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To dear friends, families and donors of Precious Women, I'm so honored and privileged to say thank you very much for your financial, prayer and partnership support. Precious Women has run so well this past year, 2011-2012. It has been a great year of growth and development for Precious Women and we are so inspired to see how God has led us from the beginning, starting with just a response to His call, and seeing Him lead step by step. Looking back to our first year, we reached out directly to 174 clients. It was so wonderful to make them aware of what Precious Women provided and to see them seek out their rights and value, with dignity and hope. This year we were able to reach out to more clients and helped them to step out of a sexually exploitative environment. However, please be reminded that Precious Women is working to empower women to improve their lives and work in an environment free from sexual and economic exploitation. The women we reach out to are working in the night entertainment industry in beer gardens and karaoke bars. Working there is not bad in itself. Originally, these places were meant to be a fun place where friends and family could get together to relax, sing and eat. If there was no demand for the women to perform extra services (i.e. leaving the site with the customers for sex), and if the owners and managers discouraged such acts rather than encouraged them, much progress would be made in Cambodia. If you are reading this message and you have visited these places, I really strongly encourage you that all women working in this environment are created by God and they are so valued and P R E C I O U S. We need to respect, love, and support and assist them in pursuing a future away from the exposure to abuse and exploitation that they face each day. Now it is our pleasure to share the Precious Women annual report for the fiscal year ending June 2012. We at Precious Women are extremely blessed by the prayers, funding and encouragement we have received for this past year of operation. We hope, in coming years, to help many more women find their identity as dignified and precious women of God. I hope that you will continue to support us as we reach out to more women.
Solida Seng Director of Precious Women
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To see all exploited women who work at karaoke bars, beer gardens and brothels in Cambodia live with dignity, equality and hope.
To empower women to improve their lives and work in an environment free from sexual and economic exploitation.
-To build relationships and encourage women to make choices about starting a new life free from exploitation. Furthermore, to encourage the women who have left the night entertainment industry to reach out to and build relationships with women still working in beer gardens and karaoke bars. -Through counseling, to promote a sense of value, positive thinking and healthy self image. -To raise awareness in churches on women’s rights, value and dignity and to mobilize churches in Cambodia to reach out to KBB workers. -To refer women to vocational training based on their skills and passions and, subsequently, to help them find jobs. -To raise awareness of women’s rights among KBB owner’s and customers and promote the value and dignity of the KBB employees.
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Twice a month we visit specific beer gardens and karaoke bars in Phnom Penh. Our heart is to share the love of God, build relationships and offer a way out to the women working there. In an area so darkened by exploitation and abuse we desire to bring the light and freedom of God. Build up and establish positive relationships while being sensitive to God’s direction Collect information through survey questions Distribution of Precious Women information cards Share the Gospel and make disciples Challenge business owners. If we see managers or owners treating the women with disrespect then we have a responsibility to challenge them to act in a different way. We want to initiate conversation with them to encourage and promote a work environment free from abuse and exploitation. Our team consists of 6 regular volunteers. In the past year we have reached out to 73 women working in different beer gardens and karaoke bars in Phnom Penh. The demographics of the women we spoke to are as follows:
According to a survey we did with women from a number of beer gardens and karaoke bars, 80% of women we spoke to provide sexual services to men.
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Once a month we invite women from the beer gardens and karaoke bars to a party thrown in their honour. It is a time of bonding and a space to share their feelings and concerns and to seek help. Furthermore, it is a break from their usual routine and a fun safe space in which to relax. We play games, share testimonies and eat a meal together. Some of the day’s activities have been a fashion show, nail painting, art and prayer. On a few occasions we’ve been joined by volunteers from YWAM and an American church respectively. This year we have held 9 parties. In total, 278 women have attended these parties, an average of 30 women per party. Highlights include the Christmas party, which drew about 100 women. Bayon TV did a news segment on the event, which we recently translated into English. Another highlight was the party held on International Women’s Day, during which we handed out 61 Precious Women T-Shirts to both the women and the beer garden owners. This action seemed to result in a friendlier response from beer garden owners.
Another way we reach out is through the medium of radio, thus reaching more women than we could on our own. Every Tuesday we have a slot on FEBC Radio Station, where we address issues facing women as well as their rights. Every week we cover a different topic and often feature guest speakers. Since July 2011, we’ve covered the following topics: Women Need to Value Themselves Trafficking of Women Women and Poverty Violence Against Women Women and Society The Talents of a Woman Khmer Women and Identity Women and Health Women Abuse The Importance of Counseling Discrimination against Women Working in KBB’s Obstacles faced by Women Working in the Night Entertainment Industry The Life of Women Who Work in the Night Entertainment Industry The Power of Love Can Women Choose a Job they Love Prevention of Women Abuse 6
Ideas for Finding a Good Job Immigration Issues
This year we have received 201 calls and 465 missed calls (a service we offer whereby a woman can miscall and we will call them back). Women called from all over Cambodia and through these conversations we were able to offer encouragement and support.
Before a woman joins our program, our social work team visits her family. The purpose of these visits is to explain to the family the dangers of working in the KBB’s and to request their support of their daughter’s decisions to stop that work. Family responsibility is what drives many women to KBB’s and is also a primary factor in choosing to stay there. Consequently, a woman is a lot more likely to stick to her decision to leave a beer garden if she has the support of her family. Once this visit has taken place, and hopefully with the family’s support, the women can join our program and begin taking steps towards the new life she has chosen. This year the social work team visited 13 families; 1 family in Kompong Cham, 2 in Takeo, 3 in Kompong Spue, 1 in Kompong Thue and 6 in Phnom Penh. The overall response from the families was one of gratitude and relief that their daughters were being cared for and the majority of them expressed support for their daughters’ decision to leave her job at the KBB.
