2012 Stella Fella campaign

What do Fitzy and Whippa, Jarryd Hayne, Luke Jacobz, Zoe Balbi and James Kerley have in common? They’re all supporting the 2012 Stella Fella campaign and Bow Tie Friday.  Start thinking about some stellar male role models in your life and be ready to nominate them in July.

We’ve partnered with Belmondo to create some fun, cheeky and beautiful silk bow ties that we want you to model in support of this great cause. Pre-orders will start in June. Watch this space!

Hello Melbourne

This is a shout out to all our beautiful Melbourne friends! We need your help to plan, organise and execute the fabulous launch of our new PF chapter in Melbourne! This party is set to be held on Friday 16 November to coincide with Somaly Mam’s tour down under! Meet Somaly, get amongst it and take action by being part of our volunteer workforce that have come together to launch our first official PF event! Come have a drink with us and become part of the planning process – we need you!

Date: Monday 30 April

Time: 6:30pm onwards

Where: Veludos Wine Bar – upstairs, 175 Acland Street St Kilda

Contact: Melinda Renoylds – PF Melbourne Coordinator

melinda@projectfutures.com

PF Challengers – will you take the challenge?

Our team has been sweating it out over the past month to train up as ‘PF Challengers’ for the Sydney Morning Herald 22km Half Marathon! It’s not too late to get involved, we are registering participants for the upcoming City To Surf – August 12^th. We want to get over 100 participants to run, walk or crawl the 14km from the City to Bondi for our cause! Register below -

http://www.projectfutures.com/events/project-futures/2012/5/pf-challengers/

FUTURES ’12 Cycle Challenge – 19 July – 3^rd August 2012

We still have a few spaces left for our Vietnam-Cambodia, 590km cycle challenge. Go on a journey to challenge your mind, body and soul. Join our Cycle Challengers Facebook group to speak directly to those who have gone before you! CLICK HERE for more information and to register.

http://www.projectfutures.com/events/cycles/2012/

PROJECT FUTURES Angkor Wat Half Marathon – 29 November – 9 December

Run through the beautiful ancient ruins of Angkor Wat on an international, half marathon that will capture your soul. See the ruins for everything they represent and get up close and have fun with the wonderful AFESIP staff and residents on a 3 day beach retreat in Sihanookville. Contact Melinda@projectfutures.com for more details and to be sent an information pack.

Corporate Social Responsibility

Do you work for a business that does not have a solid corporate social responsibility plan? Have no fear, PROJECT FUTURES is here! We have a corporate social responsibility initiative to suit any business and improve their CSR program. Please watch the video below from one of our major corporate partners LexisNexis and contact steph@projectfutures.com for more details.

http://www.projectfutures.com/get-involved/corporate-sponsorship.php

Volunteer Spotlight

PROJECT FUTURES is very lucky to have taken on two amazing interns in Caitlin Bertinshaw and Jessica Murray! Both beauties have come on board in a 6 month internship while looking for work and also finishing university.

Fresh out of university Caitlin has landed a dream job at PF as our creative brain behind the new collateral and web design for the 2012 Stella Fella campaign – we couldn’t be happier! Her hard work, dedication, positive outlook and extremely anal attention to detail are the perfect ingredients to the type of person PF needs to get the best job done!  We pay her in love and minties and ever since our really really ridiculously good looking Stella Fella photo shoot she has dumped her boyfriend to pursue the love of Daniel Lissing.

What can we say about the gorgeous young Jess? She is definitely not to be confused the type of Jess who would sail around the world, write and inspiring book then go on dancing with the stars – our Jess would much prefer researching the best practice models of corporate social responsibility in the workplace! All jokes aside, Jess has come on board with PF and will be doing a social inquiry research report on CSR in Australia. This is an area that PF is delving into as we want to begin to bridge the gap between the corporate world and the non profit sector. Jess’s research will be a key factor and mechanism to explaining why socially beneficial business is the new way of the 21^st century! Jess has many pastimes including song writing and lazing on the beach.

Our team will no doubt miss the serious antics and ‘dad’ jokes of management team member Tom Watson, who flew over to Cambodia on April 19to begin a fulfilling career with PROJECT FUTURES. We assure you he has not left his job as Chief of Staff at Link Market Services for the pay rise! Tom will be spending a year working voluntarily for PROJECT FUTURES as our Partnership Liaison in Cambodia and be based in Phenom Pehn. He will be gathering a greater insight and understanding into AFESIP operations in Cambodia, reviewing how PROJECT FUTURES can better support Cambodian programs that combat sex trafficking and investigate volunteer opportunities for our Australian supporters.

