Friends International Cambodia

Friends-International is a social enterprise and nongovernmental organization for marginalized children and youth, founded in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in August 1994. It provides social services to marginalized urban young people and their families in Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Thailand and Myanmar, and works with almost 50 partners worldwide. In Cambodia it works through two programs, Mith Samlanh in Phnom Penh and Kaliyan Mith in Siem Reap.

Organization details
Type	Cambodia aid
Focus areas	To build a future where all children are safe from all forms of abuse, are able to become productive citizens of their countries and contribute to a more equitable and sustainable world.
Country	Cambodia
Headquarters country	Cambodia
Cambodia operating location	Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Founded	1994
Website	Website
Operating status	active

History

Sebastien Marot, Barbara Adams and Mark Turgesen founded the first project, Mith Samlanh, in 1994, after arriving in Cambodia from Paris. Its name means "Friends" in Khmer, and every later program has taken the word for "friends" in its own local language. Cambodia was still dangerous after years of genocide and conflict, with guns and landmines in the streets, and many children were sleeping outdoors in the capital. The founders began by bringing food to children on the streets. They soon found that the handouts made the children dependent, and, with help from Cambodian friends, they asked the children what they needed. Marot ran the organization while Adams and Turgesen kept their other jobs. On August 1, 1994, they opened a center in Phnom Penh, paid for with Marot's savings, and received their first 17 children.

The center changed its approach as it learned: it took children in during the day and encouraged them to return home, and the organization says this led to rapid growth. After two hard years, Save the Children Australia told Marot that AusAID would fund the work for three years. Over time the services grew to include family support, education and help finding work, and the programs spread across Southeast Asia and beyond. Friends-International developed a model that combines social businesses with child-protection systems.

Programs in Cambodia

Mith Samlanh, whose name is also given as "Close Friends," works in seven zones of Phnom Penh and supports more than 18,000 children, youth and families a year. It runs street and community outreach, drop-in centers for street children, transitional homes for children separated from their families, nonformal education and vocational training. It helps drug users and sex workers reach rehabilitation and avoid illness, and its Futures Offices help young people find stable work. In 2017 it worked with 10,063 children and youth, provided education to 2,051 children, linked 592 young people with skills and jobs, and reunited 203 separated children with their families.

Kaliyan Mith, meaning "Good Friends," works in Siem Reap. It offers family and school reintegration, transitional shelter, day and night street outreach, and a drop-in center with counseling, life-skills training and health care. Young people train in sewing, hospitality and cooking, mechanics, barbering and beauty, and its Futures Office helps them and their caregivers find steady work. In 2017 it assisted 11,412 children, youth and caregivers.

Both programs run social businesses that train young people and earn income. In Phnom Penh these include the training restaurants Friends the Restaurant and Romdeng; in Siem Reap, the restaurants Marum and Nyum Nyum, the beauty shop Phka Kravan and a mechanics shop. Both also run Friends 'N' Stuff fair trade gift shops and sell cookbooks.

ChildSafe and partners

The organization's work is grouped into Friends Alliance, the ChildSafe Movement and 3PC. Friends Alliance teams work directly in streets, communities and drop-in, education and training centers. ChildSafe teams train and equip people, companies and organizations to protect children, and the 3PC team supports partner organizations serving marginalized young people around the world. In Phnom Penh, Mith Samlanh built a network of more than 800 ChildSafe agents, who directly protected 10,063 children in 2017. In Siem Reap, Kaliyan Mith's network reached 3,744 community agents and 60 tourism businesses in 2016, and its ChildSafe work directly protected 4,534 children in 2017.

Organization

Friends-International is registered in Paris as a French nonprofit association, with its headquarters at 29 Rue Vaneau. Its field coordination office is at No. 215, Street 13, Phnom Penh, and its operational office is at House 89B, Street 103, Phnom Penh. The Siem Reap office, Kaliyan Mith, is on Top Town Road in Salakanseng village, Svay Dangkum Commune. In 2013 it reported revenue of US$6.55 million, and in March 2014 it had 536 employees.

Leadership (2026)

Board and senior staff listed by the organization in 2026.

Board

• Olivier Farhi, chair
• Wilfried Schneider, secretary
• Olivier Veilhan, treasurer
• Sophea Chenda Chhun, member
• Denis Marot, honorary member
• Winston Mc Colgan, honorary member
• Annegret Marot-Koerner, honorary member

Direction

• Sébastien Marot, founder and executive director
• Sébastien Le Mouellic, deputy director

Programs in Cambodia

• Somaya Map, program director, Mith Samlanh (Phnom Penh)
• Maneth Tho, program director, Kaliyan Mith (Siem Reap and Poipet)

See also

• All organizations

References