Creating Your Vision

What is your vision for the campus and/or community?

I envision a community where every child has the opportunity to attend college. It's a vision I've worked towards in the United States and I'm excited to work with and support like-minded youth in the village of Trapiang Kaek, in Veal Pong commune, in Oudong district, Kampong Speu Province, Cambodia (1.5 hrs outside Phnom Penh). In 2003, Hin Dan, a resident of Trapiang Kaek, started a project called Friends Help Friends for Development (FHFD), which provides supplementary education and peer mentorship to enable children from Veal Pong commune to attend college. Today, FHFD reaches over 500 students.

In the future, FHFD would like to expand its work to include students from all twenty-seven villages in their commune. Currently, Joe Darith — a long-time high school teacher — is the only officially salaried employee. The other work is carried out by young community members on a voluntary basis: 23 volunteer teachers ranging from 13 to 24 years old, Dan and the six college students make up the Board that helps with large-scale logistics, and four high school students are responsible for managing the day-to-day logistics.

I also am hopeful for the power of media to encourage social change. The founders of FHFD have done all of the legwork. I see my role as trying to help spread their message.

Assessing Your Campus and Community

What campus/community problem does your blueprint address? What structures, practices and policies institutionalize the problem?

The three main interrelated root causes my Blueprint addresses are post-conflict reconstruction, rural poverty, and educational inequality in Trapiang Kaek, Cambodia. The Khmer Rouge regime implemented a genocide during 1975-1979, killing an estimated 2 million Cambodians. The violence continued in the village of Trapiang Kaek until 1997 as Khmer Rouge loyalists continued to operate, wiping out a generation of college-educated people. The legacy of the conflict has caused many of the residents of Trapiang Kaek to live in extreme poverty, relying on the cultivation of rice as their main source of income. Furthermore, as Phnom Penh has developed, rural villages continue to be left behind. Educational inequality exacerbates the problem. Prior to the year 2000, the public school system in Trapiang Kaek did not provide universal access to all children; rather, students had to pay a fee to attend school at all. Furthermore, the schools only operate in the mornings and thus does not provide sufficient preparation to graduate high school and attend college. 85% of young children in the Oudong district drop out of schooling after completing primary education.

On a utilitarian level, my Blueprint addresses the funding difficulties for grassroots activism in Veal Pong. Even with the incredible work FHFD has done in promoting education, they have experienced difficulty in raising awareness about their project and generating sufficient funds to improve their resources.

What communities will you work with?

• Local community

Setting Goals and Deliverables

• Goal 1: Help FHFD articulate a vision and brand through the creation of a video
• A completed 10-minute promotional video about FHFD
• A mission statement that can be included at the beginning of the video
• Possible: A new logo
• Goal 2: Raise $10,000 in endowment for FHFD
• A distribution strategy for the completed video in Cambodia and the United States
• $10,000 in endowment funding
• A financial system to manage the increased funds

What is your primary approach? Idea Creation

Why did you choose this approach?

FHFD has succeeded to this point on the strength of its founders and young participants. These individuals have an intimate knowledge of the complexities of Cambodia and specifically their province. However, they lack the exposure necessary to tap into invaluable financial and organizational resources. While I have experience working in and directing youth-oriented projects, I feel my added value stems from my filmmaking and marketing background in both the nonprofit and for-profit sectors. Therefore, I hope this video and campaign will help spread word of FHFD in an accessible package for possible donors.

Did you have secondary approaches? What are they?

I am a strong believer in specialization and I will defer some of the "big picture" thinking and advocacy to the FHFD coordinators. I am here to contribute this particular skill set to the project.

What will your tactics and activities be?

As a filmmaker, I can put together the shooting schedule. However, since I am in Ireland, I must rely on my contacts on the ground in Cambodia to handle logistics, including planning activities for the shoot, interviews with key players, and even lodging.

Since this idea creation approach will hopefully serve FHFD for the long term, it is imperative that the process is collaborative in most aspects. This includes putting together funding proposals (I've been corresponding via email with FHFD representatives), preparing for shooting, and final approval.

Connecting Back to Vision

How does your strategy contribute to your vision for your campus and/or your community?

1) Helping FHFD grow: I am a strong supporter of youth-initiated activities. I have seen with FHFD the power of having youth from the community who truly know the community and its particular strengths and challenges to create a vehicle for educational change.
2) Long-term educational reform and increased opportunities for youth: It is my belief that by increasing the capacity of FHFD, the organization can eventually serve as a model for other villages in Cambodia and can advocate for institutional education reform.
3) Utilizing the power of media for positive social change: While never a guarantee, I'm hopeful that the generation of new media -- in this case a video -- can serve as a catalyst for taking FHFD to the next level.

Resources and skills you will need

What skills do you need for this approach?

- Filmmaking
- Marketing
- Teamwork and collaboration
- Effective Online Communication
- Time/People Management