Donate to PROJECT FUTURES

Through the GIVE NOW portal you can help PROJECT FUTURES keep doing the work they do and support on the ground projects in Australia and Cambodia. Please consider a monthly donation to our work by CLICKING HERE.

http://www.givenow.com.au/projectfutures

In mid-February I was fortunate enough to participate in the JENESYS Future Business Counterparts program which took place in Tokyo, Japan from 15th-23rd of February 2012. This program was for young professionals from Australia who are strongly interested in strengthening economic relations with Japan. The program brought together 45 Australians from such sectors as law, finance, resources, journalism and government.

The trip included visiting the Australian embassy in Tokyo, briefings by Government officials and  experiences such as visiting Nippon Steel in Kimitsu), the historical city of Sendai and partaking in cultural experiences such as the Japanese Tea Ceremony.

The highlight of the trip, however, was our visit to the town of Minamisanriku in the Miyagi prefecture. The town of Minamisanriku was largely destroyed by the March 2011 tsunami, with most buildings swept away by waves of 16 metres or more, killing around 10,000 people. The loss of life in this one small town formed a very significant percentage of the total nationwide Japanese death toll from the tsunami.

This ‘triple disaster’ which hit Japan on the 11th of March 2011 was devastating for a myriad of reasons. The 20 metre-high flood of water which hit the Pacific coast of Tohoku was a magnitude 9.0 undersea mega thrust earthquake was the result of one of the five most powerful earthquakes in the world since modern record-keeping began. The disaster was not only contained to March 11 but included 200 aftershocks, a nuclear major accident, 320,000 evacuees and 150,000 damaged vehicles.

To be able to visit this site and walk among the ruins was far and away one of the most surreal experiences of my life.

The visit certainly gave me new perspective on tragedy and the human reaction. How does one find hope after heartbreak, loss and mourning?

The Japanese, however, have an amazing spirit. They will continually go out of their way to show you grace and I believe it is this humbleness which will allow them to recover as a country and once again be a great figure of prosperity, strength and culture in the Asia Pacific.

In a strange way, we see the same spirit in the girls at the AFESIP shelters in Cambodia. An amazing ability to defy circumstances and display joy and hope despite an awful past.

It‘s an attitude we all can gain inspiration and perspective from.

‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.’

Revelation 21:4

Anyway, the day was full of inspiring and truly very interesting speakers ranging from business CEOs to activists to people who have, amazingly, started their own charities and organisations. In fact, it was through the hub that I am here blogging as the wonderful Stephanie, (the founder and CEO of Project Futures as you should know) was one of the speakers and obviously did a brilliant job – well, it convinced me to sign up, raise my awareness and commit to supporting the organisation.

Whilst all the speakers were inspiring there were definitely some great ideas that stuck in my mind. For example, a speaker from YGap (generation y against poverty) told us about their café in Melbourne. To me, their idea seemed brilliant. Essentially through volunteers, donations, furniture collections off the side of the road and a whole lot of determination they have managed to establish a café for their organisation. This café was not just a typical café; it was a social business. This meant that all profits (once wages and expenses were taken out) were donated to the various campaigns YGap run. Plus, customers could even nominate which campaign their money went to. It was a neat idea. Maybe something I’ll even consider investigating in the future.

Another memorable idea from the event was the notion of cross subsidisation. It was introduced by Clary Castrission, who came to speak about his organisation the 40K Foundation. He spoke straightforwardly about the excessive education problems in India. He said the proposed solution was to provide after school mentoring but that families simply couldn’t afford it. In comes the idea of cross subsidisation! The idea had previously been used in India to combat the issue of whole families riding on a single motorcycle. In this instance, a new car had been designed to suit their purposes, however, the majority of families definitely couldn’t afford the price of the car. This did not faze the company though. Instead, they sold the car at full price to the richer customers who could afford it asked those who couldn’t afford it to contribute what they could. They then used the profits of the full priced sales of the car to cover the price discrepancy with the poorer families. This subsidisation meant that in the end all customers contributed the amount they could afford and each secured a car. An ingenuous idea, in my opinion.

Clary’s current focus is centralised on the idea of cross subsidisation and applying it to the  significant education issues in India. He suggests that a centre for education and homework help should be started in Sydney for full paying students. All profits from this centre would then be used to fund education solutions in India. Even though the project is still in the beginning stages I have no doubt it has the potential to be extremely successful.

Overall, the Ideas Hub was extensively informative, motivating and eye-opening. I definitely believe it has inspired me to increase my own personal activism and encourage others to do the same.

In 2007, Macquarie University graduate, Stephanie Lorenzo organised a 500-kilometre bike ride across Cambodia to raise money for the Somaly Mam Foundation (SMF). Whilst on the two week bike ride, Stephanie met with Somaly Mam, a local Cambodian who was forced into prostitution in her childhood and the girls under her care. “Somaly’s attitude was another thing that I was drawn to – her willingness and openness to communicate and tell people her story… she does this every day for the greater good, to educate and inspire people” Stephanie said.

