Posts Tagged ‘World Relief Cambodia’
Girls: Change Makers and World Shapers
“Girls are one of the most powerful forces for change in the world: When their rights are recognized, their needs are met and their voices are heard, they drive positive change in their families, their communities and the world.” – Kathy Calvin, United Nations Foundation President & CEO
If you empower a girl, you empower her whole community. We’ve seen this at World Relief, where girls around the world are finding opportunities to step into their God-given gifts. Often, among the most vulnerable populations globally, girls have a unique power to lift up their communities as they themselves rise.
In places of conflict, women are peacemakers and influencers. In times of need, women drive transformation and development in their homes, their neighborhoods and their nations. And when girls feel valued, celebrated and motivated, they grow up to be powerful change-making women.
Today, on International Day of the Girl Child, we’re sharing two stories of girls who are creating change in their communities. Sifa and Marady live thousands of miles apart, but they have something in common: they’re both part of World Relief Kid’s Clubs.
Through Kid’s Clubs, we partner with local churches, schools and community members to teach children how to develop healthy relationships with God, others and self. In their local clubs, Sifa and Marady are learning and leading others to grow physically, emotionally, socially, mentally and spiritually.
Sifa: Starting a Kid’s Savings Movement in Rwanda
Sifa is 11 years old, and her dream is to become rich. But she doesn’t want to be rich for herself. Sifa wants to use her money to serve orphans and vulnerable children. And she wants to help other kids do the same.
After seeing the positive impact joining a World Relief savings group had on her parents and family, Sifa decided that she and her friends should be learning about saving and finances, too. Sifa told her peers about the savings group and they decided to start their own.
The group is made up of 30 kids between the ages of six and 11. With their parents’ support and supervision of a Kid’s Club volunteer, each child contributes about 10 cents at weekly meetings.
Soon, the group had enough money to purchase two chickens for each child. The kids care for the chickens and sell the eggs at the market, continuing to increase the savings of the group. Together, Sifa and her peers decide on priorities to solve their problems, as well as those of the community — especially caring for the needs of their most vulnerable neighbors.
Because of Sifa’s determination and heart to help other children, she’s inspired a movement.
So far, more than five churches in her community have followed her lead and started savings groups in their Kid’s Clubs.
As for Sifa, she’s looking forward to earning more money and helping more kids. “Looking at how far I have come,” she said, “earning enough to buy a chicken which is producing eggs for selling to the market, my future is guaranteed.”
Marady: Leading Through Crisis in Cambodia
At 12 years old, Marady is a leader among her friends. When she started attending Kid’s Clubs, Marady was so enthusiastic about what she was learning that she began sharing lessons and activities with her classmates at school. Now, she’s become one of the club’s biggest advocates.
When COVID-19 hit, club meetings were sometimes cancelled due to safety concerns, but Marady remained committed. Once it was safe, Marady would gather her friends from Kid’s Club and review activities and lessons they had learned together.
“Marady has a helping heart,” a Kid’s Club volunteer said, “She helps prepare the space and materials when the club starts and ends. She also helps remind and call her club-mates to Kid’s Club every week.”
“I really enjoy coming to Kid’s Club,” Marady said. “I like to play with other kids and do some activities like washing our hands, cutting our nails and coloring together.”
Because of Marady, the friendship between the kids and the hygiene knowledge they learned remained intact in the midst of a challenging season.
We thank God for girls like Sifa and Marady! Through their compassion and perseverance, they are creating lasting change among their friends and neighbors. Whether helping kids maintain knowledge and friendship through a pandemic or inspiring financial responsibility as a means to care for one another, these girls are transforming the world around them one change at a time.
Sifa and Marady are just two of the 1.1 billion girls around the world. If we invest in and empower girls globally, what else might they accomplish?
Join us in celebrating the power and potential of girls around the world by giving today or joining The Path.
