Phnymean Noun,Exec Director PIO with Dr.Robert P Renner

All is not lost when people such as these give their time and resources so readily to help children that are most at need. Two agencies. and individuals, that fit together admirably to try to meet some of the needs of children of less than fortunate circumstance are People Improvement Organization (PIO) and Kids International Dental Services.(KIDS)

A Dental Volunteer with (KIDS)

Dr.Bob (Dr. Robert P. Renner),is a retired Prosthodontist, a professor Emeritus at The University of New York at Stony Brook and he leads a team of volunteer dental professionals and people from all walks of life that want to assist in providing the services. It certainly an international team and during my short visit as a witness to their work I met members from Japan, the USA and the Netherlands.

Dr Renner explains the reasons for the existence of his team are to ”provide pro-bono dental care to impoverished children in developing countries. There are children in the world who will never have dental care that we take for granted unless we provide it. Most of these children have never seen a tooth brush”. We have treated the children at (PIO) over the last few years and will continue to do so as long as our services are required. We have recently started visits to the Philipines also. This is dentistry at it most basic, conducted in ”Mash” like circustances with very few home comforts but the kids get the treatment they so badly need and the young professional on the team benefit also by gaining experience and confidence.

” We provide dental care to children in orphanages where they come after being abandoned by parents, family members. They are forgotten children of sex slavery, dead parents of AIDS, gang violence, street accidents. We have seen and treated over 1000 children during our stay in Cambodia”.

Volunteers on the KIDS team

The People Improvement Agency (PIO) set up by Phymean Noun, to help educate children on the dump site at Stung Meanchey,Phnom Penh, in Cambodia is just one of the places that gives us a platform to do our work, the children attending the PIO school and the Orphanage it runs close by get dental treatment and free toothbrush.

” Most days we treat between 100 to 200 children. On the bright side, the cost of providing basic care to these children is less than $3 per child for treatment that would cost over $30 per child if performed at the health unit. So far we are personally committed to providing regular care to these children. We try to encourage young local dentists to partner with us and understand our American spirit of volunteerism. For a dental program in a developing country to be successful one must partner with a local agency and involve the local dentists/government”.

” Educating the children themselves and helping them learn the importance of daily dental care will in the long term reduce the number of dental problems in the future and will hopefully be passed on to the next generation”.

Kids waiting patiently to see the Dentist

” Obviously our services cost money and we are always grateful for donations and support. Anyone able or wishing to donate something, no matter how small can do so here (DONATIONS) or if you would like to offer your service as a volunteer why not visit out site at KIDS ”.

Little girl talks to the Dentist

I got asked that several times before I left. No, it’s not in Africa, South America, or an island. It’s actually in Southeast Asia, tucked in right beside Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam.

WHY are you going there?

That was the question that immediately followed. It’s not really a popular tourist destination, unless you’re Angelina Jolie. And it’s not at the top of any lists for relief work. So why Cambodia?

For me, it was the cause that first drew me in. I had heard of “human trafficking” and couldn’t believe it was happening in our world! When I did a little research, I found out that trafficking in persons, or human trafficking, is the fastest growing criminal industry in the world. Across the world, traffickers supply millions of human beings for use in forced labor activities such as domestic service, or work in rice fields, sweatshops, cocoa plantations, or mines. Some are trafficked into the commercial sex industry. Trafficking touches every single nation – America, Europe, Africa, Asia & more. There are an estimated 27 million people enslaved in our world right now. And human trafficking is the third most profitable illegal activity, right under arms dealing and drug trade.

Needless to say, my world was shaken. I couldn’t stand that people were being victimized like this! I couldn’t just sit idly by in my comfortable home in suburban America while women and children were being raped for profit and using products made by slave labor. I had do to something.

