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The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:5 ESV
Daughters of Cambodia exists to empower those trapped in
the sex industry to walk free and to find fullness of life,
with healing, wholeness, and the means to prosper.
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At a morning prayer time, the a facilitator asked all of the people there to take a minute to ponder gratitude and share what they are thankful for. The answers were all good, but we wanted to share two beautiful journeys that brought us to tears.
We went around the room; each in his/her turn shared something that evoked gratefulness in their lives. She was the most surprising, the young woman in the corner. Never volunteering to pray. Rarely speaking up, I waited expecting a manufactured, simple answer.
She started quietly, but the smile spread across her face. Joy radiated.
She shared that before coming to Daughters of Cambodia she could never imagine her life would have the hope and love in it. Working with us for seven years, she looked back and saw an unmistakable change in her life. She shared about how hopeless and afraid she was. Her husband was a gangster. He was unkind and even abusive.
When she first heard about the love of Jesus, she had no way of putting it into context. Her life had been hard and cruel.
Once she started to accept this perfect, unexplainable love of God, things began to change. She now had the capacity to love other people in a better way. She realized her own responses were seasoned with grace. She felt lighter and more loved and accepted by those around her.
Although not an easy road, her actions affected her husband who - with time - transformed as well.
With eyes shining, she said, “He loves me now. He is even kind. And, he loves our baby.”
This once timid, hopeless woman is now a staff member and leader. On breaks she runs to the daycare to hold her toddler, a little girl who looks exactly like her mother, but with bouncy black curls.
Seven years might sound like a long time, but not in comparison to eternity for a transformed former sex worker, her once gangster husband, and a precious little girl who will grow up knowing and seeing real love displayed in her family.
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Since Sons of Cambodia started in 2011, we have had a few dozen former lady-boys in the program. One, who transitioned into a staff position, shared his gratitude to God recently. In the past, he suffered from being an outcast and bullied. He said many people were cruel to him.
Since he started working at Sons of Cambodia, he has changed. He said in learning to love himself and see his value in God’s eyes, people began to treat him differently. Those same people in his community, especially men, who mistreated him are now kind. Not just tolerant, but some are even his friends and respect him. Outward appearance, he has not changed much, but it’s the transformation from the inside out that people have noticed most.
He also said the staff and clients at Daughters (Sons) were kind to him, which helped him to see his value in God. He is so grateful. He says he can definitely remember a change from who he used to be to who he is now. Anyone who knows him cannot deny that he is a man with depth and tenderness the world and unkind people have not been able to strip him of.
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Help Us Find 100 New Sponsors for our Daughters (and Sons)!
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We need to raise additional sponsorship for our clients, to help cover costs incurred as we train and support them through the challenges of life-style change. Please help us by telling your friends and church members about this opportunity to give a different future to the most vulnerable members of Cambodian society. Sponsorship is either $35 or $70/month which covers a portion of the client's living stipend whilst they train, counselling, medical treatment, educational programs and other support services. Please consider partnering with us to bring about the opportunity of a life time for the young women and men we reach.
Enable one of our Daughters (or Sons) to THRIVE - get in touch with us by clicking HERE or contact Dany at sponsor@daughtersofcambodia.org.
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Fair-Trade and the Environment
Daughters of Cambodia is applying for official Fair-Trade status with the World Fair Trade Organization. We have always upheld high standards for working conditions, wages, and employee rights, however, registering and maintaining the official status will continue to hold us accountable to these standards, as well as, open more marketing opportunities. It will makes us part of an international network of businesses.
With very limited fair-trade options for raw materials in Cambodia, we purchase a small % of Daughters products from Goel community, a fair trade Cambodian NGO, which dyes and weaves cloth. Dyes are made from plant extracts. We try to buy locally and be creative with what we have. Daughters re-purpose bolts and washers for jewelry parts. We buy fabrics from local markets which sell the excess from garment factories.
We intentionally work to maintain a low environmental impact. All fabric scraps are used to make small products or tiny scraps used for stuffing. We also try to import as little as possible which is meaning less impact on the environment than if we had components shipped or air-freighted to Cambodia. Some of our outlets have implemented a recycling plan, which also benefits the community since poor people in the area gain a small income from collecting recycling. We continue to value and uphold good stewardship of our resources.
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'I was hungry and you fed me...'
Last newsletter, we informed you about our program to empower our client's families to fix up their homes and a feeding program. Words cannot describe the shocking situations many of our clients live in. We wanted to share - through photos - the first home we took on in this project. With rainy season in full force, we hope to fix even more.
We thank God that we are in a position to help; we want to increase this fund and empower more of those who are destitute. What a privilege it is; when we do this for them, we are doing this for Jesus.
If you would like to know more or to give towards this fund, please contact communications@daughtersofcambodia.org
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The top two photos are before. There was no front door and the wall was falling apart, along with a leaky roof... as seen from the inside photo.
The bottom two are after some repairs were done. The house has a door that closes and secures, the front wall was fixed (as seen from the inside shot), and holes in the roof patched.
Our staff worked alongside the family to fix up the home, rather than just do it for them. This was purposeful to teach and empower the men of the family.
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The Meaning of Impossible
There is no ease. Not one week passes without a mingling of victory and struggle. It is the nature of taking on the task of working with people. Broken... hurting... addicted... despondent... The difficult words can be mixed and matched to the new clients who sit in an interview each Wednesday.
Yet, we do not work with 180+ clients as a whole. We work with 180+ individuals with faces, differing stories, and no formula or mold to fit them. No response will ever be the same.
