Friends Alliance
The Friends Alliance is a group of organizations which are either managed by, or were started by, Friends-International. Alliance members enter into, and are bound by, a contractual agreement with Friends-International.
Alliance members share a range of common principles, policies and common standards in their work, with a special attention to Child Protection systems and innovation.
Alliance members share the Friends logo.
The work of Alliance members is bound around a continuum of care:
Saving Lives
We provide direct intervention and service delivery to those who most need it, where and when that support is most needed. This includes outreach work, emergency support, harm reduction, detoxification and rehabilitation, drop-in centers and community-based support groups
Building Futures
When we have stabilized life situations for those we work with, we (and they) are ready for the next step – how to best enable them to build a better future. We have a toolbox of approaches ready to help them do just that, including access to education, training, employment, income generation opportunities for caretakers and rebuilding the capacity of families to care for their own children.
ChildSafe
All our activities are conducted with a ChildSafe child protection ethos. We also create child protective environments for those we work with, supported by trained ChildSafe Agents drawn from local community members, individuals, travelers, businesses, other NGO’s, authorities and governments
Friends Alliance Worldwide
Mith Samlanh & Kaliyan Mith
Friends Cambodia: Mith Samlanh (Phnom Penh / Kandal)
Mith Samlanh (meaning ‘friends’ in Khmer) was started in 1994 by Friends-International and was officially localized in 2002. As the flagship Friends program, it both developed and piloted the replicable holistic model of social business, social support, and public mobilization which characterizes all the Friends Alliance programs. Alomgside the day-to-day activities of the teams, it continues to be the principal testing ground for innovative concepts which build futures for those that we work with.
Friends Cambodia: Kaliyan Mith (Siem Reap/Poipet/Battambang)
Launched in 2007, Kaliyan Mith (“Good Friends” in Khmer) fully utilizes the Friends model of social business, social support, and public mobilization to build futures for children and families. It’s work in Siem Reap is directly managed by Friends-International in collaboration with the Provincial authorities.
Kaliyan Mith launched a project in Poipet in 2009 to address the range of issues faced by migrant populations at a major Cambodian/Thai border crossing. The project is based both on the Cambodian and the Thai side (implemented there by Peuan Peuan).
The Battambang project is a collaboration between Kaliyan Mith and NGO Komar Rikreay, and launched in 2025 to bring joint services into Battambang city and the surrounding areas.
Peuan Mit
Friends Lao PDR (Vientiane / Luang Prabang)
Started in Vientiane city in 2004, Peuan Mit (“Good Friends” in Lao) is a collaboration with the Lao PDR Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, and is managed by Friends-International.
The program operates the holistic model of social business, social support and public mobilization pioneered by Friends-International, and since 2014 has also been implementing this approach in Luang Prabang.
Peuan Peuan
Friends Thailand - (Bangkok/Aranyaprathet/Pattaya)
Launched in 2006, Peuan Peuan (meaning “Close Friends” in Thai) is managed by Friends-International and works with both Thai marginalized populations and vulnerable migrants from neighboring countries (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar). It’s work has expanded into border areas to particularly address migrant issues, and also into ‘hotspot’ areas such as Pattaya where child and community protection inituiatives are a priority.
Yayasan Teman Baik
Friends Indonesia - Jakarta
Started 2007 and initially based in Aceh province to respond to the long-term impact of the 2004 tsunami on children, prior to relocation to Jakarta in 2010, Teman Baik is a local NGO (Yayasan)
Tha Ngae Chin Myar
Friends Myanmar - Yangon
Started in 2019, Friends Myanmar is a local NGO, evolving from a training restaurant operating in Yangon since 2011 which was inspired by the Friends-International model.