Emily Kankindi Iyakaremye joined World Relief in 2005 as a receptionist. Six months later, she was promoted to Assistant to the Country Director and served in this role for seven years. Her skills and experience in communications, planning and hospitality then lead her to a role in the Evaluation, Research and Development department where she served for four years. Today, Emily heads the Communications and Documentation unit at World Relief Rwanda, working as the Communication and Documentation Coordinator. She is married and has two daughters aged 11 and 13 year old. She has a Bachelor Degree in Marketing and is in the process of furthering her studies in the domain of counseling and human services as she believes it is her passion and gift from God.
Bopha So serves as a Child Development Facilitator at World Relief Cambodia, where she has worked for almost 21 years. She has a great heart for the most vulnerable, and is gifted at building good relationships within communities, especially with kids’ parents.
Kelly Hill serves as a Content Writer at World Relief. She previously served as Volunteer Services Manager at World Relief Triad in North Carolina before moving to Salt Lake City. With a background in International and Intercultural Communication, she is passionate about the power of story to connect people of diverse experiences.
Supporting Small Businesses in Cambodia: The Lion’s Den
It’s no secret that small businesses suffered throughout 2020. But thanks to a partnership with
Bent Tree Bible Fellowship, aspiring small business owners in Cambodia found support through World Relief.
Bent Tree has been partnering with World Relief for nearly 15 years. Through their Business as Missions initiative, Bent Tree staff and volunteers helped refine a business development curriculum that has been used to train World Relief Cambodia staff and savings program participants.
Most recently, Bent Tree church member and local business leader, Michael Cozzi, helped launch a new initiative in Cambodia called the Lion’s Den, which is similar to the TV program Shark Tank. Michael and Romroth Choun, World Relief Cambodia’s Program Operations Director, shared more about the new initiative and how they hope to see it grow.
Michael, how did you first get connected with World Relief?
M: In 2018, I traveled to Phnom Penh with a group from Bent Tree. We conducted business development trainings in partnership with World Relief Cambodia. But really the story began one year prior when I was encouraged to take a global missions class at Bent Tree. The Holy Spirit used that class to change my life. I learned what it meant to be mission-minded and leverage my gifts to carry out the Great Commission. Little did I know that less than one year later I’d be teaching biblically-based business development in Cambodia to some participants who had never heard of Jesus before.
What prompted you to bring Lion’s Den to Cambodia?
M: During my second trip to Cambodia, my co-leaderJackie Mosley and I collaborated with Brandon (World ReliefCambodia Country Director) on ideas to assist business development participants beyond just the trainings we conducted.
Some of the ideas included microfinance loans to small businesses. However, after reading reports on Cambodia’s debt problem, I realized the rapid rise of tiny microfinance loans often led Cambodians into more debt. So, I knew this option would not work.
That’s when God connected me with Lion’s Den — a Dallas-based organization that mobilizes Christian business leaders to invest their talents and resources for kingdom Impact. Lion’s Den gives entrepreneurs the opportunity to pitch their business plan to investors in hopes that they will fund their business for growth.
I felt God prompt me to bring Lion’s Den to Cambodia, and with Bent Tree’s spiritual, organizational and financial guidance, we pooled our resources and pitched the idea to the World Relief staff in Cambodia. Together, we launched the first Lion’s Den Cambodia pitch event in early 2020 and a second was successfully completed in the fall 2020.
Romroth, what were your initial reactions to Lion’s Den?
R: When Michael first brought the idea, I thought, “What is the Lion’s Den Pitch?” It was really a new learning experience. Michael helped us develop a rubric for learning, testing, idea analysis, and then he also added a spiritual component. Bent Tree has conducted business development training for several years. But we observed that most participants didn’t have many chances to expand or form new businesses, and that’s something I really wanted to see happen. So, God’s hand was really moving in the Bent Tree team’s heart.
What was the first pitch session like?
R: I felt a bit nervous because this was really new for both World Relief and the business candidates. Participants pitched grocery selling, chicken and pig raising and small food shops in the villages. We selected four winners from among nine candidates.
Some recipients received vocational training to open new businesses such as tailors and hairdressers. Others started raising livestock and other agricultural businesses. The agricultural businesses did well, but some of the others did not. There wasn’t much a of a market where those businesses opened. This is something further business development training would help solve.
