APLE has just released their 10 Year Anniversary publication. Since inception they have successfully prosecuted 248 offenders and intermediaries, rescued 562 children, provided support to 559 victims and given legal assistance to 490 families. You can read this publication here: Final_ 10th year publication
Author Archives: lizagreen
Computer Donation to LOVEQTRA
Computers arriving at Renngin Charitable School for Orphans in Guinan County.
New Day funded the packing and transportation of around 20 used computers from Shenzhen to the Renngin Charitable School for Orphans in Guinan County – part of LOVEQTRA’s network. The computers were donated by the Global Sources company in Shenzhen and the donation was facilitated by the Hinrich Foundation and Captivating International.
Final Report from Shakti Samuha – March 2013
Our project with Shakti Samuha in Pokhara, Nepal, ended in February 2013. You can view a full report here: 2012 end of year report submitted to New Day Asia- Feb 2013
New Day Grant to Daughters – March 2013
The Sewing Room at Daughters.
In March 2013 New Day made a grant of US$18,000 to Daughters of Cambodia. This is the 3rd grant New Day has made to the organization. The grant will be used to cover staffing costs, business operations and running costs for the Sewing room and the counseling, medical and day care building.
Daughters continues to develop their six fair trade businesses and now employs the majority of clients in their Sewing Room. You can read their latest report for New Day here: new day.daughters update.
New Day Visit to Sharana, India – March 7 and 8
Visiting the Sharana night shelter outside Pondicherry.
On March 7 and 8, 2013 New Day members Shannon Rogers, Paula Marriott, Catherine Copping and Liza Green traveled to Pondicherry in Tamil Nadu province to visit the Sharana project.
New Day has been funding Sharana (previously Kalki) since 2008. Our funding has focused on the Girls’ Program led by social worker Amala Devi. This program works with girls living on the streets or slums of Pondicherry to bring them into the various Sharana programs including the Drop In Center and Night Shelter where they receive counseling, education enrichment, nutrition and care. The Girls’ program also runs workshops and conducts out reach visits into the communities where these girls live.
Young girls from the Girls' Program
During the visit New Day members also had the opportunity to learn more about other programs run by Sharana in Pondicherry and the surrounding areas including a carpentry training program for boys and a microcredit program for village women.
New Day member Paula Marriott at the Sharana Drop In Center
Charity Fashion Show Benefits New Day Projects
Daughters Thank You to Edge of Ember and Sheer HK
In November 2012, two local businesses, Sheer and Edge of Ember, hosted a fashion show charity event in Hong Kong that raised funds for two New Day projects. New Day Project Manager, Shannon Rogers, worked with Sheer and Edge of Ember to arrange for Daughters of Cambodia and Shakti Samuha’s Pokhara shelter in Nepal to each receive US$3,000. New Day was happy to connect these two charities with Sheer and Edge of Ember, and to help ensure that such hard raised money is put to good use. You can read a report from Daughters of Cambodia on how the funds were used here: Daughters Charity Fashion Show Report 2012-13
If you would like to know more about Sheer or Edge of Ember, their websites are below.
Shakti Samuha Thank You to Edge of Ember and Sheer HK
New Day featured at the 2012 Credit Suisse-National University of Singapore Philanthropists Forum
Liza Green with fellow panelists Ken Ito and Deval Sanghavi and moderator Dr Rob John.
Liza Green, New Day co-founder, was invited to represent New Day at the 2012 Credit Suisse NUS Philanthropists Forum on November 16, 2012 at the National University of Singapore.
Liza was a panelist on the “Maximising Impact Through Collaborative Giving” panel moderated by Dr Rob John, Senior Visiting Fellow National University of Singapore Business School. The two other panelists were Deval Sanghavi, Partner and Co-Founder of Dasra India and Ken Ito, Japan Advisor Asian Venture Philanthropy Network (AVPN).
The panel explored the model of giving/investing circles that are taking root in a number of Asian countries and how such circles enhance effective philanthropy. You can look at the New Day presentation here: CS Philanthropy Forum – New Day
New Day Grant for APLE – January 2013
APLE education and awareness sessions in vulnerable communities.
In January 2013 New Day gave APLE a grant of US$10,000 to cover the following annual expenses in their Phnom Penh office: US$5,014 for personnel costs, US$480 for administration costs and US$4,457 for project activities costs.
This grant was made in consultation with APLE and after pledges from their other donors for grants that will cover the costs of their full operations in 2013. You can read a report on APLE’s activities for the period of July-December 2012 here: Project Progress Report-Jul-Dec2012 for New Day. Their October-December Newsletter can be read here: APLE Newsletter October – December 2012.
