A Discussion with Haidy Ear-Dupuy, Advocacy and Communications Manager, World Vision Cambodia

With: Haidy Ear-Dupuy Berkley Center Profile

September 4, 2009

Background: The context for this discussion was preparation for a consultation on faith and development in Southeast Asia, held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on December 14-15 2009. The consultation was an endeavor of the World Faiths Development Dialogue (WFDD) and the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs at Georgetown University, with support from the Luce Foundation and the University of Cambodia. Its aim was to take stock of the wide range of ongoing work by different organizations that are, in varying ways, inspired by religious faith, but equally important, to explore the policy implications that emerge from their interactions with development organizations. The interview began with a discussion in Phnom Penh, Cambodia between Haidy Ear-Dupuy and Michael Scharff on September 4, 2009, later updated and expanded upon by email exchanges between Michael Bodakowski and Haidy Ear-Dupuy on December 24, 2009 and January 25, 2010. In this interview Ms. Ear-Dupuy reflects on both the nature of her work with World Vision and how her faith inspires and informs her work. She reflects on religion as a force in Cambodia's development, the unique character of Cambodia vis-à-vis development, and also outlines the different sectors World Vision works on in the country.

What is your story? How did you come to work at World Vision?

My family left Cambodia in 1975 and walked to Vietnam. We spent time in a refugee camp before we were sponsored by the Buddhist Society in Washington, D.C. and moved to the U.S. After only a few short months in the US, the church sponsored us, at which point I began the journey of learning about Christianity. My mom was not too happy when I converted in 1995, but my father convinced her to allow me to make my own decisions regarding my faith. My father is Buddhist and he always told his children that we should follow whatever faith we felt was right for us. After graduating from high school, I got my undergraduate degree from William & Mary and then pursued graduate studies at the University of Wisconsin. After graduation, I worked for Oxfam, doing advocacy and lobbying work.

It was also around this time that I started seriously thinking of coming back to Cambodia. But the big factor preventing me from returning was all of the unknowns. Then, about five years ago, a job became available at World Vision in Cambodia and I took it as an opportunity to return. My parents still are not very supportive of my decision to return. For me, it’s about where I can add the most value. Here I can have value added. I make a difference when I come in contact with people in the communities. Cambodia needs role models. I want to be a good example. It’s very important that my work make a difference.

What makes Cambodia unique among its neighbors in terms of its development picture?

Cambodia is very open to outside influences, so it will grab development very quickly. It’s open to foreigners and open to Cambodians who are repatriating. In terms of your research, I would say that Cambodia is not a good example of where faith is strong. The Buddhist faith is stronger in Laos or Thailand. Sure, 95 percent or so of the people in the country say they are Buddhist, but I would bet the vast majority don’t really strongly believe in it. I think people’s practice of Buddhism is driven more by tradition than by faith. Moreover, superstitious beliefs, often masked as Buddhist practices, are very strong in the countryside. And I would say much of why Cambodian society is so open to outside influence is because the Buddhist beliefs are really not that strong. Cambodia is easier to do work in than in many other countries because people don’t have the entrenched beliefs. Also, I think the war has had a big effect on how open people are to embracing development. With the war, people went through so much to the point that today they are more willing to take risks, are more willing to say “why not give it a try.”

Do tensions exist between different religious faiths?

I think to some extent they do. World Vision had an incident a few years ago where a young man from one of the mosques threw a stone at a World Vision vehicle in one of the provinces. It was just a single incident, but it is telling of the underlying tensions between persons of different faiths.

Speaking of Muslims in Cambodia, the majority belong to the Cham community. There is a lot of money from Saudi Arabia going into mosques for education. But we are not sure what they are learning. There is a common concern among the Christian organizations about just what exactly the schools are teaching.

What is the story and evolution of World Vision in Cambodia, from its beginnings to the present day?

World Vision Cambodia started in 1973 when it began its work with the construction of the National Pediatric Hospital. In 1974 the hospital was finished, providing 75 beds, but it was never used due to the war. In 1975, World Vision had 270 staff. Many of them died during the war; we were able later to locate three staff who survived the war. We returned to Cambodia in 1979 with relief work, shipping food and basic supplies to help Cambodia after the war. Our work mostly focused on relief and emergency work until the late 1990s, when our focus shifted to a longer term development work. In 1979 we worked through helping children to find families as well as providing shelters for children who have been orphaned. Today, we work with vulnerable children, children who live on the streets, those who had been abused and trafficked, and those who are living with HIV and AIDS. World Vision is working to build a stronger Cambodia through supporting the children and their family to develop a better life.

What specific programs does World Vision have in Cambodia, and why do you focus on these areas within the Cambodia context?