*In all, 27 people submitted business plans to the Lion’s Den, and 12 received funding. In 2021, World Relief Cambodia has two more Lion’s Den events planned, and is excited to continue growing!
What do each of you hope to see come of this partnership in the future?
M: First, God put it on my heart to love, care and pray for the people of Cambodia. Beyond that, I feel the Holy Spirit leading me to grow Lion’s Den into more parts of Cambodia. I also hope to expand the Lion’s Den to other countries World Relief is working in as well. In the end, my heart is to love people everywhere as Jesus did through business and missions!
R: Partnering, to me, is sharing and caring about God’s Kingdom. I want to see at least 50% of our savings program members have a chance to form new businesses or expand current businesses in order to decrease poverty. This will bring the glory to God. I hope that with Bent Tree’s partnership we can figure this out.
What would you say to others in the marketplace about how they can leverage their gifts and resources to serve and empower others around the world? M: I would encourage people in the church with business experience to ask God how He wants them to participate, be it financially, spiritually or by sharing their business experience. I hope the Holy Spirit leads more men and women to use their God-given business talents to help the vulnerable start and grow new businesses. I see our partnership with World Relief as a channel to share the good news Jesus through biblically-based business development.
You and your church can support similar initiatives and empower communities across the globe by joining The Path.
Rachel Clair serves as a Content Writer at World Relief. With a background in creative writing and children’s ministry, she is passionate about helping people of all ages think creatively and love God with their hearts, souls and minds.
World Relief Responds: Cambodia
“I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.’ He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and your rampart.”
— Psalm 91:2 & 4
Unexpected Visitors
Take a walk around the Stoung District in Kampong Thom Province, a district where one of our World Relief Cambodia (WRC) offices is located, and you’ll notice a growing number of unexpected visitors popping up along the roadside as you go.
These visitors, or scarecrows, have been set up by residents to protect their homes and businesses against the COVID-19 crisis. The belief that scarecrows can ward off viruses and disease is rooted in animist belief in Cambodia and presents a challenge for our staff as we work to provide accurate prevention messaging about COVID-19.
Much of our time at WRC is spent supporting a growing number of home churches throughout the country and facilitating group learning environments on topics such as health and nutrition, child development, anti-trafficking and financial literacy. When we became aware of the coronavirus earlier this year, we got to work creating lessons and messaging that we could incorporate into our group-learning model.
But as the number of infections rose throughout Cambodia and across the globe, the Cambodian government made the call to no longer allow people to meet in groups. This posed a problem for our ministry since just about everything we do is group-based.
Thankfully, I work with an incredibly hardworking, faith-filled team. They quickly adapted to making individual household visits, sharing prevention messaging and ensuring everyone in their communities had correct information. Our staff don masks on their visits and share the prevention messages from a safe social distance.
Innovation Across Programs
The new prevention lesson we created is called “How to prevent COVID-19.” It includes a poster that illustrates prevention methods, specific handwashing instructions and symptoms of COVID-19. Every household we visit is given a copy of the poster to display in their homes, and we encourage everyone to share the information with their neighbors. As of April 24th, our thirty-four community-based staff had visited over 4,000 households in 200 villages, facing risk wisely and with God-rooted courage.
We’ve also added new messaging, which are delivered through home visits, to our existing programs in order to address the unique problems families are facing due to the coronavirus:
- In our Savings Groups, we developed a “Smart Money” handout that will help people make wise financial decisions during this crisis.
- In our Care Groups, we developed key messages for families with kids under the age of five to help them make extra effort to prevent COVID-19.
- In our Home Churches, we developed a daily devotional to direct believers toward spiritual truths that can provide hope and comfort during this difficult time.
In addition to this, we’re very aware of the needs that people with disabilities are facing during this crisis, the possibility of increased domestic violence and the need for information regarding stress management. Our team is prayerfully brainstorming ways to address each of these issues.
Fighting Fear with Spiritual Truth
Overall, there is a general sense of fear and unknown in Cambodia. Just like in the U.S., parents are finding it hard to care for children whose schools are currently closed. Families are dealing with job loss, and many don’t have safety nets to fall back on. Even some of our staff who are in the at-risk age range feel a sense of unease.