New Day would like to thank Linklaters for their ongoing support. The 2012 and 2013 New Day grants to APLE were co-funded by Linklaters.
Member Meeting – November 26, 2012
On November 26, 2012 we held a meeting for our members at Grappas Cellar in Hong Kong. After a brief project and financial update we were delighted to introduce speakers from two of our Cambodia projects: Ziad Samman from the Cambodian Acid Survivors’ Charity (CASC) and Seila Samleang from Action Pour Les Enfants (APLE).
Ziad and Seila spoke about the work their organisations are involved in, the challenges they face and the many women and children they are helping every day. You can read their presentations here: CASC presentation for New Day(26 Nov) and APLE Presentation for New Day 26.11.2012.
New Day member Rohan Kalbag also spoke about his visit to the Shakti Samuha project in Pokhara, Nepal, with his wife Shannon Rogers. Everyone enjoyed hearing about their experiences and seeing photos from their visit.
You can read the New Day project and financial update here: New Day November 26, 2012 Meeting Presentation.
Update on Cambodian Acid Survivor’s Charity (CASC), October 2012
The operating room at Children's Surgical Centre.
Work at the CASC continues with the provision of surgeries, legal aid and ongoing care for victims of acid attacks. A central part of CASC’s focus is to advocate for comprehensive laws to prevent these attacks by regulating the sale of acid and prosecuting perpetrators of acid violence. New Day received the following positive update from CASC Project Manager Ziad Samman:
Acid Law: The Cambodian‘Acid Law’ was passed in December of 2012. However, only the ‘punishment and sentencing’ aspects have been enacted. The details of all regulatory aspects of the legislation are dependent on a sub decree that is currently still under development, therefore the sale and distribution of acid remains unregulated at this stage. However, we have received information from sources in the Ministry of Interior that the sub decree is likely to be finalized and put into effect before the end of 2012.
Legal Cases: In 2012 CASC has had some successes in the court room. Two legal cases went to trial both resulting in the conviction of the perpetrators – one eight year sentence (in absentia), and one 10 year sentence (with the perpetrator in prison). However it is worth noting that these cases did not fall under the Acid Law as they relate to attacks that took place in 2011 before the law was enacted. We are expecting the first legal cases to be tried under the new legislation before the end of 2012.
Statistics: Over the past 2 years the number of acid attacks recorded has decreased dramatically. In 2010 CASC recorded a total of 26 acid attacks resulting is 43 people being burnt. So far in 2012 CASC has only recorded a total of 6 confirmed acid attacks, four accidental burns, and two suicides by drinking acid, resulting in a total of 13 people being burnt. One can speculate that this is partially due to the development of the acid law, the up scaling of prevention activities (by organizations such as CASC and CCHR), and the increased publicity relating to acid violence issues in the local media.
Update on Shakti Samuha Nepal, October 2012
Playing games at a picnic for the New Day visit
New Day Members Shannon Rogers and Rohan Kalbag had the opportunity to visit the crisis shelter in Pokhara and meet the staff at Shakti Samuha in Kathmandu. The staff in Kathmandu provided an overview of the crucial support, prevention, and advocacy work that Shakti is doing in the anti-trafficking field in Nepal. The organization was established in 1996 by trafficking survivors determined to unite, support and empower women who have been affected by trafficking. They have become a major voice in the anti-trafficking movement in Nepal and internationally. With the assistance of partner NGO’s and government agencies, Shakti programs address the full needs of trafficking survivors: rescue, crisis support, emergency shelter, medical assistance, reintegration support, job training, and awareness and anti-trafficking education. They run 2 emergency shelters in Kathmandu that primarily assist Nepalese women who were trafficked internationally, mainly returning from India. The 3rd shelter is located in Pokhara and assists young women that were trafficked or coming out of the commercial sex sector within Nepal. New Day Asia’s 2012 grant helped fund the operating expenses of the Pokhara shelter. Currently there are 9 young women under the age of 18 living in the shelter. The shelter has capacity for up to 15. Annually the shelter provides a safe place and support services to about 45 young women. They stay anywhere from a few days to 6 months, depending on their needs. The average length stay is about 1 month.
