Friends-International: The Street Children Network



June 2008
	Friends receives international recognition for its Drugs Program Friends-International and Mith Samlanh have been awarded a special Certificate of Honorable Mention at the Mentor Foundations Mentor International Prevention Awards, for the organizations work in drug prevention with street youth. The second Mentor International Prevention Awards Gala was held on 28 June at the Polo Club Saint-Tropez, France. Presented by Mentor's President, Her Majesty the Queen of Sweden, these Awards recognise and celebrate promise and achievement in drug abuse prevention globally. Recent surveys conducted by Friends-International and Mith Samlanh on substance use in Phnom Penh, show the total number of street children and youth using substances represents 49.8% of the total street living population. The percentage of injecting drug use within the substance using population is reported to be 10.1%. With the numbers of street children and youth estimated to be 20 000, this is a significant issue within the community. Find out more


May 2008
	Kaliyan Mith Mobile Salon The truck that is used to bring the children to the Kaliyan Mith Center in Siem Reap now has a second use – as the new mobile hairdressing salon! The truck is equipped just like a real salon and allows students to practice their hairdressing skills. After 3 months of studying theory and practicing in class, 13 students now travel out to public schools once a week to give hair cuts to children.



	The opening Ceremony of Educational Center and Training Center (Educational Center of Kaliyan Mith) On April 3, 2008, Kaliyan Mith team and the children organized the Opening Ceremony for the new Kaliyan Mith Center in Siem Reap. 120 children and some invited NGO partners and authority participated in this ceremony. In the occasion, special guests were invited for blessing ceremony and a cultural show was presented by Kaliyan Mith children. Events included traditional games, a fashion show by sewing students, a hair show by the hairdressing students and of course many songs and dance. After the show, all the guests, children and staff enjoyed food prepared by the students of Cooking Class. The children were really happy about the new opening of the center and celebrating Khmer New Year at the same time. Commencing in February 2008, the Educational Center of Kaliyan has 2 sections: Educational Center and Training Center. 4 classes of Educational Center were opened for children under 15 years of age, from level 0 to level 2. Three vocational training courses (cooking, sewing, and hair cutting) were started for children over 15 years of age. In June 2008 two more training courses will be offered.



	New location and look for Romdeng Romdeng, a not for profit training restaurant run by former street youth, has moved to its new location at House #74, Street 174. The new Romdeng has seating for up to 120 people,with indoor and outdoor seating in a lovely garden setting and is a great location for parties, weddings and functions. Romdeng serves Cambodian cuisine with a modern twist. For bookings or to receive our weekly specials by email contact gustav@friends-international.org.



	What I see When I Close My Eyes- more screenings! A movie featuring the children of Mith Samlanh, by Leslie Hope and Adam Kane. Digital Video and Hi-Def Festival in Hollywood, Saturday March 29, 2pm sharp! Tix are free! The Fairfax Theater: 7907 Beverly Blvd., LA 90048 http://www.digitalvideofestival.com kent film festival, Kent, Connecticut, Saturday March 29, 3:30pm, Area_51 Headquarters, www.kentfilmfestival.org Humboldt Film Festival, Humboldt, CA, March 24-30 http://www.humboldt.edu/~filmfest/ Lake Forest Film Festival, Lake Forest, Illinois, April 18-20, http://www.lakeforest.edu/life/orgs/film/default.asp Rainier Film Festival, Rainier, WA, May 2-4, http://www.rainierfilmfest.com/ Danville Int'l Children's Film Fest, Danville, CA May 16-18 http://dicff.org/ ReelHeART Int'l Film Festival, Toronto Canada, June 16-21, www.reelheart.com Int'l Film Festival South Africa, South Africa, Oct. 13-18, www.amritsa.com KIDSFIRST! Film Festival (Touring) WHAT I SEE WHEN I CLOSE MY EYES Official Selection: Big Muddy Film Festival, Illinois (Feb 08) Show Off Your Shorts Film Festival, Los Angeles (Feb 08) San Francisco Bay Area Int'l Children's Film Festival (Feb 08) KIDSFIRST! Film Festival (Touring)



	Memorandum of Understanding enables project for street children to continue for a further 3 years Friends-International and the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare signed a new three-year agreement on Monday 3 March in the capital of Lao PDR, Vientiane. The Peuan Mit project for street children, their families and their communities, is run by the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare (MoLSW) and Friends-International. The official name of the project is: “Building a Sustainable Street Children Project in Lao P.D.R. Implementation and Capacity Building”. Peuan Mit’s three main objectives are to reintegrate street children back into Lao society (family, school, workplace); to prevent new children from becoming street children and to train the social workers of the MoLSW in all aspects of the projects so that they are eventually able to run the project themselves in the future. The Peuan Mit teams provide medical care, non-formal education, vocational training, life skills education, and recreational activities (games, sports, dancing and painting) to up to 1500 children per month.


