Friends International is an international NGO that specializes in working with marginalised urban children and youth and their families and communities to become productive and independent citizens of their country.[1] The organization was founded by Sebastien Marot and started its work in 1994 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and ever since then it attracted the attention of international organizations (UNICEF, Inter-American Development Bank), Governments (Government of the Lao PDR) and local organizations. As a result Friends-International branched out across South East Asia and beyond.[2] Today, Friends International reaches out for hundreds of thousands of marginalised children through its own programs and cooperating with many other organizations in many countries, including Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Indonesia, Honduras, Egypt, Hong Kong and Mexico.[3]
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Among other groups of marginalised children, Friends-International works primarily with street children. In addition to running day care centers, residential centers, providing educational, medical, and everyday life services, and training social workers on maintaining these services; the organization also provide specialized programs.
Friends-International was the first organization to develop drug services in Cambodia and has been working with drug using children and youth since 1998. It introduced the practice of harm reduction into the country which resulted in it becoming an official national policy.[4] Among the services that FI provides in this field are: drug use prevention and health education, detoxification and social rehabilitation, inclusive aftercare and case management systems to prevent relapse, ensure appropriate medical care and to support sustainable reintegration in society.[4]
The Mobility project is designed to prevent unsafe migration, protect vulnerable migrants, reintegrate migrants and to promote migrant’s rights. In Cambodia, in 2008, 1933 young people received information on the risks of migration, and 164 young migrants were supported to return home, join vocational training, or find employment at destination.[5]
Friends-International developed the Home-Based production project, where families are supported to produce (at home or in a specific production center) and sell their production through the Friends-International dynamic network. In exchange parents must sign an agreement stating that children/youth must go to school or vocational training. Regular follow-up is ensured making sure that the contract is respected.[6]
Friends-International has initiated an Alternative Care project, which aims at preventing the abandonment of children and their systematic placement in orphanages. The project provides support and help to strengthen family structures; improve the work of institutions such as orphanages and NGO shelters by implementing standards on alternative care; promote parental care and influence a behavior change among Cambodian communities, and raise awareness among foreign visitors about the risks of “orphanage tourism”.[7]
In recognition of its work, Friends-International has been awarded:
* Order of Australia for Service to Humanity * Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship * Gold Medal of the Cambodian Government * Silver Medal, "Société d’Encouragement au Progrès" * 2008 Espiritu Award from the Isabelle Allende Foundation * The Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, Social Entrepreneur of the Year, East Asia, 2009[1]