Cambodia - A Land of Beauty...A Troubled Past...A Growing Hope
The Problem
In 1975, the Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot seized control of Cambodia. In the process
they:
Destroyed religious and cultural underpinnings.
Closed schools.
Shut down the government.
Killed the religious, leaders, and educated.
Stopped the flow of currency.
Committed genocide against other ethnic groups in the country.
Evacuated major cities, forcing people into agricultural communes.
At the end of four years, upwards of 1.7 million people had died of execution, torture, and starvation. Huge numbers had also fled the country.
When the Vietnamese ousted Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge in 1979, they found no institutions of any kind…no bureaucracy, army, police, hospitals, schools, commercial networks, religious hierarchy or legal system.
Though Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge were ousted in 1979, they continued to operate from jungle bases until the death of Pol Pot in 1998. During this period, Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge continued to terrorize the countryside killing Cambodian troops and civilians.
The result is a country that was stripped of leaders in all walks of life and the educated. There are few role models and little or no capacity to develop them. Read more…
Solution
The Christian church is experiencing rapid growth in Cambodia. The project focuses on a network of more than 800 churches. The solution and purpose of this project is to:
Teach Cambodian pastors and lay leaders principles of Christian leadership, and skills in planning and goal-setting.
Help these pastors and lay leaders be more effective in their role as church and community leaders with an emphasis in addressing sexual exploitation and slavery.
Agape International Missions (AIM) was developed by native Cambodians, Moses and Samantha Seth, who escaped Pol Pot’s death camps and came to America. They felt God calling them to return to Cambodia to bring hope to their country. They have seen their efforts contribute to establishing more than 800 churches in Cambodia. AIM is equipping the local church to stop sex trafficking through discipling and educating people and eliminating some of the motivations for trafficking children by providing:
Humanitarian Aid – Food, mosquito nets, medical and dental care, clothing, blankets, and more.
Community Development – Village wells, ponds and roads.
Disaster Relief – Home reconstruction, emergency food supplies.
Education– English lessons, books, classroom equipment, financial support for teachers.
Daily Radio Broadcasts – Reaching 65% of the country with the message of hope through Christ and teaching important information on trafficking awareness.
Approach
One aspect of the solution is developing a cadre of national trainers…Christian leaders…who can focus on training others throughout this network of churches. Developing nationals makes more sense than having a trainer come from outside the country for a limited period of time.
The leadership materials will be developed by Merle Switzer, a U.S. based leadership trainer and consultant. He will also train and coach this group of nationals as they roll out the leadership training across Cambodia.
Merle visited Cambodia in October, 2009 to meet with pastors, visit their cities and villages, build relationships, and conduct a needs assessment. Based on the needs assessment, he began developing the leadership training materials. During the developmental stage, the materials will be translated and reviewed by nationals to ensure cultural fit.
Upon graduation from the leadership train-the-trainer, some of the cadre will be used on a full-time basis to roll out the training through the country. This of course requires ongoing support.