After spending the day with the residents and staff of the Pokhara shelter, Shannon Rogers described the program: “It was a very warm and loving environment. It was very apparent that the staff were providing a safe and comfortable place for the girls to recover and determine their next steps. They were all very welcoming and treated us to a wonderful picnic day filled with lots of games, dancing, and laughter. The girls ages ranged from 8 to18 and despite the vast differences in needs the girls came together to support and help each other. The girls asked us to never forget them – we never will.”
Update on Daughters of Cambodia, October, 2012
Jewelry making at Daughters
In September we had an opportunity to receive a program update from Ruth, the Director and Founder of Daughters of Cambodia.
Daughters opened their second cafe in the Russian Market area of Phnom Penh. They also signed a new lease on a property to become the first Daughters B&B. There are presently 98 clients working at the various Daughters business lines, of which 25 are working in the cafes and the visiting center.
One of the concerns last Spring when meeting with Ruth was how to support the morale of the staff while also providing support to clients traumatized by their trafficking and work in the sex industry. After the death of one of the clients at the hands of an abusive partner, the management and social work team has put a more supportive structure in place, including weekly support meetings and monthly debriefing meetings.
You can read the final report from Daughters on the 2012 funding here: New Day Foundation Report_July-Sept2012
Daughters opened their second cafe in the Russian Market area of Phnom Penh. They also signed a new lease on a property to become the first Daughters B&B. There are presently 98 clients working at the various Daughters business lines, of which 25 are working in the cafes and the visiting center.
One of the concerns last Spring when meeting with Ruth was how to support the morale of the staff while also providing support to clients traumatized by their trafficking and work in the sex industry. After the death of one of the clients at the hands of an abusive partner, the management and social work team has put a more supportive structure in place, including weekly support meetings and monthly debriefing meetings.
You can read the final report from Daughters on the 2012 funding here: New Day Foundation Report_July-Sept2012
Update on APLE Cambodia, October 2012
APLE continues their essential work investigating and prosecuting sex crimes against children in Cambodia. Alongside this legal work they also educate at-risk children and their families about the dangers of sexual predators. New Day was delighted to receive confirmation of a US$12,500 co-fund from our corporate partner Linklaters towards the June APLE grant. APLE Director Seila Samleang gave New Day the following update on their July to September activities:
APLE Update – July to September 2012
- In July-Sept: APLE social department have been taking care of 114 victims in total; 56 victims (46 F) in Phnom Penh, 43 victims (19 F) in Sihanoukville and 15 victims (9 F) in Siem Reap. The age range of the victims varied from 3 to 21 years of age. The social workers additionally gave social services to 87 vulnerable children and 75 vulnerable families.
- During the same period, APLE legal department handled 56 court cases concerning 77 offenders (11 F) and was working in and out of court with 31 victims (13 M/ 18 F). There were 9 successful convictions. The convicts are 5 Cambodians, 2 Britons, 1 American, and 1 Swiss. One of the Britons, the American and the Swiss perpetrators will be deported from the country after serving their sentence.
- On August 9, APLE was elected by the 15 NGO partner organisations cooperating in the Sihanoukville NGO Advocacy Network(SNAN) to chair the Children Sub-committee for two years.
- On September 26, Sihanoukville Branch Project Officer Mr. Yi Moden participated in a conference themed “Fighting Human Trafficking – Liaison Officers Regional Cooperation in South East Asia”, organized by the Austrian Ministry of Interior in Bangkok. Among the speakers were the Department for International Affairs of the Austrian Federal Ministry of Interior, UNODC, APLE, the Australian Embassy, ECPAT, IOM, U.S ICE and several Thai Law Enforcement Agencies. The participants showed great interest in APLE’s cooperation with the Cambodian National Police and they praised APLE for its work and commitment in general and for the way it cooperates at national and international arenas.
- On September 26, A letter of intervention was sent to Minister of Justice, to request the Minister to intervene in the criminal case by Siem Reap Provincial Court against Dutch National S.R., who was acquitted of all charges of committing Indecent Act against 5 Minors under Fifteen Years. The intervention letter initiated by APLE was co-signed by 12 NGOs: Terre des Hommes – Netherlands, CWCC, COCD, KHEMARA, Krousar Thmey, Child Helpline Cambodia, Cambodia Acts, CLA, VFI, KAPE, VCOA, CWDA.
- In Jul-Sept, a total of 304 (vulnerable children, parents, local authorities and primary school students) participated in APLE education and training sessions conducted in Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and Sihanoukville to learn about characteristics of child sexual abuse, grooming trends and prevention of abuse.
