Please check out our new blog site at http://unavsacpp.blogspot.com/

This page enables prospective CPP applicants for the 2008-09 year to understand more about our work with the Vietnamese community as well as our experiences this year with the VOICE campaign.

If you would like to contribute to the CPP blog, please email cpp@unavsa.org to learn how.

 

Cheers,

Amy and Pha-Le

Position Available

Country Director of VOICE, Cambodia

VOICE is a non-profit organization which was set up to provide a voice for the overseas Vietnamese community through advocacy for refugee protection, human rights, civil society in Vietnam and other issues of significant concern to the community.

The Background

Vietnamese are the single largest minority group in Cambodia. The number of Vietnamese who work as direct sex providers represent as high as 30% of the total number of commercial sex workers (CSWs). This number is disproportionately high when measured against the total number of Vietnamese in Cambodia. Even more startling is the increase in the sale of (and subsequent decrease in price paid for) the virginity of Vietnamese children in urban Cambodia.

Research and correspondence with NGOs on the field have confirmed that prevention activities, as well as the response to these problems do not match the extent of the need for them. This is further exacerbated by the fact that the Vietnamese are undocumented and a marginalised minority because of the historical animosity between Vietnam and Cambodia. For this reason, they are even more vulnerable to exploitation and governmental neglect.

For the above reasons, VOICE aims to open an office/ resource centre in Phnom Penh by June 2008 to provide direct social, educational, financial, legal and medical services to the undocumented Vietnamese living in Cambodia.

The Need

VOICE is currently seeking a university graduate with extensive work experience in poverty alleviation and sustainable development to serve as Country Director (CD) for VOICE, Cambodia. As CD, you will help VOICE craft, develop and execute programs targeting children and young women vulnerable to entering the commercial sex industry. You will be overseeing up to 20 staff/ volunteers, coordinating educational programs for children and facilitating vocational training programs for young women. This work will require you to have excellent organisational skills, strong leadership and people skills, as well as the ability to multi-task and work in tandem with other NGOs to promote our mission.

  

Responsibilities:

• Develop and implement educational and vocational programs as part of our mission to provide social services to those in need.
• Develop co-operative working relationships with various non-government organizations, Khmer government officials and other agencies working on the field tackling our concerned issues.
• Compiling written submissions/ reports to our donors and benefactors.
• Individual case management;
• Oversee the day-to-day running of the office, including admin, finance and staff management.  
• Interacting with our ’clients’ to ensure that their needs are met.

Requirements:  

• A university degree in international development, public policy, law or a related field.
• At least 2 years on the field work experience in similar areas.
• An aptitude for creative problem-solving in complex environments.
• Deep knowledge of issues surrounding trafficking, poverty, Vietnam and Khmer cultures.   
• Strong leadership and analytical skills, and excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Willingness to travel
• Fluent in English and Vietnamese is preferred. The ability to speak Khmer is a plus. 

To apply, please send resume and cover letter

By E-mail:

lisa@vietnamvoice.org

OR

By Post:

VOICE

Att: Lisa T.D. Nguyen

1802 S St NW

Washington DC 20009

For further information, please visit www.vietnamvoice.org beginning April 2008.  Also, if you know of anyone who would be good for this position, please forward the above to them.  Thank you!

Hi everyone!

First off, the team would like to thank everyone for adding us as your friend on MySpace and for being so patient as we wait for the official CPP 2007-08 website to unveil. In the meantime, however, we’d like to update everyone on the progress of this year’s campaign to benefit the Vietnamese Overseas Initiative for Conscience Empowerment (VOICE) and combat the trafficking of Vietnamese women and children overseas.

Six months ago, Pha-Le and I were given the task of spearheading a national campaign and raising awareness and money for the CPP. We were nervous and even hesitant about our ability to match last year’s successful campaign. Yet with the support of schools across the country, a dedicated team of CoRR representatives, UVSA, uNAVSA and talented individuals, we have not only began to realize our vision, but also exceeded our mid-year expectations.

Since October 2007, the team has raised over $40,000 to help VOICE! Students all across the country have hosted events, festivals, talent shows, and date auctions to help raise money for the CPP project, and have even joined our dedicated staff of students and recent alumni. We’ve been traveling everywhere, making presentations, doing speeches, showing the VOICE dvd ... you name it. Sometimes, I’m sitting in traffic for three hours. Other times, I’m racking up miles as I fly from one city to the next. Most of the time, I forget where I am at. But everywhere the team goes, the dedication, the support and the friendship of all the VSAs are the same. Every moment has been worthwhile, and thanks to you all, the team is performing at full-speed.

So again, on behalf of the CPP team, Pha-Le and I would like to thank all the schools, individuals and organizations that have made the campaign so successful in the recent months. We look forward to updating you all again in our next blog!

Cheers,

Amy Nguyen and Pha-Le Le
CPP Directors

Thanks to:
Union of North American Vietnamese Students Association
Union of Vietnamese Students Association - Southern California
Union of Vietnamese Students Association - Northern California
Union of Vietnamese Students Association - Georgia
Illinois Vietnamese Student Union
Mid-Atlantic Union of Vietnamese Students Association
VIA-1
VASCON4
Miss Vietnam of Southern California
University of California, Berkeley
University of California, San Diego
University of California, Irvine
University of California, Davis
California State University, Fullerton
California State University, Long Beach
California State University, San Bernardino
University of Texas, Austin
University of Texas, Arlington
University of Houston
University of Georgia
Georgia Tech
Emory University
Portland State University
University of Washington
Columbia University
Northwestern University
Ohio State University
University of Denver
University of Maryland, College Park
University of Virginia
Virginia Commonwealth University
Virginia Tech
James Madison University
Indiana University
George Mason University

Don’t see your school? Email cpp@unavsa.org to learn more about how you or your campus can be part of the CPP 2007-08 campaign! Be the change you want to see in the world today!

Nearly 10 percent of women and children trafficked worldwide are Vietnamese. The majority are female teenagers, and many are children, as young as five. 400,000 have been sold since the end of the Cold War. Nearly 5,000 of them exist in Cambodia as sex slaves. (UNICEF)

There is something to be said about believing in a cause and fighting for it.

Welcome to the 2007-08 Collective Philanthropy Project (CPP). This year's CPP beneficiary is none other than the Vietnamese Overseas Initiative for Conscience Empowerment (VOICE), a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing attention to those silenced by human trafficking and the commercial sex trade industry.

This year, our team aims to build an office in Phnom Penh, Cambodia to provide resources for Vietnamese women and children, and develop programs in legal protection, legal aide, financial empowerment, life-long learning and social development to help ensure a brighter future for our community overseas.

Together with VSAs across the country, the CPP team hopes to educate the community about contemporary issues plaguing Vietnam today, and to motivate students to work together under one cause.

Please join us in our fight to combat human trafficking and raise a voice for those silenced by the sex trade. Together, we can be the difference.



www.vietnamvoice.org
www.unavsa.org
cpp@unavsa.org



Amy Nguyen & Pha-Le Le
CPP Directors 2007-08