World Vision’s current strategy focuses on five sectors: Education, Health and Nutrition, HIV and AIDS, Food and Water Security, and Peace and Justice. World Vision approaches development through the transformation framework. We believe that through partnering with the communities to address all these five areas of work, communities can build a fullness of life for the children. The five areas of work were chosen because they are the building blocks for a healthy life for children and if a community can address all the five sectors, the children would have the support that they need to help them grow into healthy, educated and caring citizens, contributing to building a strong Cambodia. Throughout all these five sectors we also seek to mainstream three areas that are of importance in the work that we do. These cross-cutting areas are important to our work and they include: child protection, gender mainstreaming and Christian commitment via partnering with local churches. Short summaries of the programs follow:

Health and Nutrition: World Vision works with communities and health partners to improve children’s health. Through preventive measures such as good nutrition, breast feeding, hygiene and vaccinations, communities support healthier children who can reach their full potential.

Food and Water Security: World Vision helps communities to dig wells, set up pumps, construct latrines, and irrigate crops. Safe water and sanitation systems support children’s health. Many children are able to study and stay in school because they spend less time carrying water each day from distant sources. World Vision helps families access loans, financial know-how, and improved agricultural practices. This leads to increased family incomes, improved nutrition, better health and greater education opportunities for children.

Education: World Vision engages with teachers, schools and communities to improve learning outcomes in education, build confidence, and teach values-based life skills. We promote the right of all children to have a quality education.

HIV and AIDS response: Through World Vision’s Hope Initiative, we work to reduce the impact of HIV and AIDS through prevention, care and advocacy. We work with children, communities and faith leaders to mobilise care for orphans and vulnerable children, and to prevent further spread of the disease.

How do religion and faith factor into the work that World Vision does?

What we do here, versus other organizations, is that we give daily bread. We have devotions once a week. We have chapel on Monday morning. We use the bible. There is a lot of singing. It’s inspiration for the soul. Everyone who works in this field needs inspiration. From World Vision, I get encouragement from my boss, from my colleagues, and from the system. We have a room upstairs dedicated to prayer where you can pray during the day. At World Vision, you are not just a worker, you are a person. We believe in spiritual leadership and we have lots of documents on what it means to be a leader doing the work of God. When colleagues from our various offices visit, we pray together. The entire World Vision organization is like a big family. We don’t see one-another as just co-workers. We’re also friends.

In terms of actual programming, how does religion factor into that?

We strongly believe there should be a Christian commitment in all the work we do. We always want to be looking at how we are helping people look at their work through the lens of spirituality.

What is the difference between a well constructed in a community by World Vision and one constructed by a secular development agency?

It’s different when you go into a community and talk pure development. With World Vision, we go into a community and look to see what churches are there or if not churches, bible groups. These are groups already in the community and they become a model. We’re able to partner with these groups. We take a very caring approach to the community and follow the chi well being concept. Our work is more than the infrastructure building. It’s social. We are spiritual beings and if you recognize that and can form special relationships with your beneficiaries then you can do a lot.

Will you only go into communities that have existing churches or church-related groups who can help you in your implementation of project activities?

No. In fact, we’ve had a project called “Peace Road” where we had different faiths working together. Children of different faiths learned about peace. In going about implementing a new project, World Vision meets with the provincial governors in the poorest districts and we ask what the poorest areas in those districts are. If there are existing community groups in those areas, then it’s just simply easier to work with them, but the lack of such groups does not preclude us from working in those areas.

How is World Vision funded?

World Vision writes a lot of proposals. Two of our bigger donors are DFID and USAID. We also have 14 countries, each of whom is a different piece of the World Vision federation, supporting us. We also receive money from child sponsorship. Our support offices also raise money from different sources. The offices get money from private donations, many of which are in the form of child sponsorships. Our U.S. office gets most of its money from Christian communities. Some people have even chosen to put World Vision in their will for after they have died.

Can you speak more specifically about your child sponsorship programs and their role in World Vision in Cambodia and as an organization?

Sponsored children are the ambassadors for their community. Through their relationship with the sponsors and their interactions and participations with World Vision’s programs and projects, the children contribute to their community and country’s development. When a sponsor supports a child, he or she supports a community. Child sponsorship establishes a relationship between a sponsor and a child in a way that personalizes the challenges of poverty and development. The sponsor makes a direct contribution to the community's goal of improving life for the child.

Sponsors’ contributions help deliver health and educational improvements and support vital development in the communities where the sponsored children live. Sponsored children participate and benefit from these programs. Sponsors receive regular progress updates.

What does the term development mean to you?

Development means the reconciliation of people’s relationships to one-another, to their communities, and to their environment. It’s all about how people treat each other better and become more humane.

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