are there to sleep with young men and boys. Boys as young as 8 and 11 can be seen here. The night we went, there were mainly young teenagers as well as some who might have been around the ages of 11 to 15. This is an open air bar that you can actually see into from the outside of the street. This part of VCDF works with kids that have already been living in Chiang Mai and have worked in the sex trade or are on the street. Another part of the organization farther north works with trying to get kids and babies before they transit farther south.
This photo of me and the Chiang Mai volunteers (above) was taken at another area that is a frequent pick up point for child sex tourists. This is also, as the majority of tourists don't relaize, a center of tourism for Chiang Mai.
The staff here only has about a hundred baht
(Ed. about 3 US dollars) per day to feed the kids and they will often contribute their own funds to help them. Any questions you might have regarding the Chiang Mai branch in English can be answered by the American volunteer JK at
jkklaiber@hotmail.com There will be more to post about the other aspects of this group soon.
Summary for Week 1: Will is in Thailand!
From the Editor: Will arrived in Thailand last week and quickly got to work establishing contact with local agencies and NGOs. As you will tell from the pictures below, the mission has had a successful start. First, Will met with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at the US Embassy in Bangkok.
Above: Will after his meeting with ICE agents at the US Embassy in Bangkok. Due to the sensitive nature of their work, the agents could not appear in the photo with Will.
Above: Will at a safehouse for children run by Friends International in Bangkok, Thailand.
Above: Will meeting with ECPAT INTERNATIONAL in Bangkok Thailand. ECPAT is an international network organization that focuses on child exploitation on the international level.
Will in DC:
From the Editor: Before leaving for Bangkok, Will met with Andrea Bertone of Humantrafficking.org and coordinators from the State Department. These meetings served as a briefing for Will's impending mission in South East Asia.
Above: Will met with Andrea Bertone, Project Director for Humantrafficking.org, a project of the Academy for Educational Development.
Above: Will with Mark Taylor (Senior Coordinator, Reports and Political Affairs, US State Department Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons) and Salley Neumann (Report Officer, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons).
Previous Posts:
Arrived in Bangkok and have meetings set up; will hopefully have some photos to post soon.
Remember that nothing here is really 'original' - that is our whole point. We don't care about claiming somthing that is 'ours.' Please get involved and help us give to those who need it. The only aspect that makes us different is that we want to make a promise to give effectively with documented information to be passed on to you. Or, get a plane ticket and come along! We are all volunteers and in your service.