But amidst the fear and the unknown, our team is finding strength and courage through prayer and scripture. Even while we follow strict prevention protocols, we’ve also been meditating on Psalm 91, taking a cue from David and boldly asking God to protect us from sickness.
We’re also encouraged by stories like that of Aunty Arun — a 53-year-old woman living in the S’ang District. Years ago, her family got into some trouble. She lost all her property gambling and spiraled into a season of hopelessness. She stopped praying and stopped believing in God, and her family situation deteriorated.
One of our staff recently visited her home to share our COVID-19 prevention lesson. During the visit, Aunty Arun was reminded of God’s love for her and of the truth found in scripture. Our team has reported that Aunty Arun’s faith has been renewed and her hope restored. The transformation that is taking place in her family is already evident, and I am grateful for the spiritual renewal that is happening as we seek to serve the physical needs within our communities.
Having communities see our staff really care about their health and well-being sends a powerful message about the love of Christ and the relevance of our ministry.
While I know our journey in responding to COVID-19 has only just begun, I am grateful for the courage and fortitude I see coming out of our Cambodia team and beyond. World Relief has long been a leader in supporting the most vulnerable through times of crisis, and our response in Cambodia is a reflection of the many ways our teams are responding throughout the world. I am grateful for all the ways our staff and volunteers across the globe are continuing to empower churches to stand with vulnerable through this crisis and beyond.
Brandon Prichard joined the World Relief team in 2011 taking on several Director roles at the Home Office in Baltimore. He has served as the Director of Economic Development and finished his service in the home office by serving as the Director of Program Resources. In 2018 he moved with his wife, Emily, and four girls to Phnom Penh. He has since taken on the role of Cambodia Country Director, playing a key role in strengthening staff, programming and church empowerment. Brandon has an MBA from the University of Maryland.
The same Gospel story
Each summer, US Church Partners take summer ministry trips to Cambodia. Taylor Strickland from Second Presbyterian Church in Memphis, TN, a long time Church Partner with World Relief, shares a bit about her experience:
On the sixth day of our time in Phnom Penh, I and another member were able to go on a field visit with August and Nareem of World Relief. We rode out into a village to assist with the HIV/AIDS education and prevention program.
According to World Relief’s statistics, Cambodia has the highest prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Asia, with an estimated 75,000 people living with AIDS. As the moto traveled deeper into the shanty town, the smell of trash and sewage grew strong in the heat, and the terrain looked more and more undeveloped. As we rode alongside rows of dilapidated homes, crossing sewer pipes lined with rotting garbage, I realized I was in the most impoverished place I had ever been. Living conditions in the areas surrounding Phnom Penh (the big city) are tolerable at best, from the perspective of a Westerner.
There I was, listening to a blind woman tell her story of being disowned by her family in 2002 when she tested positive for HIV, and all I could think about was how to prevent ants from crawling up my legs. Then they asked me to share my story. Talk about a rude awakening; I was overcome by feelings of guilt and inadequacy. My story does not compare to the story of any of the people in that town in terms of suffering, but what I realized at that moment is that we all experience the same Gospel. Every believer knows what it’s like when the scales fall off his eyes, revealing both his utter filth and the hope of salvation by the blood of Jesus Christ. So that’s what I made my story about.
The reason World Relief is able to go out into shanty towns, educate people about HIV/AIDS and build relationships with those people is that the same God that changed us is redeeming the slums of Cambodia. The work World Relief is doing in Cambodia is only possible because of the Gospel.
The purpose of this recounting is not to evoke pity for Cambodians, but rather to aid in portraying the power of the gospel to bring hope and peace. The believers I’ve met in Cambodia know contentment. They are sustained by Christ and experience him in a way that I don’t understand yet. I’ve already learned a lot from my new Cambodian friends, and as my story continues to develop, I hope my experience here never ceases to challenge me.
Click here to follow the church teams and their experiences in Cambodia this summer.