Featuring Friends Economic Development Association (FEDA)

From 1970 to the mid-1990s, Cambodia suffered from carpet bombing, military occupation, the extreme Communist regime of the Khmer Rouge, and ongoing civil war. No area was more affected than the province of Battambang near the Thai border, where the legacy of war lives on in poverty and distrust.

Friends Economic Development Association (FEDA) was formed in 1994 by Ngarm Soth Plai and other local activists to help rural communities near Battambang rebuild their lives. FEDA works with the youth of Ksach Poy and surrounding villages to offer them education, economic opportunities, cultural knowledge and pride, and wholesome social interaction. Their aim is to build self-confidence and a sense of community across all economic levels, hoping that the bonds formed now will endure into adulthood.

FEDA’s activities include a well-structured English curriculum that serves about 500 children, instruction in traditional music and dance, a community soccer team, and a collection of micro-enterprises that give the kids vocational training while financing part of the cost of running the programs.  The English classes are the core of the program. They follow a structured curriculum, and the children progress through six levels. Cambodian primary schools run two shifts a day, so the younger children come during the part of the day they are not in school—typically twice a week. Older children come after school.

The traditional music and dance program, funded by Pangea in 2008 and 2009, is charming. About 30 children participate, mainly some of the older ones. The kids play very well and have fun doing it. Instruments include a variation on a xylophone, Chinese violins, a hammered dulcimer, drums, and a unique instrument they call a crocodile. The dancing is excruciatingly slow-paced for Western eyes, but graceful and precise. During school breaks, FEDA takes the musicians and dancers on the road to perform in other areas.

The creativity and entrepreneurship behind the micro-enterprises is quite impressive. They include a mini-mart that serves the community, a copy machine and internet stations to support local business and personal needs; a little cafe that sells food to staff, students, and the community and that offers cooking classes for tourists; a kayaking tour business; p.a. equipment that they rent out for weddings and funerals; the dancers and musicians who hire out as entertainers.

Pangea's 2011 grant to FEDA will fund construction and operation of a small beauty salon, with training for 90 beauty operators. The building (6×7 meters) will sit next to the mini-mart and, like the mini-mart, open onto the street. Of the 90 operators to be trained in hairstyling, manicures/pedicures, makeup application, and massage, approximately 12 will work permanently in the salon and the others will find jobs elsewhere.