The Butterfly Home was set up to be a temporary safe place for women going through vocational training. While undergoing training women are not earning an income so we help out by offering accommodation, and spiritual, financial and relational support. This year 4 women have been living in the Butterfly Home and attending vocational training.
We believe in holistic care and so, along with counseling, we refer women to different organizations to do vocational training. We have seen the beauty of partnership as we work with other organizations who offer programs that we are unable to. Based on their skills and interests, women can choose which training to undergo and we then provide some financial support for them to live off as they cannot work while undergoing training. 14 women attended different vocational training courses, 5 of whom have now got jobs. 4 women attended soft skills training at Precious Women and 5 attended training at Hagar. 3 are volunteering at Precious Women, 1 is attending a cooking class and the other is due to give birth soon and so has put her training on hold. 7
Our Peer to Peer team is made up of women who formerly worked in KBB’s and now offer support and encouragement to our clients. They do home visits, organize women’s fellowship parties, and provide counseling and skills training. This year the team provided counseling to 32 women and 9 of those women also got health checks. We currently have 2 Peer to Peer staff. 1 of them is attending classes on Social Work and Counseling at Chab Dai and the other woman is focusing on developing her counseling skills. Unfortunately our 3rd Peer to Peer staff member recently decided to stop working with us and has left Precious Women.
Our business component is comprised of 2 areas, Precious Bride and handicrafts. The aim of Precious Bride and handicraft training is to provide jobs and thus a sustainable source of income for clients.
Precious Bride is a beauty service comprising hair, makeup and nail art. The business also stocks wedding dresses, accessories décor so as to offer a comprehensive package for a traditional Khmer engagement or wedding ceremony. A great deal of work goes into preparing the 3 different outfits worn in an engagement ceremony and the 7 different outfits worn at a wedding! In the last year, Precious Bride provided services for 3 weddings and 1 engagement. Additionally there were several walk-in customers seeking hair, nail-art, and make-up services. The money made from this business contributed to the financial support of our clients as well as general costs.
We provide the opportunity for interested women to make bracelets and necklaces out of beads or recycled paper in a bid to help them boost their income. In doing so we hope to help women get to a point where they are no longer reliant on tips from men at their workplaces. These are then sold at Precious Women’s offices. Quality control is assured by one of our staff members who teaches the skill and supervises the work.
Sina (not her real name) fell victim to trafficking when she accepted a job picking fruit near the Thai border. Once she arrived to start her new job she realized she’d been deceived when she was sent against her will to Thailand, where she worked in a brothel for 1 year. A regular client, a Khmer man, developed feelings for her and bought her freedom. He bought her back to Cambodia to live with his family in the province but although life seemed to be improving, things took a turn for the worse when she was rejected by the man’s family. Shamed by her past, they convinced her boyfriend to leave her and she was kicked out of the house, even though she was 8
pregnant with his child. With few possessions but the clothes on her back and a plastic sack she made her way to Phnom Penh. On arrival she sought refuge at a church. A church member heard our radio program and put Sina in touch with Precious Women. On hearing her story we contacted one of our partner organizations, Mother’s Heart, who works in crisis pregnancy, and they agreed to help her. Lina delivered a healthy baby boy and after a 3 month rest, began vocational training at Bloom Café. The success of Sina’s story bears testament to the power of partnership. We would not have been able to adequately care for her on our own and are so grateful for the organizations we partner with. Unity is an important key to bringing lasting reformation in a city! Some of the organizations we have partnered with this year are: Chab Dai Coalition, Mother‟s Heart, FM 99.5 (Family Radio), Hagar International, NYEMO, WEC International(Glory Program), Open Arms, Elim Day Care, White Lotus, CSARO, TPO, Marie Stopes International, IJM, World Vision, Social Work Department, New Life Church, River Kids Organ-ization, RENACER, Daughters Cambodia, Teen Challenge Cambodia, Chrysalis, Christians for Biblical Equality (CBE).
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Item Description Overhead Cost Human Resources Staff Care Outreach Program Friday Outreach Project Broadcasting Project Women Fellowship Party Butterfly House Social Work/Counseling Program Business Project
Grant Total
Annual Expense $ $ $ $
5,528.00 12,940.00 3,352.00 10,094.00
$ $ $
15,600.00 9,095.00 3,790.00
$ 60,399.00
YWAM Team, Australia YWAM Team, USA Boston Team, USA Jenny Hwang, USA
It is through generous giving that we are able to do what we do. Thank you to the following NGO’s and teams for blessing us: LOVE 146, Imago Dei Fund, Freedom’s Promise, First Fruit INC, Marilyn Hickey Ministries, Shine Team, Heaven’s Family and Exodus Team. We are also very thankful to the many individuals who have given of their finances and time. Every contribution helps and we are so grateful for you all!
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Founder/Director: Seng Solida Ph: (+855) 12 902489 solida@preciouswomenministry.org www.preciouswomenministry.org facebook.com/preciouswomenministry www.twitter.com/preciouswomenpp #06 St. 87, Sangkat Beoung Tompun, Khan Meanchey, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
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