Friends-International Newsletter

FI Newsletter - February 2008
Working at Friends is never dull. Admittedly, some of us lament being stuck behind a desk a little more than we’d like, but accept that it’s a necessary part of what we do and try to get out in the field as often as possible.

We do get to see and experience some amazing things, so we’ve added a new section to our website where our staff will share their experiences and photos of what its like working in the field. Read how a game of ping pong calmed the nerves of one shaky FI staff member after an earthquake in Aceh, and about a small boy in Laos who has found a happy new home with a foster family. Read More from our Founder and International Coordinator, Sebastien Marot.

Stories from the Field

Staff at Friends-International share some of their experiences of what its like working with vulnerable children around the world. Read how a game of ping pong calmed the nerves of one FI staff member after an earthquake in Aceh, and about a small boy in Laos who has found a new home with a foster family.

'From Spiders to Water Lilies' the new Cambodian cookbook from Friends-International

On December 7, Friends launched its new cookbook From Spiders to Water Lilies at Romdeng Restaurant in Phnom Penh. Around 300 people came to sample recipes from the book, which features Cambodian cuisine from Romdeng Restaurant.

What I see when I close my eyes

In 2005 Leslie Hope and her husband Adam Kane filmed a short movie at Mith Samlanh, Cambodia. The movie shows the stories of some of the children at Mith Samlanh – by asking them to draw an outline of themselves and then draw what they saw when they closed their eyes. The movie has been launched in the US and will be shown at several film festivals later this year.

The movie will also be launched in Cambodia. To find out more please email info@friends-international.org to see photos of the project look at the gallery.

Trabant Trek finally arrives in Cambodia

21 countries, 25 000 kilometers, the Trabant Trek team arrived on January 7 at Mith Samlanh. The children were very excited and intrigued to see this group who had spent 4 months in very uncomfortable looking plastic cars to raise money for Mith Samlanh. To read more and donate visit www.trabanttrek.org and see the photos of their arrival here.

CSCN for FI Newsletter

Cambodia’s Street Children Network (CSCN) is a network of organizations who share the objective of increasing the collaboration between services in order to protect and develop the best interest of street children and vulnerable children in Cambodia.

Monitoring, Evaluation and Research

A new Monitoring, Evaluation and research team has started within Friends-International.

Dany is based in the Phnom Penh office and Pierre is working as Coordinator based in France. The objective of the new ME&R section is to ensure that all FI projects become good practice models in terms of reporting, monitoring and evaluation and that quality data and information about street children and related issues worldwide are widely available.

For all questions about reporting, evaluation or research, you can contact
pierre@friends-international.org.

Our new Transitional Home
" Seila Angkor "

In November, Friends-International Siem Reap opened its first Transitional Home, named ‘Seila Angkor’, which means ‘Angkor stone’. This name was given by the children who live in the home.

Back to School

Once again September was a busy month for our Education Centers, with many children in Cambodia and Laos returning to school, or going to school for the first time. This year all the school uniforms for the children at Mith Samlanh were made by mothers in our Home Based production project.

Products

Friends-International products are now available in USA, Norway, Holland and Italy! For a complete list of outlets selling products made as part of our Home Based production project, visit our SHOP page.

For more information about applying to be a distributor of Friends-international products, please email
shop@friends-international.org

"A green week in Ban Soungfafa for Vientiane's Street Children"

During the recent Francophonie Conference held recently in Vientiane, the Vientiane Capital Social Welfare Department and the "Peuan Mit" project worked together to organize a safe area for street children living or working on the streets of the city in order to avoid street "clean ups".

Repatriated mothers from Thailand receive support from Friends-International

Chea Ty came back from Thailand two months ago and is the first woman to join Friends-International’s reintegration project for mothers repatriated from Thailand (funded by DCA). Here is her story.

ChildSafe Network

The ChildSafe network has grown over 62 per cent since June, Since June, the ChildSafe Network has grown 62% with a total number of 914 trained members including Intrepid Travel and ANZ Royal. The diversity of members allows the network to reach out to even more of the community and involve them in protecting children.