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Khmer Community Development (KCD)

Khmer Community Development (KCD)

All jobs of Khmer Community Development (KCD).

About Khmer Community Development (KCD)

Welcome to Khmer Community Development!

The beginnings of KCD

KCD stands for Khmer Community Development. As our name says, we want to improve lives through sustainable and profitable agriculture and education, but also through the promotion of peace. Grown out of a University Student Club created in 2002, we became a registered NGO in 2005. At that time, our primary objective was to help young people in the outskirts of Phnom Penh deal with the threats they may face in society, like drugs, violence and social constraints as well as strengthen their self-confidence and help them to understand about the worth of peace.

How we came to Prek Chrey Commune

In 2006, we decided to concentrate our activities to one specific commune called Prek Chrey, in Kandal Province. Why this commune? There are many poor areas in rural Cambodia, but few of them need more support in peace education than this one. Prek Chrey is located at the Vietnam border and threatened by latent conflicts between ethnic Khmer and ethnic Vietnamese, both living in the same commune.

Our work

As a Peace Organisation, we understand that we cannot promote peace without paying attention to the context in which peace shall flourish. This is why we use Community Development, Education and Sports as fields in which conflicts can be managed in a constructive and peaceful way. This way of working needs time to allow the change of mentality that is necessary for deep rooted peace. In everything we do, we focus on sustainability. Early success is good. But it is even better if it lasts for more than one or two harvest seasons or school years. Especially building peace takes time. The deeper the conflict roots, the harder it is to transform (learn more about this under Place and People.

We encourage authorities and inhabitants of all ages to become aware of and deal with long-time tabooed issues.

Our strategy includes:

  • cooperation with the local authorities based on mutual respect
  • raising awareness about children’s & women’s rights
  • promoting knowledge of human rights, especially with regard to gender issues resulting from traditional thinking
  • fostering self-confidence in the Khmer community about its capacity to contribute to the own development, as this is the pre-condition for a beneficial relationship with the Vietnamese co-habitants
  • working with mixed Khmer and Vietnamese children’s groups, as they shall play in the middle term a crucial role in the civil society 
  • facilitating the integration of Vietnamese who wish to become a part of the Cambodian society

Thanks to the local staff in Prek Chrey and to the Phnom Penh staff who travel weekly to the commune we could establish close cooperation and a trustful relationship between KCD and the members of both communities. You will find what we have achieved together by today with a look at our Projects.

Khmer Community Development (KCD) Contact

Address

No. 497B, St. 135, 12307 Phnom Penh Phnom Penh, 12304 Cambodia