10 years of Chab Dai: Making a coalition work

The Learning Community project is a definitive part of the Chab Dai programme, being the core of all our coalition-building events, key member trainings and collaboration activities. But since #10yearsofChabDai is all about highlighting the projects and people who have been fundamental to our vision, it seemed like a good opportunity to check in with the LC and its current Project Manager, Um Sam Ol.

Sam Ol started at Chab Dai as a Media and Communications intern in 2010 and, five years later, oversees the member application process, the resource library and our bi-annual member meetings, as well as key trainings for our member NGOs.

“Part of my time is dedicated to screening organisations who apply to be Chab Dai members but we also run the bi-annual member meetings and different types of member forums: directorship, business, caregiver and HR. We invite participants who work in the same area of focus and face similar things and often one of them may have a success or a lesson to share or a tool or resource that can help the others to be successful.”

 

Managing a diverse and dynamic coalition

Being the glue that holds the coalition together is not always straightforward, it seems.

“Our 53 organisations are so diverse and dynamic and have their own focus and as we are the central body, it can be challenging to link up with all of them.” Nevertheless, Sam Ol has seen some great results of capacity-building in action:

“A project coordinator at an NGO based in Banteay Meanchey gave us some really positive feedback about our Child Protection Policy training. The organisation was trying to promote child rights in the community, but they often saw violence, or parents forcing their children to go to work to bring income for the family. After some staff attended our training, they got the knowledge and skills to go back to their staff and pass on the training. Then their staff could train the community and they saw a noticeable improvement.

"The community character has changed in the way they react to the children. They know how to protect children and know what to do when the children are being abused or exploited. We see that they are now respecting their children’s rights more and we saw a reduction of violence happening."

Participant, Child Protection Training

Changing attitudes

When I ask Sam Ol how the human trafficking situation has changed inthe last decade, he talks about a shift in attitudes, from focusing just on aftercare to taking a more holistic approach.

“In the early days, there were a lot of brothels and trafficking was really crazy and that’s why the shelters were needed. But later, the government realized that the best interest of the client is not living in the shelter but with their family. That is why now there is a shift to focus on family and community – a lot of organisations still offer care to the client but more community-based.

“And from the NGO perspective now, they’re not just focused on their own job, as before – they try to cooperate more because they believe that, working together, we can end this issue.”

The crucial contribution that the Learning Community team offers is support for services on the frontline, as Sam Ol says:

“Even though I work in the LC which is not directly benefitting the client, I serve in an indirect way, I can still be a part of it. With members who are working directly with survivors. This really inspires me to keep on going.”

Want to read more about the work of our different teams here at Chab Dai? Catch our interview with the Jeut Nung Dai team here, or take a look at our main website for more information.

Thoughts from Chab Dai members

2015 is a special year for us, so we wanted to use this opportunity to ask some of our member organisations how they feel about being a part of the Chab Dai coalition, and how collaboration with NGOs here in Cambodia has helped them in their area of focus.

Some of our members work in legal support, some in psycho-social aftercare, others are human trafficking prevention organisations, working to raise awareness of the issue. All are joined by a common bond of Christian fellowship and share in our vision to connect, generate and share knowledge, advocate for change and bring an end to human trafficking and abuse.

Here are just a few of their thoughts…

Supporting grassroots organisations

One thing that Chab Dai champions is providing small-scale NGOs with the necessary training and capacity to grow. Jesse from foster care organisation, Children in Families (one of our early members), explains their experience of our programs:

 'Children in Families is a local organisation that focuses on placing orphans and vulnerable children in loving local families in Cambodia. We are a small organisation with a developing staff that is taking on a major problem in the country. For several years Chab Dai has been invaluable in providing training and support for the staff of our organisation. We have benefited from trainings focused on developing the internal structure of organisation, social work trainings, and general trainings oriented towards building our staff. There have been many challenges in creating and growing this small non-profit in context of Cambodia, and Chab Dai has helped us to navigate many of these hurdles.’