After reading Somaly’s biography, The Road of Lost Innocence, Stephanie was inspired to start Project Futures Ltd in 2009, a not-for-profit organisation that aims to raise awareness and combat sex-trafficking. At the root of the organisation is a foundation of socially-engaged volunteers who balance their life to campaign for this cause. By holding innovative events and fundraisers, such as the Stella Fella campaign, they are able to garner the support of many like-minded people, some of which are big celebrities such as singer Guy Sebastian and footballer Jarryd Hayne.

Since its inception, Project Futures has gone global, partnering with SMF and other charities, doing advocacy work and fundraising in Australia and abroad. In its few years of operation they have managed to raise $450,000 to support their projects.

Before then, Stephanie’s career path was fairly linear. She graduated in 2006 with a Bachelor of International Communications and the hope of starting a marketing and public relations firm. “I have a love of everything international, and my degree helped me to understand cultural sensitivities and… to respect culture.”

“It also opened a lot of doors for me, especially with my background in marketing and media” she said. However, just like all big career moves, this transition was not without its hurdles. “You know what the biggest obstacle was? It was people not believing you could do it.

“Project Futures was hard to get off the ground…In its first two years, Project Futures was one hundred per cent voluntary and it easily impeded a work life.

“Of course there were times where I wanted to pull my hair out and throw my hands up and say it’s over, but the moment you remember why you started it, it is impossible to turn your back on it.”

Besides the challenges presented by establishing a new organisation and having a part-time career, Stephanie had to also contend with her parents. “[My] parents, especially, were surprised and dare I say a little disappointed…but now they have been so supportive. A lot of it was making sure they understood and appreciated it.”

Stephanie recognises that passion and commitment are integral to her line of work. “It’s very easy for volunteers to say they’re going to do something and don’t… they need to be reliable and committed.”

“We’re open to anyone with skills and talents. You can be a plumber and still get involved. You just need to be willing to ask questions and stand up and say I’m part of Project Futures and I’m proud of that.

“You need passion for something.”

Although, passion is not usually a trait associated with Generation Y. Apathy and indifference is abundant in portrayals of youth. However, Project Futures – being youth operated – inverts this stereotype onto its head. “Stereotypes will always be stereotypes… [But] there are also a lot of things that the media hasn’t said about Gen Y… that remain unspoken.”

“People just need to believe in [us]. I’m constantly surprised at what happens when you inspire young people to get involved.”

This article first appeared in Macquarie University’s student publication, Grapeshot News  Issue 3, 2012.

FUTURES '11 cycle team

Dear Somaly,

You have changed my life in so many ways. When I signed up for the PROJECT FUTURES cycle through Laos and Cambodia I knew it was going to be a challenge, but I had no idea of how much it would change me as a person. I think you are a wonderful person and the work you do is inspiring. Now I have seen firsthand where your inspiration comes from – your girls are amazing. You change the lives of so many girls when you rescue them, from the brothels, but I wonder if you have any idea of how much you change the lives of others, especially the PROJECT FUTURES cycling participants.

I spent the first two weeks of December 2011 cycling, partying and eating breakfast daily with a group of people who overwhelmed me with their passion, humility, integrity, kindness and generosity. Thanks to you I now have 27 new friends, of the highest calibre.

Anita and Somaly meet in Cambodia, December 2011

Cycling with these people, meeting the girls at the shelters and seeing the beautiful countryside in Laos and Cambodia opened my mind, broadened my horizons and challenged me mentally almost as much as it did physically. You are mother to a few hundred girls and young women and yet you have more love and physical contact with them than many women have for their own biological children. The love and warmth you have for the girls and they in turn have for you is genuine and one of the strongest, sincerest forms of love I have ever experienced. The love the girls had for us surprised me. It caught me off guard at first but before too long I was enveloped in it and reassured by the amount of love and affection these young girls and women had to give.

As a single mother with three grown up children I found it hard to raise the money and that was my first challenge. Once I got started though, I found a lot of supporters who were only too eager and willing to help. Quite a few of my friends and family members got involved and for that I am extremely grateful. Progress was slow at times, but I kept setting myself goals and before too long the fundraising target had been reached and the first challenge was out of the way.

Fitness was the second challenge. I had never been particularly fit, but I wasn’t exactly unfit either. I had been going to the gym doing Pump, Pilates and yoga classes for a few years, which was basically within my comfort zone. Now I was going to have to get some serious cycling fitness happening. I bought an exercise bike and almost every day from July through to November I would cycle my 10 kms per day in front of the TV. Sometimes I would cycle with Uggg boots and central heating on to help me acclimatize. (I was later to discover that this was a bit of overkill, because most of the time Laos and Cambodia were the perfect temperature. There were one or two extremely hot days, but nothing we couldn’t handle).