- On September 27, APLE signed a funding agreement with the Swiss Embassy in Bangkok, who will support the ‘Combating Child Sexual Abuse’ project starting from September 2012 onwards, initially for the period of one year.
- On October 5, APLE was holding a meeting with 56 representatives from local and international partner NGOs in Siem Reap to present about the severe funding crisis APLE is facing and to seek out support from the participants.
APLE refers at-risk boys to vocational training at Sihanoukville NGO M'Lop Tapang.
APLE social worker educates at risk children from one of Phnom Penh's poorest neighborhoods.
Update on SGVTS Girls Home and School, October 2012
Girls dancing on new walk ways
The construction project funded by New Day in June 2012 is 80% complete and will resume in May 2013 when the weather warms. The school now has pathways that can be cleared of snow and used by the girls year round, a shed for coal storage that will be roofed next year and front gates and a paved pathway at the entrance to the school. You can read an update report sent from the Home, as well as a profile of one of there students, here:
Report on construction progress and clothing donation Oct 2012
Shed for storing coal
Beams for main gate at school entrance with paved pathway
New Day funds Action Pour Les Enfants (APLE), Cambodia, June 2012
An APLE tuk tuk
Action Pour Les Enfants (APLE) is a Cambodian human rights organization established to combat the sexual exploitation of children. It investigates and helps the authorities bring to justice pedophiles in Cambodia.
APLE handles 98% of pedophile cases in Cambodia and 80% of the perpetrators are classified as western sex tourists and are usually known pedophiles who have prior convictions in their country of origin. 60% of the victims are boys aged between 3 and 18 with the average age being 12. The statistics for girls are similar. Since 2003, 480 victims between the ages of 3-17 have been assisted by APLE.
The mayor challenge APLE face is corruption within the police force and judicial system. While there has been improvement in recent years there is still along way to go. Education and awareness are ongoing challenges but APLE is addressing this by educating relevant government bodies and running banner campaigns on Tuk Tuks as well as educating Tuk Tuk drivers on the behavior of pedophiles. They also run a 24 hour help line.
During a May 2012 site visit to Phnom Penh, New Day members Georgie Inglis, Shannon Rogers and Paola de Antonellis met with Seila Samleang, Director of APLE, and two members from his operations team. New Day is very excited to be supporting APLE with a grant of US$20,500 in June 2012. This grant is generously co-funded by our corporate partners, Linklaters. The majority of the grant will cover the cost of three lawyers and the remainder will cover be apportioned to administration and training courses costs. You can read the APLE funding request here: Concept note for NDA
Please contact project leader Georgie Inglis on georgie@zeaki.com if you would like to learn more about APLE.
Update on Sharana Girls Program (formerly Kalki), June 2012
Kalki Welfare Society merged with Sharana in January 2012 due to difficulties with the Indian Inland Revenue department around receiving foreign donations. Sharana has been a partner of Kalki in Pondicherry for a long time and is an established NGO in the town, working with street children in prevention and education programs. Sharana absorbed all of Kalki’s staff and programs and New Day is happy to continue our support of the work they are doing helping street-living girls to find as brighter future. Over the past 4 years, New Day has funded both the Girls’ program and Night Shelter. You can read some of the highlights of these programs below and in more detail here, Program for Adolescent Girls and Centre for Children at Risk – June 2011- May 2012:
- Night Shelter home to 43 girls over past year
- 284 girls enrolled in the broader Girls’ Programme
- 114 girls assisted to find a job over past year in shops, offices, manufacturing
- 3 girls referred for nursing training (2 year course)
- Life skills workshops for adolescent girls in public schools to start in August 2012
- 2012-2013 grant will fund the Girls Program
In June 2012, New Day made a grant of HK$85,550 to Sharana for the continued support of their Girls’ Program. This grant will cover the costs of the established education, life skills and job placement program as well as the expansion of this programme into public high schools in Pondicherry. It will also fund the establishment and running of a half-way house where graduates of the program who are not yet ready to be fully independent can live and be cared for while they study and/or start new jobs. You can read in detail about the Girl’s Program here:
Update on Obstetric Fistula Program at CSC, June 2012
Since the 2011 grant to Children’s Surgical Centre for their Obstetric Fistula Program they have performed 25 surgeries on fistula patients and run 10 months of radio adverts to raise awareness of the problem and publicize their services. Due to the support of a grant from the UNFPA, CSC no longer requires funds for their fistula program. Their partner charity Cambodian Acid Survivor’s Charity (CASC) is in need of funds and has requested a US$5,850 grant from New Day. This grant will cover 15 surgeries for their female patients as well as costs for their physiotherapy surgery support. This will be the second New Day grant to CASC and we are delighted to support them once again. You can read the CSC report here: Report for New Day Foundation
In May 2012 New Day visited CSC in Phnom Penh. Below is a summary of the visit by member Shannon Rogers:
Met with Anne McMurrey the Stakeholder Relations Officer to tour the center and receive an update on the Obstetric Fistula Program. CSC finished the renovations of their facilities. They now have 110 beds, up from 40, and more operating space as well. They are moving out of a side building that they utilized for the eye exams and physical therapy. Was only a temporary arrangement. They recently completed 2 OF surgeries. There are 2 waiting to be done – the Doctor is now traveling for training. They just completed another outreach to the countryside to seek patients and spread the word about the OF capabilities at CSC. The outreach and awareness campaign are still considered to be crucial. The radio campaign illustrates the challenge that many who are actually affected by OF have never had care or had ailment defined for them. Most don’t know what it is called or realize the problem being spoken about on radio is what they are dealing with.
