Project Futures

Each year the South East Asia FUTURES Cycle Challenges get bigger and bigger with last year’s cycle attracting 28 participants, our largest cohourt of riders yet! It is feedback and recounts of expereince like the one below that make me smile and think we are doing something right! Thank you to all the amazing FUTURES ’11 riders and of course Paige for sharing her thoughts here:

Cycling through Cambodia for Somaly Mam

Paige’s Experience

If someone had of told me 12 months ago “you will ride 600kms through Laos and Cambodia, raise $14,000 for human trafficking and meet some of the most inspiring women and children you will ever meet” I would have told them they were dreaming. However, after having a yearning for more years than I can count to travel to Cambodia and volunteer with victims of sexual slavery I finally made the decision to do something about it and after doing hours of research, I found the wonderful Project Futures. Through the inspiration of an incredible bunch of women in Melbourne and as I like to call it a “moment of madness” my friend Andy and I decided to join the Project Futures Cycle challenge 2011 and I can honestly say this has been one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life. Although, at times the thought of cycling 600kms turned me to tears (to give you context – I am NOT a cyclist, in fact I don’t even own a bike!) and the thought of planning another Fundraising event sent my mind into a dizzy spell I stuck it out and now looking back what I can tell you is that I have enjoyed every single second of my experience and I can truly look back on it all with a fondness that is difficult to put into words.

So, often after people have done a trip like this you will hear them use the words “it changed my life” something I have never quite understood as it often left me wondering how a 2 week trip could possibly “change someone’s life” but now I get it… This cycle is not simply a 2 week trip it is an opportunity to be involved in something wonderful, to have an impact and to say NO I will not stand any longer for something as heinous as human trafficking to continue. When I sat down to write this short piece I wondered how to put into words the incredible journey this last 12 months has been for me but then I realised that’s not what is important. What is important is the people you meet on this trip, the relationships you build and the amazing countries that you get to visit. From spending days on a bike cycling through beautiful landscapes whilst being greeted by small children screaming “HELLO” in their native tongue – which let me tell you nothing distracts you more from the pain of your butt on a bike seat than 20 small children screaming in utter excitement and awe just because you are riding past them and they so rarely see people from different countries, to sitting and talking with the local guides from Raw about their story and their families, or engaging in wonderful conversations and going on adventures with fellow riders; some of who will now become lifelong friends or meeting the girls and just sitting with them, the ones who are our walking wounded who have been so affected by these terrible crimes, who are resilient, amazing and inspiring each in their own right…whatever it is that you are doing on this trip or on the year leading up to it, you will have moments where you will feel free, you will feel rewarded, inspired, strong, appreciation and love. You will also feel sadness and pain for those less fortunate, anger for those that have so unfairly had their innocence stolen from them but most of all you will feel hope, because what Somaly Mam has done for these girls is not only rescue them but given them a home, told them their worthy, loved them and made them feel deserving…something many of them have never experienced until now.

By going on the Project Futures ride, you also give these women and children hope…you will be telling them they are not alone, that they are valued, loved, it’s not their fault and that what has happened to them is not ok. My journey is my own, what I experienced will be different from others that have done this before and who will do it in the future but what I do know is that what is happening in the human trafficking world, our world… needs to be stopped. Finally, when you dedicate your time and energy into raising awareness and money for this cause and then you go to some of these countries and you just be with these girls…you are taking action and I truly believe that there is opportunity in this for us all to say “Not only has this changed my life but I have been able to change others lives along the way and for that I am truly blessed.”

Hi how are you everyone?  We miss you so much.  We are ok here.  Right now we stop studying English at home but we studying at University near our flat .   At school we so very happy because we have good teachers and classmates.

Thanks for your love and everything that you all supporting to us.

From us smart Voices for Change.

I would like to tell everyone about my English before I can’t speak English but now I can speak in English but not well every day I’m try to speak and read it because I hope after that I can speak read and write well.

Chai Veourn

As of late last month, I have been appointed to be the first Partnership Liaison for PROJECT FUTURES in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, from April 2012. Many of you may wish to know, however, what has caused me to make the move?

This journey started last year, early on a cold July morning at my family home in Concord.

I was recovering from a shoulder reconstruction, lying in bed, in a world of pain, quite frustrated with the world and that the surgery was going to mean I would actually never play rugby union again.