Angkor Wat with PROJECT FUTURES team

The third challenge was meeting the girls. Somaly House in Kampong Cham is a beautiful place, full of beautiful girls with big smiles on their faces and so much love in their hearts. They also love to sing and dance as we were to discover. We had the privilege of spending a few hours dancing non-stop with the girls. It was a combination of traditional Khmer dancing as well as a bit of the traditional bumping and grinding on the dance floor. There was even some break dancing from a few of the girls. It was very liberating and a whole lot of fun. The hardest part was having to say goodbye to our newfound friends when it was time to leave at the end of the day.

Apart from meeting the girls, who were absolutely amazingly delightful, the other impressive aspect of the trip was meeting the other cyclists. What an eclectic bunch. I was at the older end of the sliding scale for age range. There were some flamboyant, outgoing personalities and there were some reserved and introspective e personality types amongst us. For all our differences, there were similarities. Were united by a common cause and were all thrown into a situation where we had to co-exist, rely on and support each other. There was a lot of sharing of sunscreen, insect repellent and hand sanitiser.

We partied until 3am or later on a couple of occasions, we met Susan Sarandon at the National Anti-Human Trafficking Day and we had some of the most wonderful Laotian and Cambodian Tour Guides. We explored Angkor Wat and a few other temples, we mingled with locals in villages and high fived excited children, who gave us a rock star welcome as we cycled through some of the most remote villages. We ate too many fried eggs and too much rice and possibly drank too much Beer Laos or Captain Morgan’s at times. We invented awards for both excellence and stupidity, which were ceremoniously handed out each evening when we gathered for dinner.

Overall, we had an amazing, life altering experience brought about by the fact that Somaly Mam is an incredible woman, who generously gives so much of herself to change the lives of girls and young women in South East Asia. What she might not know, and what I really want her to know is this.

Somaly you have changed my life for the better. Your warmth, love and compassion know no boundaries and I feel so blessed and so much richer for the experience. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Anita Trevaskis

One of our supporters wrote an article that got posted in the Canberra Times newspaper – Thank you Joel for sharing your story.

Late last year I visited a brothel a short drive from the centre of Phnom Penh.

I was in Cambodia thanks to Project Futures, an Australian non-profit organisation dedicated to fighting the global sex-trafficking trade. Our Outreach team included half a dozen staff from a support organisation established by Somaly Mam, a woman who was sold into slavery at the age of 12.

After enduring years of rape and torture in brothels, Somaly managed to escape and went to live in France. But she soon returned to Cambodia to establish AFESIP (a French acronym for ”Acting for women in distressing situations”). Her work, helping women one at a time by taking them into shelters she has established in Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand and Laos, has led the fight against sexual slavery and exploitation in south-east Asia.

My first day was action packed. As soon as I walked into their office, I was sent right back out again. No, I wasn’t given the sack, instead my marching orders were to tag along with a senior reporter and return with my own story in hand. By the end of that week, much constructive critique and numerous caramel lattes later, I thankfully got the gist of it. Picking up the trade essentials quickly was a real plus, because I was given permission to fly solo in week two.

The job was very much “like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get”. My days were never dull because fast paced variety came with the territory. Soon enough, I was sent out to file a story on a ceremony celebrating the “gift of life”. The event that goes by the same name, has been hosted by Royal Prince Alfred Hospital over the last decade, giving organ transplant recipients and their families the opportunity to give thanks for the gift of organ donation.

Most of us donate our services, time or money to a cause that we are passionate about. The people I met at RPA’s Gift of Life event either personally gave a piece of themselves to someone in need, or received a second chance.

Martin Phipps signed up to be a live organ donor in order to give his wife Petra, one of his Kidneys. Their situation was serious and time was not a luxury, so Martin decided to make an opportunity for Petra to ensure that she lives, by literally giving her a piece of himself.

Many influential movers and shakers of our time are “builders”, folks who forged an unconventional pathway to their happiness. From Steve Jobs to Oprah Winfrey, the honour roll also includes both Somaly Mam, the inspiration for PROJECT FUTURES and Stephanie Lorenzo, the young gun that started it all.

So, don’t wait for change. Don’t always take “no” as the final answer. Whether its turning a passion into reality, scoring that dream job or taking the first steps towards a sea change, making your goals happen will always be worthwhile – even if it means finding alternate ways around the road blocks along the well worn path.

we’re love you so much.

How are you today .

You know brother I miss you so mice .

I one to see you again .

For Long Somana .

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.”