One such individual brings so much joy in his story. All the statistics are stacked against him, yet here he is thriving.
He came to us as a highly marginalized lady-boy. He spent over 20-years as a transexual sex-worker.
His tousled hair, baggy clothes cannot hide his bright and sincere smile when he greets his co-workers. After only a few years with our Son's program, his natural leadership and growth became evident. At one time, he lead our wood-working business. After it closed, he was entrusted to continue making some of the intricate wood and coconut items needed for our bags and products.
On top of his hard-work, he started to learn counselling skills. We are excited to see where this takes him and how it will impact so many lady-boys who need a person to truly understand what they have been through.
The world may have written him off, but as long as there are men in Cambodia like him, we do not accept the meaning of impossible. In humility, however, we remember it is not our strength or efforts that can change people.
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Thank You and Farewell
Recently, Daughters has been sharing on Facebook profiles of our amazing volunteers. Our heart is to put a face and personality on the behind-the-scenes work we do. The below three all served well with us and moved on in June. We will miss them and hope you enjoy their stories.
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Meet Karina, 21, from Denmark. She volunteered in our free daycare for the clients’ young children. She also helped lead prayer devotionals on Monday mornings at our Operations Centre.
The first nine years of her life were spent in Tanzania, shaping her vast worldview and love for the third world. Before joining Daughters, Karina studied at college in Denmark. In that time, she heard about Daughters through the Danish Lutheran Mission (DLM) – a sending partner.
When asked about her work in daycare, she said, “It means a lot to me that I can help the children to get some good fun, and safe hours while they are in the Daycare.”
Karina said one of her favorite things about Cambodia is the Khmer people. “I have received so much by spending time with Khmer people; they are so friendly and kind. It has been fantastic to learn about their culture, and I enjoy living here in Phnom Penh.”
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Meet volunteer, Clara, 20, from Denmark! She served in our daycare at the Operations Centre. She spent her time with the kids doing messy play, singing and dancing, and overseeing activities that promote coordination, brain stimulation, and creativity.
Clara’s favourite thing about working at Daughters is all the smiles she gets every day when at work - from the staff, the clients, and especially from the children in daycare.
She says, “It makes me happy and reminds me how much a client’s life can change when they come to Daughters.”
She was in Cambodia through the Danish Lutheran Mission (DLM). She said her favourite thing about Cambodia is that the Khmer people are so friendly and welcoming.
“I love to spend time with Khmer people and have made a lot of good friends who I will never forget!” In her free time, she hangs out with local university students and plays a lot of football with them.
Before coming to Cambodia, Clara studied at college with a focus in Biology and Math.
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Meet our volunteer, Nathan. He is 39 and from the United States. His role was Daughter of Cambodia’s Operations Manager. As operations manager he helped oversee the day-to-day operations of the stores, spas and cafes. He was involved with aspects of accounting, business logistics, and even the kitchen. As a former cook, he used his skills to maintain hygiene standards, teaching the girls new menu items, and quality control of the food…. which means he eats a lot!
Nathan served in Cambodia for 6 years. Nathan also met his beautiful, Aussie wife here. They now have two adorable children.
Before joining Daughter’s a year ago, he was an NGO worker doing program support and partnership. He heard about Daughters from being a customer who enjoyed the atmosphere and food.
When asked his favorite thing about working with us, Nathan said, “Working at Daughters is a calling. It's not the easiest job but God was very clear as to what we are to do. Do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with our God. It is always a joy to watch the girls express their creative side of them sometimes they didn't know they had. It could be in creating a new menu item that looks delicious, to drawing pretty nail art, to creating latte art. Many of them come from a dark past. But they are created in God's image and God's image is beautiful; they are beautiful. To watch them bring out their inner beauty is seeing God at work.”
Sharing how he ended up in Cambodia, he said, “Sometimes we sing songs that say, ‘Break my heart for what breaks yours!’ Until we sing the songs with our heart instead of our lips we will never truly mean it. One day I did and God broke my heart for Cambodia and its people. There are a lot of difficulties in Cambodia: humidity, the poverty, the corruption, the horrors of people being trafficked, etc... But when God works in you, it's not about what we like and what we can do about things like trafficking. It's about our availability, our obedience, and love to Jesus. It's allowing Him to do mighty things through our weakness.”
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Our Clients
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Our social work team helps clients to work through and find ways to overcome their domestic and psychological difficulties. Some recent cases they have been working on include:
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1. SY
Please pray for SY who had a miscarriage. She had several abortions before and this is probably why she miscarried. She is very sad as she wanted to keep the baby this time. Her boyfriend is also disappointed and now does not support SY because she lost the baby.
2. NT
Please pray for NT who wants to move to live at Water of Life because her family situation is very difficult. She has tried to persuade her family to move to a safer area, but they don’t want to. Please pray for NT and her parents to support this decision to move to a better place and make this transition easy and smooth.
3. Please pray for integrity amongst all at Daughters. We particularly want to eliminate stealing from our businesses. It creates harm for us in a number of ways including: the spiritual impact on Daughters when the door of the demonic is opened by somebody from inside our organization; the spiritual and emotional impact on the other staff and clients when it is uncovered; the loss of income for Daughters and therefore sustainability. The less income we have, the more girls we have to turn away who come to us for help in leaving the sex industry. Please join us in praying God will expose every hidden thing and stealing will cease.
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We use the term 'clients' in referring to the girls and boys we work with, because it is a term of dignity and respect, more than alternatives such as 'victims' or even 'survivors', and in a context of confidentiality and professionalism as with clients one would assist in a social work or counselling setting.
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