Partners

We work with many patners in Cambodia, Lao P.D.R., Honduras, and Thailand.

To learn more about our partners in these areas of the world, please click on the link below.

Mith Samlanh (Cambodia)
Peuan Mit (Lao PDR)
Operations Enfants de Battambang (Cambodia)
Asociación Mexicana Pro Niñez Y Juventud, A.C.
Other interesting organizations

Mith Samlanh (Cambodia)

Mith Samlanh is the leading Cambodian NGO working with street children.

Started in 1994 by Friends-International, Mith Samlanh became a Cambodian organization in 1999.

Mith Samlanh means “good friends” in Khmer (Cambodian language)

Mith Samlanh’s objective is to reintegrate street children into society through family reintegration, reintegration into public school (for younger children) and through employment (for the older children). Mith Samlanh is committed to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and works to implement the Convention in all aspects of its work, making it a child-centered program.

Mith Samlanh is currently working with 1,800 children per day within 12 different projects with over 200 Cambodian personnel.

• Reintegration projects:
  • Outreach work in the streets of Phnom Penh;
  • Drop-in Centers for boys who work at night and for girls who just arrived in the city;
  • Residential Facilities for children in training/schooling;
  • Remedial Primary School providing innovative non-formal teaching methods in all levels of primary education;
  • Training Center providing a choice of 11 different training workshops organized as businesses (restaurants, shops, service providers…) allowing students to have real-life experience while training;
  • Placement supporting children to return to their families and supporting families to take over responsibility for their children, to reintegrate the public school system or to find gainful employment.

• Life skills education and support to children at risk:
  • Life Skills: providing children with all the information about Reproductive Health, HIV/AIDS, Drugs and Human Rights to allow them to protect themselves and make informed choices;
  • Support to children infected by HIV/AIDS (15% of children in the Training Center) with medical care and emotional support for a positive living;
  • Support to children affected by AIDS (40% of children arriving onto the streets) and organize their placement once orphaned;

• Child Rights: to promote and implement the Convention on the Rights of the Child; to protect children from physical and sexual abuse;
• Drugs: to provide children with information about the risk and provide them with strategies to reduce harm linked to drug use; provide alternatives and options to drug use; provide basic counseling and detoxification services; provide effective and sustainable rehabilitation options.

• Training to partner organization, including Government agencies:
  • Research, advocacy and training of partner NGOs in the fields of drug use and working with street children;
  • On-going training of Government and Municipality personnel to work with street children and support to allow them to develop projects and policies;
  • Organize, participate in and animate networks of organizations and agencies working in the field of street children, drugs, child rights and support to children affected by AIDS.

Contact Mith Samlanh
Ms. LY Sophat
Program Director
#215, Street 13
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Tel/Fax: (+855) 23 426 748
PO Box 588
Email: friends@everyday.com.kh
Website: www.streetfriends.org

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Peuan Mit (Lao PDR)

Peuan Mit (“Building a sustainable street children project in Lao PDR - Implementation and capacity building”) was started in 2004 by Friends-International at the request and in close collaboration with the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare (MoLSW) and the Vientiane Capital. The Peuan Mit program is currently the only street children program in Lao PDR.

Peuan Mit means “strong friends” in Lao.

• to reintegrate the children into their society (family, school, job, culture, citizenship)
• to prevent children from having to work and/or to live on the streets
• to build the capacity of the Lao Government to address the street children issue in accordance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child

• Community support/prevention:
  • This project is aiming at reducing the number of new children having to live or to work on the streets in Vientiane. Children at risk, their families and their communities are identified. Individual specific support is provided in order to solve the problems leading the children to the streets.
• Outreach:
  • The Outreach Team goes to identify and meet the children who live and work in the streets. Outings take place during the day and in the evening.
    The objective is to maintain close links and provide support to the children: street education, sports, life skills, problem solving, health care...
• Drop-In center:
  • A center is providing services responding effectively to the needs and desires identified and expressed by the street children (education, health care, hygiene, life skills, emergency lodging, sports, hygiene, arts…) The center is centrally located in Vientiane and has been provided to the project by the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare.
• Reintegration/community support:
  • A team is responsible for facilitating and supporting the reintegration of the children (in the school, in the family, in the community, in the workplace…). Support is provided to the family and to the larger community to improve their situation so that the children do not have to come back on the streets. All reintegrated children receive follow up visits as long as needed after their reintegration.

• Training the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare’s social workers:

  • Personnel from the MoLSW are included in all projects and receive ongoing field training. Specific training is provided based on their needs and on request of the MoLSW.

Operations Enfants de Battambang (Cambodia)

Established in 1996, Operations Enfants de Battambang (OEB) is a Cambodian NGO based in the city of Battambang, in the North of Cambodia.

