Our Road Trip Across Cambodia!

Last week our Senior Management Team visited our members’ projects across Cambodia to personally present the new Chab Dai Charter with each of them. The Charter is a tool we hope will positively improve projects and raise the standard of care for children, communities, & staff. The overall response we received from the Charter was positive, and we heard many ‘yes!’ statements. It was most of all inspiring to hear project updates from 44 teams working to end trafficking in Cambodia!

In the following months Chab Dai will be working alongside our member organizations & staff to support implementing higher standards via group trainings, policy sharing, and facilitating best practice sharing between members.

“Inspired & motivated by our faith we commit ourselves to raising the standards as we work alongside communities, victims, & survivors; as we work with staff, donors & the government; and as we seek to model best practice.”

[from the Chab Dai Charter Prologue]

Take a look at our Road Trip Journal:

[Day 1: Road Trip] Today we drove across Cambodia, a total of 8 hours, and met with our first member. They agreed to sign up to Chab Dai's Charter committing to excellence (and stamped their approval!). We will continue meeting members all week (50 total!)…

‎[Day 2: Road Trip] Today we have had meetings in 3 different provinces and our car is covered with lots of dirt from driving through muddy potholes. This afternoon we had the opportunity to present certificates to 3 local commune leaders who have committed to protecting the children in their villages from trafficking & abuse!

[Day 3: Road Trip] We’ve now been to 5 provinces, spent 16 hours in the car, had 12 meetings… and … now we are back home in Phnom Penh! Over dinner tonight we all shared how much we are really enjoying one-on-one meetings with members this week. And we are encouraged by the positive feedback we have heard- that thisCharter is a great step forward to raising the standards of care for children and staff in Cambodia. Two more full days of meetings in the city!

[Day 4: Road Trip] Today we spent time sharing about the Chab Dai Charter with 15 members around Phnom Penh. What is the Charter exactly? It's both a set of principles and an implementation tool, that by signing up to, members state their commitment to excellence while working to address sexual exploitation & trafficking in Cambodia!

‎[Day 5: Road Trip] Today was the last day of our road trip and we enjoyed meeting 16 more member organizations! To wrap up the road trip we spent time sharing & praying for our members and the Charter follow-up, and finally… celebrated with a team dinner!

A summary of our week on the road:

5 Days

8 Chab Dai Leaders

869 Kilometers (540 miles) across Cambodia

15 Hours driving in the car

5 Provinces

44 Meetings with Member Organizations

11 Members already committed to the Charter (and many more yes’s!)

Thanks for everyone who followed our live updates on Facebook & Twitter (#50roadtrip). To learn more about Chab Dai visit our website: www.chabdai.org

Next Week: Road Trip Across Cambodia to Visit 50 Members

Next week in Cambodia, Chab Dai will be traveling across the country to meet with each of our member organizations’ leadership team to launch the Chab Dai Charter and its accompanying Commitment to Excellence Implementation Tool.

Here’s a quick look at our itinerary:

[5 Days, 4 Cities, 2 Cars + 3 Motos, 8 Chab Dai Leaders, and 50 Meetings]

Day 1: We’re starting early on Monday and driving (literally) across the country – to the Northwest region of Cambodia. Meeting #1.

Day 2: After rice & coffee for breakfast, we will join meetings #2 & #3 and then move again- this time to the tourist city of Siem Reap. Meetings #4 & #5.

Day 3: Wake up & join a few early morning meetings (#6, 7, 8, & 9), and then the long 5+ hour drive back to Phnom Penh by evening. (Also today, Meeting #10, 11, & 12!)

Day 4: With a coffee in one hand & the Charter in the other, the team will divide into pairs and cover the city, following a schedule of stacked meetings all day. If each group meets with nearly 5 organizations, let’s do the math: that brings us to Meeting #13-30.

Day 5: Today will be the last day of back-to-back meetings. This will finish the road trip, and Meetings #31-50! We did it!

What is the Chab Dai Charter?

The Chab Dai Charter is a set of principles that aim to raise the standard of care, focusing on the areas of protection, collaboration, participation, and transparency. We believe these four areas best summarize our framework for working together to protect & restore the lives of children & communities in Cambodia. The Commitment to Excellence Implementation Tool outlines action points that reflect these principles in tangible & measurable ways, and are a guide for organizations committed to best practices in working with all stakeholders (children & communities, member organizations, staff & organizational development, donors, and the government).

Follow us next week [20-24 June 2011] across Cambodia!

Every day next week we will be posting photos along the way, and quotes & stories about our journey & meetings with members. You can follow us on our first-ever road trip via Twitter or Facebook:

Twitter: @chabdai (use hashtag #50roadtrip to tweet!)

To learn more about Chab Dai visit our website: www.chabdai.org

What are we celebrating?

Chab Dai celebrates 6 years of working in Cambodia this week. And here are some reasons why we're celebrating [together]:

Today we celebrate working together as a team in Cambodia for six years.

In 2006, we started with only three staff members using desks inside our partners’ office, and today we have 33 staff members (and our own office with a Resource Library and a Meeting Room space).

Today we celebrate six years of working together with members who share our vision to work together to end sexual abuse & trafficking!

The coalition started with only 12 members back in 2006, and today we have 50 member organizations.

Today we celebrate (with lots of thanks!) our donors, who support and encourage our unique work in Cambodia.

We are proud that for six years our relationships with donors have sustained financial hardships and project proposal trends!

Today we celebrate the projects we have been able to start and implement.

You can read even more about them in our Project Portfolio.

Today we celebrate the children (boys & girls), women, and men who have been impacted by our direct trainings about trafficking prevention and child protection.

We have distributed over 100,000 Help Cards in the provinces, and through our 24/7 referral hotline number we have answered over 200 calls. As well, we celebrate those who have been impacted through others we have trained about social work, project cycle management, child protection, working with boys, etc.

Today we celebrate that the collaborative model that Chab Dai started in Cambodia has now been replicated in the US, Canada, and soon to be in UK.

As of this week (June 2011), we are also launching our Global Learning Community project, which will provide technical support to coalitions that are starting similar models and share our lessons learned globally.

Today Chab Dai Coalition celebrates six years, but we don’t celebrate today alone… we celebrate with ALL of you!

Whether you are one of our members, or you have supported our projects, or have visited our office, or you have been a volunteer, we know that working with you increases our impact and the sustainability of our work, and is totally more effective in bringing about change. We would not be here without you, and we are glad that we are working together with you to end sexual abuse & trafficking!

Learn more about how you can [join with us] @ www.chabdai.org