 The power of collaboration

AusCam Freedom Project is dedicated to empowering those affected by abuse and educating the wider community in order to prevent human trafficking, violence against women and harmful cultural attitudes. Here, Julie Dowse, Founder & Director explains what membership of Chab Dai has meant for AusCam:

“Cambodia is a country with a large number of NGO’s - both local and international - with a mission to fight the trafficking and exploitation of men, women and children. My early experiences in Cambodia showed me that many organisations were operating as lone rangers with limited partnerships and collaborative work. I soon learnt that the primary motives of this were due to the ‘fight for the donor dollar’ which I found very disturbing. I was very relieved when I found out about the coalition formed at Chab Dai to provide a platform for a unified approach to our work and to enable partnerships to develop, forums to discuss the challenges in particular areas of work, training, research, accountability and conferences. I have found all of these opportunities incredibly important in the running of our organisation, including the support needed for our local staff.”

Education Advisor at Heart of Hope, Colleen Briggs also strongly believes in connectivity to succeed in the anti-trafficking movement. Ministering to exploited and at-risk children for 7 years, she told us:

“I sincerely believe that had God not connected us to Chab Dai we would not have been able to serve these children.  We would not have known how to teach the children about the dangers of trafficking nor would we have been able to make the connections to other NGOs that have been so vital to us.  In one case we were connected with a legal aid NGO who helped us work with the police and saw an arrest, conviction, and imprisonment of a perpetrator in the community. The children in the community now have a school and the families have a place to come to when they need a referral or assistance.  Chab Dai has been a valuable guide and partner in most aspects of our program.”

To find out more about becoming a Chab Dai member, follow the link to our main website for more information and to read about our current projects.

Spring blooms new life.

Green, a color which signifies growth, filled the room of our annual Chab Dai member meeting. I could not help but notice it was a color that suited the past two days, as our members have shown countless sprouts grounded in community and family focused care. Members from Hagar, Transitions, and Sunshine Cambodia began our conference by sharing new strategies on how to incorporate community focused care. During the process of rehabilitation, it is the right of the child to be nurtured and supported by family; this was the theme firmly planted in the past two days by all presenting organizations.

Community connections between local and governmental organizations were strengthened over sips of coffee, bites of lunch, and in small groups during the speed networking session. As the Global Learning Community has noticed, it is time we stop the duplicity of effort and work together. By sharing our experiences, we are saving time, energy, and precious resources. 

The green shoots of growth continued to present themselves as participants welcomed two new Steering Committee Members and the new medical support team, Dr. Sapna Jain & Dr. Kathrine Welch. I learned the steering Committee Members will have the responsibility of supervising overall management and operations of Chab Dai. And the medical support pilot program will commence visits to numerous rehabilitation centers in order to educate social workers on how to best advise clients during a health crisis. International directors from US and Canada offices also presented on the extension of its vast network through the Freedom Registry project. 

After two days of lectures, I am greatly encouraged by the upward growth of Chab Dai. Meeting passionate members and hearing well educated research has remind me that we are all together in this fight against trafficking. It is our community of compassionate hearts that will help shift the tide of trafficking. As the new social media intern for Chab Dai International, it will be my pleasure to update you on exactly how that growth progresses. I, Nikki, hope to meet you all in the months to come, until then if you have any questions, I am only an email away: communications@chabdai.org 

Top 5 reasons you should sign up for Freedom Registry NOW!

five- This is quite literally the first project of its kind.  It is new, innovative, essential and it has huge potential.  Why wouldn’t you want to be a part of that?

four-  Though we all know of amazing organizations doing great work, there are gaps.  And these gaps need our attention.  Freedom Registry brings these gaps to light.  After all, we are all working towards the same goal and we need to make sure we are doing so in the best way possible.

three- Freedom Registry goes public in one week.  That means there is still time for you to get your organization on the list before everyone has access. It is free and really simple to sign up.

two-  Signing up for Freedom Registry is a way for you to show the public that your organization is using the best possible practices.  Through the verification process, donors, volunteers, and stakeholders can trust that organizations on the Freedom Registry are using the best practices.

one- collaboration, collaboration, collaboration.  Babe Ruth said, “The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don't play together, the club won't be worth a dime.” We need to make sure we are working as a TEAM to fight trafficking and CSE.  Join us on that team!

