Friends - Mith Samlanh

The word friend in Khmer is Mith Samlanh (except Cambodians write in a script not the roman alphabet). Mum & I went to Friends, or Mith Samlanh, which is an NGO. This is a non-government organisation which helps kids living on the streets or who are very poor in Cambodia to give them:

• a safe place to go when they are in trouble. There are drop-in centres.

• a chance to get into school because the kids have been begging, scavenging and living on the streets so they have not been able to get an education.

• vocational training, which will give them skills to get a job. Like becoming a nail artist, a chef, a waiter, a tour guide, a nanny and so on. 

• information about drug abuse (so they don’t get into drugs) and HIV and AIDS so they know the dangers of being a prostitute. Although 15% of the kids in the training centre have HIV/AIDS and 40% of kids living on the streets are affected by HIV/AIDS because their parents or sibling or other family have it. 

Friends has a restaurant. We went there. The chefs, and waiters were trained at the Vocational Centre. 

There is also a shop that sells goods that were made by kids at the training centre.Buying from places like this is what tourists should do because they support the training programs. We bought some necklaces, wallets and earring from here - ALL are recycled. AND MUm said I could go to the nail artist on Friday (to get a manicure and pedicure by young people who were trained to do this for a job). 

Me at Smith Samlanh - Friends Cafe - reading about the work this NGO does, AND having a green apple & lime freeze!

Filling in the survey after we had eaten - so the training waiters and chefs can know what they do well and what they can do to improve. 

A poster at Mith Samlanh (Friends) shop - showing what they do to help poor Cambodian families 

another poster

The Friends bus has this on it - the Australian Government has supported and given AID to Friends. 

outside the Education Centre

an amazing globe of the world made out of recycled things - to show the light and dark sides to the world.