It’s not an easy cause to immerse yourself in, so I began just reading and researching and educating myself on the topic. I found through my research that Southeast Asia was a hotspot for not only human trafficking, but commercial sexual exploitation and sex tourism. I discovered that Cambodia is a sending, receiving and transit country for trafficking. Cambodians are most commonly enslaved for the purpose of commercial sex, begging, domestic work, fishing, construction and adoption. Victims often believe they are being recruited for purposes such as domestic work, or work in a restaurant. Most victims are deceived or, in a smaller number of cases, kidnapped, and forced into sexual slavery. Commercial sexual exploitation is the engaging or being forced to engage in sexual activity in exchange for immediate payment in money or other valuables. It is sometimes referred to as prostitution or “sex work”. One study estimates that the lowest statistics for the number of prostituted persons in Cambodia is between 40,000 and 50,000, and the highest is 100,000. Sex tourism is travel for the purpose of having or purchasing sex. It is estimated that US-based websites advertising worldwide sex tourism bring in over $150 million each per year. Cambodia, along with Southeast Asia, is a destination for this activity as well.
I desperately wanted to not only do something to prevent this crime from happening this war-torn and impoverished country, but more importantly help rescue and restore the victims that this injustice left in its wake. I found an organization that ran a home in Siem Reap, Cambodia, that helped girls leave the life of prostitution by providing a safe place that they could and earn money. I was so moved by their work, I began to make plans to visit. In August of 2009 I traveled solo across oceans and continents to this tiny home in this tiny city and immediately felt at home. I was greeted by open arms of girls and women who had experienced more pain than I could fathom. It was humbling and encouraging. I knew that my two weeks there was only the beginning of a lifelong journey working towards ending modern-day slavery in my world.

No one person can bring can end this injustice. But working together, we can bring it down. The first steps including awareness and changing public perception. Educate yourself on the topic and educate others. Learn to recognize the signs and signals of trafficking activity in your own backyard. Get involved with a local organization and join them in their efforts. Be a voice for the voiceless and speak up for the victims who cannot speak for themselves. Together, we can make slavery history.

In 2009 we will travel through Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, meeting with local people and small organizations along the way. Our goals will be to show how people in other parts of the world live and how you can make a difference that can better someone’s life. No matter where you live, there are many stereotypes and assumptions about other cultures that often limit your ability to make a personal connection. By showing the differences and similarities between cultures, we believe that more people will be encouraged to reach out to their neighbors across the globe. We also want to showcase the important work of small organizations that are truly making a difference. Instead of blind charitable handouts to people in need, many organizations are relying on education and sustainability to allow recipients to help themselves perpetually. These charities deserve more attention not just for their innovative work, but also because we can all learn from their experiences. Our hope is to inspire more people to reach out and make a difference to someone who lives a life different from their own.

Our year long trip will begin on January 20th in Morocco. Over the next several months we will weave our way through West Africa passing through some of the world’s poorest, yet most amazing countries. Then we will head to the Middle East, a region where many people maintain a relatively high standard of living, but find their lives often interrupted by religious and racially driven conflict. Next we will head to East Africa before venturing on to India. We won’t be able to visit every country in each of these regions, but hopefully our trip will provide us with a solid cross-section of the cultures and beliefs in each place. While a major motivation for our trip is to raise awareness through Collective Lens, our adventure is self funded and some of it will be for personal enjoyment. We plan to see some amazing cultures, make some wonderful friends, and learn about the world from a variety of perspectives.

If you know of any organizations, charities, or NGO’s in the regions that we will be visiting, please let us know about them. We are currently in the process of seeking out organizations to visit, and we’d love to hear from our readers. You can post in the comments or send us an email to info [at] collectivelens.com.

Naturally, you can expect blog posts about our travels here on the Collective Lens blog, but this blog will contain much more than that. We’ve gained a few writers lately. Russ will usually be writing about humanitarian issues, Chanelle will be writing about nonprofit strategies, and Heidi and Brynn will be writing about various issues in third world countries. (If you’re interested in writing for Collective Lens, read this.)

Thanks for your support everyone, we’re looking forward to a great year.

-Bryan and Laurie, founders of Collective Lens