Register Here

'Shine On'

Reflections and prayers for grassroots collaboration around cross-border trafficking issues in the region: celebrations of the past, and hope for the future.

Collaboration can be challenging, and I'll admit to say so.

At times doing what I think is best,

.......Alone,.......Can seem easier.

But the regional impact I've seen in the last year through people working together

Causes me to hold to the belief that

........it's

........always

........worth

........the

........extra

........efforts.

So this is my prayer. God, remind us daily of this greater, collective impact.

Help us to act

.......Collaboratively,.............Not-competitively,....................Willing to compromise {our paths, not our vision},...........................With open hearts that strive to include others,
And help us to continually hope for unity.
Thank you God for showing me how your power can shine brighter through people united-
Like last year, when cross-border talks happened and a grassroots safety net was created for protecting Cambodian migrant women exploited in Malaysia.

........God, shine on in our partner referrals.

Like today, when I saw networks of people communicating ideas & strategies back and forth.

........God, shine on in our daily communication.

And like next week, when a collective Call to Action statement will go public and the endorsements of over 60 regional civil society organizations will shout together for Cambodian & Malaysian governments to expeditiously put mechanisms of protection in place for migrant workers!!

........God, shine on in our shouts across the region.

And like next year, well I don't know exactly, yet, but I know God that you care about migrants and victims of trafficking & exploitation. You are and will take care of them.

Through us.

God, shine on.
May our trust match your faithfulness

and your light magnify
as we join hands with others.

God restore our hearts to trust each other,

........To see together what alone we only dream is possible.

Learning,
Hoping,
And praying,........Together.

Amen.

From Small Beginnings

Richard Branson said that it is amazing how long it takes to become an overnight success..

I was stood in the Chab Dai member meeting two weeks ago, looking out at more than 160 participants from more than 50 member organizations, remembering our small beginnings.

I am always inspired and encouraged by our member meetings but at this one, our fourteenth, I found myself reflecting on the past and how we got here.

The very first 'official' Chab Dai member meeting was held less than a week after we began in June 2005.

In many ways that was the most daunting meeting of all.. Not only was I organizing everything from logistics to food, chairing and note taking but this was the real test to see how much commitment and support there would be from these first twelve member organizations to the vision and goal of working together to end sexual abuse and trafficking.

We have experienced many successes and failures in the time between that first meeting and this month's fourteenth meeting. We have embarked on many ambitious projects - the most recent one being the Chab Dai Charter which in many ways epitomizes everything we have been working towards during these years - committing ourselves to excellence in all we do.

I am not only encouraged by the increase in participant and member numbers but more in hearing them share their commitment to excellence within their projects and organizations makes the vision more of a reality to those who we are committed to.. The care and long term healing for survivors and beyond that to inspiring new advocates among these survivors and their communities.

..the path to success is often marked by many failures and numerous lessons learned but as long as we keep the goal in sight, and are able to see how far we have come, it helps us keep going on this journey.

Still working - still hopeful

Helen

Follow Helen on Twitter @helen_chabdai

What the Chab Dai Member Meeting means to me

I have been working for Chab Dai for almost a year. Along my journey of working here, I found the most exciting event of my working life to be our bi-annual Member Meeting, which we host in May and November of every year.

So far I have attended this event two times. My first time was in Nov 2010. It was really a surprise for me to see so many Christian Cambodians and foreigners come together to share and learn from each other as a coalition. It was huge to me! There were nearly 200 participants who came from various NGOs, some were local and some were international. At that time, I was not very involved in the meeting preparation. I wondered how we were able to do it, how we could prepare it and also why we did it? I was really impressed about how members were networking with each other. It was a great time to see everyone talk and laugh together.

In May 2011, I attended a member meeting for the second time. It was a great event, especially as a facilitator of the paperless training. This was the first time I had ever done anything like this. This time, I realised that it is not easy to make this event happen, we put a lot of energy into preparing and organizing it.