It was at this moment that I flicked on the TV in which a documentary was being played about Christian missionaries who ran an orphanage in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The kids in the documentary gave me an instant flashback to the girls in the AFESIP shelters in Cambodia. This alerted me to the fact that maybe my time in Cambodia, which at this point had been in brief through the FUTURES 10’ bikeride (Ho Chi Minh City to Siem Reap), wasn’t finished.

But receiving a call to go somewhere is great; the next obvious question is to think, well, what are you going to do over there?

In order to gain some clarity I spent 3 weeks in Cambodia in December 2011.The majority of my time was spent spending time doing outreach and research work with AFESIP and The Somaly Mam Foundation. I was able to spend considerable time with young women whom have been rescued from the terrible trade of sex trafficking. This including shelter visits, brothel outreach and English classes. It was on this trip that PROJECT FUTURES CEO Stephanie Lorenzo and I outlined the key action points for the ‘Partnership Liaison’ role.

I should also tell you about one of the former victims I got know quite well on the trip. While working in a brothel as a child, she was physically abused to the point that she now has an inoperable disfigurement. She was rescued and now works as a ‘Voices for Change’ representative for the Somaly Mam Foundation in Cambodia advocating the abolition of trafficking. This girl is disfigured by Western standards but one of the most beautiful people I have ever met. It is experiences like this that make the prospect of working for PROJECT FUTURES such a privilege.

Tom Watson
PROJECT FUTURES Partnership Liaison
February 2012

*Name withheld for privacy reasons

Dear all
Hi how are you? What are you doing?

With the sunn setting on 2011, it seems like a good idea to highlight some of Project Future’s most important achievements.

Earlier in the year, Project Futures (Australia) partnered with the Somaly Mam Foundation (SMF) to create Project Futures global (based in the US). This union demarcated the beginning of PF’s global crusade against sex trafficking.

Fast-forward a few months later and PF campaign got a big boost by some ‘stella fella’ celebrity supporters such as Australian Idol winner Guy Sebastian, TV Personality James Kerley and Rugby League star Jared Hayne, just to name a few. Later, Project Futures held the first ‘Stella Fella’ event to raise awareness about sex trafficking and servitude by awarding upstanding men who share the same values and have made crucial contributions to their community. The power to bestow this title lay in the hands of the public and they decided that Phil Hoken, the 30 year old mechanic/footwear genius, was the most ‘stella’ of the ‘stella fellas’ nominated.

October saw the launch of the “Freedom Advocate Project” in Parliament House, Canberra. This program, a run in conjunction with the Salvation Army, provides training and networking to survivors of trafficking with the aim of affecting policy change. These survivors know the realities and adversities of trafficking and it is hoped that as the program grows, its impact will too.

In November, 20 riders took up the Cycle Down Under challenge to ride from Sydney to Canberra. More challenging however, was the ride from Laos to Cambodia, undertaken by 28 brave riders to raise funds for sex trafficking survivors in Cambodia, with the help of the ever-radiant Somaly Mam. Together, they raised $110,000 for AFESIP and the Somaly Mam Foundation.

So these have been some of the most important events in PF’s 2011. And what an amazing year it has been for this young organisation. Keep up the great work!

This video is quite old, but it continues the message of my last post: be grateful for what you have and spare a thought for the others who have very little

Watch the video here.

“On the twenty-third day of Christmas my true love sent to me, a text to remind me to conclude the present shopping and to further decorate our tree…”

Armed with a full wallet, loose change for the parking metre and a load of enviro bags, I was ready for my mission. While waiting at the traffic lights, I could already see that my local shopping centre was abuzz with activity from my car window. The shops are open until midnight today, and it seems like everyone in town is taking advantage of the extended hours.

The oncoming holiday season is a relief for many after a busy year. Its exciting, joyful and at times challenging so, it’s understandable that identifying the origin of our intended Christmas gifts sit low on the priority list. Personally however, I couldn’t help but wonder if little hands were involved in making my chosen product or whether a fair exchange of wage for labour was considered best practice at the factory where my gifts were manufactured. My shopping choices should make a positive difference for farmers and workers in developing countries and they can, if I purchase products that bear the Fair Trade logo.

Project futures cycle challenge finished in cambodia for 2011. They raised $110,000 for AFESIP and our hard work. They love us very much and support the girls.