Funding for OF program is not needed right now. They are still using UN funds.
Two volunteers are currently researching the effectiveness of the OF outreach program and follow up program.
Possible Funding Needs: The Cambodian Acid Survivors Charity (CASC) A program Dr. Jim started since many of the acid burn victims would not leave the hospital after their extensive surgeries there. They did not feel comfortable going home and needed a more safe and supportive environment.
Members meeting, June 2012
On June 11 we held a meeting for our members in Hong Kong. There were presentations and talks by Liza Green, Shannon Rogers, Georgie Inglis and Paola de Antonellis. We were also grateful to have a guest speaker from CWS Nepal, Zein Williams, talk to us about her recent trip to our Nepal project Shakti Samuha. You can download the presentation on our projects and financial projections here:
Update on SGVTS Girls Home and School, June 2012
Girls at SGVTS wearing the clothes sent from Glenealy school PTA in Hong Kong.
Thank you to New Day members Scarlett Mattoli and Roxanne Ismail for collecting uniforms and winter clothes from the Glenealy school PTA and the International Schools Foundation parent body. Bags of clothes and shoes have been sent to the SGVTS in Qinghai province for the 120 girls who attend school there.
New Day funded a third grant for SGVTS in June 2012. The grant of USD20,000 will be used to fund a storage room for coal and food, walking pathways around the school and home and locking gates at the school entrance. You can read more on this funding request in the SGVTS 2011-2012 New Day proposal.
Update on visit to Daughters of Cambodia, May 2012
Jewelry making at Daughters
New Day members Shannon Rogers, Georgie Kirkaldie and Paola de Antonellis visited Daughters on the May 2012 site visit to Phnom Penh. You can read Shannon’s summary of the visit below. For more information you can contact Shannon on <rogers.shannon@yahoo.com> and download the new day.daughters update.:
We had an opportunity to sit down with Ruth, the Founder and Director of Daughters of Cambodia during our May visit. It has been a busy 6 months for them. They moved and settled into a new facility that has much better space for all the business lines, the services, and operations. The only space that is lacking is for the daycare center. Since the daycare center needs are growing, with 11 pregnant clients, Ruth is hoping to partner with another NGO to outsource the daycare needs. This will be beneficial to the children and the mothers, as the program will be more structured for them. The new space has given them a much larger Sewing Room, and good space to develop the Son’s Program, that was really just getting off the ground when we last visited in November. The Son’s program has really developed their woodcraft product line, while the Sewing Room has greatly developed their craft line. We were impressed with all the new Bears, Monkeys, and gift items.
The product line is developing and the quality is looking great!
Daughters will be opening a new Cafe near the Russian Market in the next few months.
Right now there are 90 clients working for daughters, 10 of which are young men in the Son’s line. So with the clients, the 20 volunteers, and 20 employees, Daughters has become a good sized company with 120 people. Ruth estimated that 50% of their operating costs are now covered by income from the various business lines. They are still dependent on donors to help them provide full services of Mental Health Support, Medical Support, and Childcare support as these women are being trained and learning how to support themselves and their families outside of the sex industry. The pressures are great on these women to provide, and it is crucial for them to be receiving a livable wage as they are being trained and learning skills that will hopefully help them earn income for the rest of their lives.
Ruth stated that the greatest challenge for her organization at this time is to protect the emotional well-being of her staff and her volunteers, in addition to the clients.
Ruth stated that funding support going forward should be focused on helping Daughters to make their business even stronger….