What do we do at the member meetings? All of our members have the same purpose and vision to end sexual abuse and human trafficking in Cambodia and around the globe. At the meeting members strengthen and build up each other through collaborative training, forums, meetings and sharing standards of practices.

The next Member Meeting is coming soon (next week)! As I write this, our team is putting their hearts and energies to make the meeting successful!

Cambodia Project Highlights :: Download our *NEW* 2010-11 Annual Report

Want to see what Chab Dai has been doing in Cambodia this past year? Curious about our projects' impact to effectvely end humqn trafficking & abuse? Read all this & more -including photos & an inspiring Story of Hope- download the report here.

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

Our Largest Member Meeting Ever!

Last week we hosted our twelfth bi-annual Member Meeting with a record 180 stakeholders representing over 45 organizations in Cambodia. Chab Dai Coalition has now grown to 50 members, and as we continue growing there is an opportunity to also push-up from minimum standards to best practice standards! So, our focus this May was encouraging a “Commitment to Excellence” and promoting best practices in four main areas: protection, collaboration, participation, & transparency.

The following are a few reflection following the meeting, from a volunteer who joined Chab Dai for the first time and was especially encouraged by the participants’ joint-vision of ‘joining hands’ with each other!

When I arrived at the large conference room I was in awe to see it full of mostly Cambodian faces… these are the men and women doing the grassroots work of combatting human trafficking.

One of the best features of such a large meeting was the extensive networking, facilitated by a time of Speed Networking [see photo above, right] where we were asked to obtain contact information from five new people. Further connections were encouraged over coffee breaks and lunch.

On the second day of the meeting, we focused on child protection training. We called it the first-ever "Paperless Training" in Cambodia! For the day we were divided into four Khmer groups and one English group. Each group rotated through scenarios acted out by young volunteer actors that focused on a specific child protection issue. The participants engaged in the scenarios by exclaiming “STOP” when they felt the actions demonstrated were inappropriate. After, the person chose either speaking out what should be different or coming forward to take an actor's place. It was definitely a fun day of active learning!

If you didn't follow our live coverage on Twitter or Facebook during the meeting, check out the photos!

Next month Chab Dai’s leaders will be doing a road trip to visit every member, for members who want to commit to excellence, and sign The Chab Dai Charter that was joint-drafted at the meeting.

Support to Siem Reap

Chab Dai Learning Community Team headed to the provinces this week to encourage, support, and provide training for our members working in Siem Reap.

Where is Siem Reap?

Siem Reap is the top tourist destination in Cambodia, located in the northwest region, about 5 hours from the capitol city of Phnom Penh. It houses the ever-stunning Angkor Wat temples that were built in the 9th-13th centuries, at the height of the Khmer Empire.

Despite the face of the quaint tourist town, which is overflowing with souvenir shops, guesthouses, and cafes, the province of Siem Reap indeed has the 3rd highest level of poverty in Cambodia. More than 80% of its residents are farmers, and 50% of the population lives below the poverty line.

For better & for worse, the number of international tourists coming to Siem Reap annually is increasingly enormously. In 1993 there were an average of 7,000 tourists. Today there are 2 million tourists annually!

While we can see the benefits of this, for example better infrastructure and job creation in this region, Chab Dai members have also seen a direct correlation in the growing number of human trafficking, exploitation, and abuse cases being reported.

So, they responded!

As a coalition, in 2008 we discussed the likelihood that growing tourism would translate into becoming a hotspot for trafficking & exploitation (also not to mention that it is 2 hours from the Thai border). We encouraged members to open field offices and projects in this area to proactively and reactively address the issues of sex tourism and commercial sexual exploitation.

A few bold organizations made the move!

Now they have started offices, networked with local police & partner agencies, and are working with children who are at-risk & survivors of human trafficking.

At our meeting this week we had 50 member staff present, including caregivers, directors, social workers, and counselors. We asked those who had been working in the field of trafficking & exploitation to raise their hands.Only 6 hands were raised!

