Organization

Friends International Cambodia

Friends International Cambodia is the Cambodian work of Friends-International, a social enterprise for marginalized youth founded in Phnom Penh in August 1994.[1] Friends-International has programs in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Indonesia and Myanmar through the Friends Alliance.[2] In Cambodia it works through two programs, Mith Samlanh in Phnom Penh and Kaliyan Mith in Siem Reap.[3]

A worker in a blue Friends International shirt with a backpack talks with adults sitting outside tin-roofed houses.
A Friends International outreach worker visiting a community, Cambodia.

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.[1] 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.[1] 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.[1] 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.[1]

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.[1] After two hard years, Save the Children Australia told Marot that AusAID would fund the work for three years.[1] 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.[1]

Programs in Cambodia

Mith Samlanh, in Phnom Penh, runs street and community outreach, drop-in centers for children living on the street, 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.[3]

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.[3] In 2017 it assisted 11,412 children, youth and caregivers.[3]

In 2013 the social businesses of the two programs included the Romdeng restaurant in Phnom Penh and the Marum restaurant in Siem Reap.[4]

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.[5] In Phnom Penh, Mith Samlanh built a network of more than 800 ChildSafe agents, who directly protected 10,063 children in 2017.[3]

Organization

Friends-International is registered in Paris as a French nonprofit association, with its headquarters at 29 Rue Vaneau.[5][6] Its field coordination office is at No. 215, Street 13, Phnom Penh.[5][6] Its 2013 annual report gives a total income of US$6,557,186 for that year and a staff of 536.[4]

Leadership (2026)

Board and senior staff listed by the organization in 2026.[5]

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

References 6
  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Friends-International, History
  2. ↑ Friends-International, Friends Alliance (undated)
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Better Care Network, Friends International Cambodia
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Friends-International, Annual Report 2013
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Friends-International, Structure
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Friends-International, Contact us
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This page was last edited on 22 October 2026, at 03:46.