Around the Globe in 17 Days
For the majority of our Cambodia
visit, our group was split up to accomplish different tasks. Diana and Maria spent
most of the time meeting with potential partners to expand our program reach.
They had a chance to hear about organizations that employ vulnerable garment
factory workers and learned that there is little to no job security for these
individuals. Meanwhile, Justin and Susan traveled to the countryside to visit
our partner Village Works’ production centers and witnessed women working in
the safety of their homes surrounded by their children. By having access to a
sustainable income, the risk of trafficking in their family is significantly lessened.
While half the team headed to Siem Reap to explore the ancient wonders of
Angkor Wat, Katrina and Brittany stayed behind to capture Nomi Network’s
partner producers on camera. They also had a chance to film pattern making
during a Nomi International Fashion Training (NIFT) session at our office with
a handful of eager students.
Before leaving Cambodia, our team
had the privilege of visiting our partner shelter for survivors of sex
trafficking. We pulled up in our tuk tuk
to a beautiful gated property containing several villas and sprawling manicured
lawns -- nothing like it’s surroundings! Most of the girls from the shelter
were away at school, but we were able to meet three girls in their cozy vibrant
dorms. We saw one of the girls washing another girl’s hair to practice for hair
styling school as they listened to pop music.
Knowing what these girls had gone through, we were amazed to see them having
fun as carefree teenagers should. It was easy to see that this shelter was a
place of redemption, healing, and fierce love.
The remainder of our trip flew by
as we visited our trainees’ homes, observed more training and production of
leggings and totes, and surveyed our new land. The film crew stayed behind for
an extra day as the rest of our team went ahead to participate in the first day
of training for our new cohort at the new program site. After a bumpy two-hour
journey from Forbesganj, we arrived in a town slightly more developed and
lively than where we had come from. We were surprised to see buildings taller
than three floors and a highway running through the middle of the town lined
with billboards. We were greeted again with smiles and flowers as we entered
our pink office building.
The women in there were eager to
meet us strange foreigners that had taken part in providing them the
opportunity to learn new skills. After sharing a meal, we split up into groups to
play silly games as we tried communicating despite our huge language barrier.
Eventually we all gave in to the one thing that transcends spoken language -- dance!
All the women had a persistent desire of wanting to be known to us and to the
world. Our project manager proudly showed us one of our trainee’s notebooks
that she got in her starter kit, where she had been practicing how to write her
name for the first time. We left the new site with excitement for their futures,
confident in their potential to transform their communities.
After many inspiring meetings and network connections in Kolkata, Siliguri, and Hyderabad, we returned to Delhi and prepared for our flight home. As with most trips to our field offices, we would come back to the U.S. changed, with clear eyed focus and determination to end injustice. Our trainees are making huge strides in their community and we can’t wait to see tangible and progressive change the next time we visit.
Comments
Post a Comment