OEB’s objective is to provide support to the most vulnerable children in the province of Battambang and prevent children to fall into deep poverty and be at risk of leaving their homes and becoming street children.

• Reproductive Health education and training:
  • OEB has established a comprehensive Reproductive Health information and training project to vulnerable youth in Battambang (temple youth, street youth, and community youth).
  • The main focus was around education and training of community members (monks, nuns, NGOs, etc.) who in turn worked with the target youth. Furthermore, community members were trained as peer educators who were used as one of the main tools for education.
    OEB also participates in various networks and federations, NGOs and Government agencies.
• Child rights:
  • This project enforces the rights of children in various areas: support to the children living with their mothers in prison, support of classes and develop their understanding of child rights in one district, and training about rights and other life skills (hygiene, nutrition) to parents.
• Support to disabled children:
  • The Health Care and Rehabilitation for the Children With Disabilities Project includes health care and nutrition, access to primary education, home based education, life skills education and revolving capital for implementation of small businesses. A strong community participation is developed.
• Socio-Economic Reintegration of Landmine Survivors:
  • As the number of landmine victims is still high, this project provides rehabilitation for people disabled by landmines and revolving capital to support the implementation of small businesses. Children of disabled people are supported to access education.

• Non-formal education:
  • The team works in areas that are encountering difficulties, mainly former Khmer Rouge areas. Existing teachers are trained in teaching methodologies and life skills, schools are provided with some material. This activity allows an increase in the number of children that can have access to education and to improve the quality of this education.
• Support to HIV patients and their children.
  • People sick in the hospital, especially because of AIDS, receive regular visits and children are identified. Activities for the children are organized in hospital setting. Children are also supported to continue their education. Orphaned children are supported to find placement in extended families.

Contact Opérations Enfants de Battambang
Ms. TITH Davy
Executive Director
#229 Group 11 Sophy I village,
Rattanak commune,
Battambang district,
Battambang province, Cambodia
Tel: (+855) 53 952 752/012 910 095
Fax: (+855) 53 952 531
Email: oeb@camintel.com

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Asociación Mexicana Pro Niñez Y Juventud, A.C.

Started in 1985 in the aftermath of the Mexico City earthquake, Associacion Mexicana Pro Ninez Y Juventud started working with people made homeless by the quake. It naturally expanded its work to street children. It was officially recognized in 1999 as an organization working with street children and street youth.

The objective of AMPNJ is to make of each child / young person an independent autonomous human being. A strong emphasis is therefore put on self-management and child-centered programming: young people take an active part in all decision making process.

• Outreach:
  • A team works with children and young people at risk or already on the streets. The team works in 12 areas in Mexico City. It establishes links, builds relationship of trust and confidence, works on the children and youth’s self esteem as well as on psychological issues. The team supports children and youth to reflect about life so they can decide to change and leave the streets.
• Shelter (Meeting Point):
  • Located in the East of Mexico City, a small house is open 24/24. It is entirely managed by the youth living there (40 max.). It is a place to stay while they prepare and build their future: some residents work, some are in training, some go to school. Many need specific medical and psychological attention and others need support to access treatment for their drug addiction. There are agreements with other NGO’s and some official institutions to provide them with these supports. They leave the shelter once they are ready to lead an independent life. The shelter is basically their home, their place.
• Children in conflict with the law:
  • The organization is working in collaboration with the authorities. Cases are referred to them and the team supervises the legal process and make sure that the rights of the child are respected. The team also follow-up children in prison and follows all psychological aspect to reduce negative impacts of that experience on children and youth and avoid frustration and violence. The team tries to turn this experience as a learning period that is useful for change so that when they recover their freedom they don’t relapse in crime.

Contact Asociación Mexicana Pro Niñez Y Juventud, A.C.
Dr. Cuauhtémoc Abarca Chávez
General Director
Apartado 87,
Palacio Postal
C.P. 06002
Mexico, D.F.
Tel/Fax: (+52) (55) 5597 6550
Email: proninezyjuventud@mail2world.com

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Other interesting organizations

CSN: The Child Support Network
An organization dedicated to supporting children in vulnerable situations.

It supports a network of organizations and funds a series of small projects.

By uniting forces and designing common strategies, the CSN is fighting all types of abuses towards children.

Contact CSN:
Ms. Martina Honegger
Executive Secretary
Postfach 861
CH-8044 Zurich
Tel: (+41) 43 233 99 91
Email: info@childsupportnetwork.ch
Website: www.childsupportnetwork.ch

Nomadic Marketing, Inc.
Founded in 2003, Nomadic Marketing creates professional marketing and design solutions for small international NGOs and volunteer organizations. Nomadic Marketing has a belief that marketing solutions should not exhaust donated funds from nonprofit organizations and their projects.

Contact Nomadic:
Thomas Stader
Project Leader
e: tom@nomadicmarketing.com
www.nomadicmarketing.com

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