The difficulty, on top of lacking experienced staff, is that the majority of trainings are only in Phnom Penh (a day-long bus ride away, both ways). Limited human resources & time constraints had our members pleading with us to be more present in Siem Reap.

How did Chab Dai respond?

Nope, we are not opening our first field office. But we are responding with a 6-month commitment to be in Siem Reap one week every month, during which time we will facilitate trainings, cross visits, share resources, and show our support for the work they are doing.

International Director, Helen Sworn, made it clear this week that they are not alone. In fact, she can remember the same scenario and struggles in 2005, when Chab Dai first began. Her words were full of hope, as she encouraged the staff that they have an exciting role to play as they “forage prickly unknown territory” in Siem Reap; and emphasized that they are not alone!

To kick off our 6-month commitment plan, we organized aweek of activities targeting not only directors & managers, but all caregivers as well. The week included:

• a meeting with all our members in the region,
• job-based support groups,
• trainings on minimum standards & child protection,
• a forum lunch discussion about medical procedures,
• and a facilitated cross-visit to one of our members.

Beyond this week, we created the framework for members to continue learning from each other & practicing solidarity. Three practitioner peer groups will meet monthly for encouragement & sharing.

At the end of 6-months Chab Dai will evaluate the impact the trainings, peer groups, and meetings had on raising the quality of care for victims & survivors of trafficking, abuse & exploitation.

If you are planning a visit to Siem Reap, check out ConCERT Cambodia for volunteer/ donation options, and Child Safe Network for SAFE hotel & dining option.

Chab Dai’s Urban Prevention Project also works in Siem Reap.

‘We Need Capacity-Building Trainings!!’

Today I traveled with Sithy to a popular Cambodian city five hours outside of the capitol to do a training needs assessment with aftercare programs. Together we JOINED HANDS with 5 shelters working in the region and 15 practitioners (social workers, counselors, & shelter managers).

Aftercare shelters here are small, and several are less than a year old. We are excited they have responded to the growing number of trafficking and rape cases reported. However, being so far from the capitol city (& our office) has been a challenge for their staff attending capacity-building trainings and forums. They requested Chab Dai’s presence in the province to assist in raising the standard of care in their programs, and facilitate networking between NGOs.

We have responded.

Chab Dai is planning a week of trainings and forums in January 2010with members & partners to begin addressing the needs outlined at today’s meeting. For a long-term solution, we have emphasized the need for practitioners in the city to share resources, invite members to trainings, and do cross-learning visits to programs. We believe that effectively raising the standard of care can only be done in partnership!

Lights + Camera + ACTION!!

Chab Dai is making a VIDEO about our learning community and projects in Cambodia. We are excited to finish and share the beautiful model of collaboration and joining hands.

For three weeks we have been interviewing member staff and Chab Dai project managers about what Chab Dai means to them and our impact on their projects. Yesterday and all day today I traveled with colleagues to the provinces to interview village leaders, pastors, and school teachers who have been trained about trafficking from Chan Dai.

Amazing! It was awesome to see the impact Chab Dai is having on communities throughout Cambodia.

Today was full of proud moments for Chab Dai, and the best part is it’s all Khmer driven, visioned, and organized!!

Our Photographer: George Hsia: www.georgehsia.com

Bi-Annual Member Meeting a Success!

Chab Dai hosted our 11th Bi-Annual Member Meeting with a record 140 staff from member organizations.  Member staff included social workers from aftercare shelters, directors from prevention projects, trainers spreading awareness about child rights in villages, lawyers offering legal services, and socially responsible businessmen.

Over 40 member organizations joined together for two days to discuss and train around the topic of "Setting the Standard: Dignity in Media + Communications".  Speakers motivated participants to focus on HOPE & DIGNITY when sharing stories from shelters and projects; and to use photos and terminology that do not re-exploite or stigmatize survivors.

Chab Dai is committed to raising standards regarding photos and terminology about all children, especially those who have been abused or exploited.  We are currently drafting a media & communications policy, and advocating best practice with our members & partners.