January 2008
	Tooit Tooit opens in Siem Reap On Friday January 25, the first Friends-International shop in Siem Reap opened in the old market. Tooit Tooit Siem Reap is based on the same concept as Tooit Tooit in Phnom Penh, selling recycled, fun and different products made by mothers from the Siem Reap community so that their children can go to school. Some of the mothers participating in the program have been repatriated from Thailand, as part of the repatriation project of Friends-International Thailand and Cambodia. The new shop has been designed with the help of well known Siem Reap based architect, Miss Lisa Ros from ‘Asma Architects’. Tooit Tooit currently sells products made by home based productions in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, but the mothers in Siem Reap are currently receiving skills training and eventually the whole shop will be stocked with products made in Siem Reap. As with all home based products, they are certified ChildSafe, so proceeds from all purchases go toward helping vulnerable children and their families.


December 2007
	From Spiders to Water Lilies From Spiders to Water Lilies – Creative Cambodian Cooking with Friends is the latest cookbook featuring Cambodian dishes from Romdeng. Now available in hard cover or paperback at: Romdeng, Friends the Restaurant, Friends n Stuff, Friends @ 240, Tooit Tooit, Monument Books, Java Café and Gallery and Two Fish Gallery Café. All proceeds from the sale of this book go towards Friends-International’s projects for vulnerable and marginalised children and youth.


November 2007
	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. In our new house, all children are taken care of by a house father, social worker and a cook. The children receive, lodging, safety, life skills training and non formal education. They will also study at the new Educational Center when it is opened at the end of this year .


September 2007
	School year start in Lao PDR This year Peuan Mit supported 396 former street children and children at risk to reintegrate or join the public school system for the first time. Peuan Mit case managers have worked since April to meet children, families, school teachers and directors in over 40 school in Vientiane Province. Children will receive regular follow up for a minimum of 18 months from Peuan Mit staff as well as the staff from District Education Offices.



	Sculpture Activities with Siem Reap Street Children Thanks to JACQUES SERVIERES, a French sculptor who led a very special event with our street kids in Siem Reap. Sculpture activities wer organized in the Kaliyan Mith Drop-In Center, from August 21-24 2007. Over 4 afternoons 94 children, including street working children, street living children and the children from the temples, participated in making tiles from clay. The children all had a great time making their tiles, even though it was the first time sculpting for many of them. At the end of the session, 80 sculptures were produced, with a different theme chosen for each afternoon. These included fish, buffalo, the face of Apsara and one afternoon of free design.


July 2007
	Peuan Mit Youth Rules! In July, a workshop was held for the children at Peuan Mit (Lao PDR) to update the rules and regulations of the Peuan Mit center. The workshop was organized by Peuan Mit’s Child Representative and supervised by the Center Team. Children are encouraged to actively provide feedback and suggestions on how the Center is run and the programs and services on offer. During the school holidays, two special arts workshops were organized with the support of the French Center in Vientiane. The AOC circus company did a workshop on acrobatics, while the French/Lao dancer Ole Khamchanla provided hip hop dance lessons to the children at the National Circus.


June 2007
	First ChildSafe Center was opened in Phnom Penh On June 20th 2007 the first ChildSafe Information and Referral Center opened in Phnom Penh. Following the blessing, we celebrated the opening together with our donors, friends and ChildSafe network members. The center is open to anyone interested in the ChildSafe program, especially for ChildSafe members to receive refresher trainings, materials, English and Road Safety Classes as well as for travelers (tourists and business travelers) to learn more about street children and how they can protect them during their trip. The ChildSafe Center is located near the National Museum, at #186, Street 13 in Phnom Penh (opposite Mith Samlanh Training Center and Friends the Restaurant). Opening Hours: Mon-Fri: 10am – 7pm; Sat. 10am – 5pm.



	International Children’s Day 2007 On Friday 1 June, children celebrated International Child Rights Day with games, music and performances at both Mith Samlanh in Phnom Penh, Cambodia and at Peaun Mit in Vientiane, Lao PDR.


April 2007
	New shops: Friends on 240 A creative fashion studio for young Cambodian students. Hip clothing and accessories, ready-to-wear and custom made, by former street youth in training. #32, Street 240, Phnom Penh, Cambodia



	New shops: Noi Noi Friends-International’s first retail outlet in Lao PDR. Part of the Peuan Mit project, Noi Noi (‘Small Small’ in Lao) is located above Makphet the restaurant and sells a range of products made by Lao families so that their children can go back to school instead of working on the streets. Sethathirat Road (Opposite Wat Inpeng) Vientiane, Lao PDR


March 2007
	Friends-International Receives 2007 Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship Friends-International has just been awarded the Skoll Foundation Award for Social Entrepreneurship at a ceremony at Oxford University. The awards honor the most innovative and effective approaches to resolving critical social issues. Find out more



	Friends-International signs two significant Memorandums of Understanding in Cambodia In March, Friends-International signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Governor of Siem Reap Province to develop a full scale street children project in Siem Reap. This project will be a collaboration with the Siem Reap Province and will include outreach work, the running of the Siem Reap Province Educational Center, reintegration and ChildSafe activities. Friends-International also renewed its MoU with the Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth. Friends-International will further develop our relations and collaboration with the Ministry in many sectors; including the issue of reintegration of children returning from Thailand and on the ChildSafe project, for which we hope to have a strong involvement of the Ministry in the near future.