Building upon our research compiled in Women in Prison in Cambodia, Hagar launched the Fresh Start project in late 2009.  With the support of our key partners (the Cambodian Criminal Justice Assistance Project, Ministry of Interior, and Prison Fellowship Cambodia), Hagar is taking its experience with rejected, abused, and exploited women and children to Cambodia's prisons.  The Fresh Start project will provide counseling, psychosocial therapy, medical care, adult literacy classes, and soft skills training for women nearing the completion of their prison term.  Upon release, women will be able to enter the Fresh Start transition home and receive vocational training and job placement.

Sok Chenda, the Fresh Start Coordinator, has been one of the driving forces behind this exciting new pilot project.  In between conducting orientations at CC2, overseeing our first client released from the prison, and attending social work training classes, Chenda took a few moments to reflect on a formative month. 

Fresh Start Orientation
On June 11, the Career Pathways team woke up bright and early for the long drive through the rural Cambodian countryside to CC2 prison.  We generated quite a bit of excitement as the team entered the prison courtyard and the 26 interested candidates assembled for the orientation workshop.  Sota (the soft skills trainer) and I led the group in a game of "Big Bamboo, Little Bamboo", which quickly had the women rolling in laughter and relaxed.

In between some ice-breakers, we provided an overview of Hagar, Fresh Start, our adult literacy program, and the job readiness program (Career Pathways).  We also facilitated some group discussions and conducted interviews with women to determine if they met the project's entry criteria.

We ended right before lunch with a fun game that had not only the workshop group but the whole courtyard dancing! It was a wonderful day and a big first step for Fresh Start.

Interviews
After reviewing the results of the Fresh Start orientation, the Career Pathways team returned to CC2 to conduct in-depth interviews with the seventeen women matching Fresh Start's criteria for admission into the project.  We had the women complete a written test to determine their literacy level, and our social workers interviewed each of the women to start their case files. 

Finally, Hagar's midwife and I interviewed a few pregnant women in the prison. Based on our research, we realized that there are no programs to support pregnant women in CC2.  Furthermore, newborns will often live in the prison with their mother for their first six months.  Because of this gap, Hagar has stepped in to assist with pre-and-postnatal care at the prison.  We still need $6,000 to support the six pregnant women currently in the prison - any contributions from readers would help to address this critical need.

Unfortunately the rains forced our team to conduct the final interviews under a tree in the courtyard, but you must be flexible here in Cambodia!  At the end of the day, we had more clarity on the next steps for the Fresh Start project: six women would enroll in soft skills training and eleven women would enroll in adult literacy classes.  After revising the curriculum a bit, we hope to start both classes in the prison in just a few short months.

Transition Home
We have moved offices and are setting up the new transition home.  It is very exciting!  We already have our first client, who was released and is awaiting a placement in the transition home.  She is currently enrolled in our soft skills training class and is flourishing! 

Training at Social Services of Cambodia
I completed the first training session at Social Services of Cambodia in early July.  We learned a lot about how to monitor our own behavior, because any helper needs to have a good attitude, knowledge, confidence, and humility.  We reflected on our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.  I also learned about some very interesting creative therapy tools that we can use with Fresh Start clients, such as the tree of life.  The tree of life helps us to understand more about each client's relationships, family, strengths/challenges, and mood. 

One Cambodian proverb we discussed at the workshop was very powerful to me: "Daughters are like fermented fish and sons are like pure gold."  This proverb shows how one sex is negatively distinguished from another in Cambodia.  This causes a lot of psychological harm for women and leads to discrimination. 

I am excited for the next five modules in the course and I can't wait to apply these methods as Fresh Start accepts more clients.

For more information on Fresh Start, please visit our project overview.  Thank you for all your support and kind wishes!

-Sok Chenda, Fresh Start Coordinator
-Tim Rann, Career Pathways Manager