A couple of months ago I wrote about the time I went to prison in Cambodia. Perhaps you’ll remember. Now there’s more to that story I want to tell you about today. My NGO Partner – This Life – is embarking on an ambitious new project called “Diversion”. Here’s why that’s important to me and why I’m sharing this with you today.
Unlike many other places in the world, young boys – from 14 years of age up to 18 – when accused of a crime (even a minor offense) are kept in prison (not jail) while awaiting their day in court. Sometimes that means months of waiting – locked up in prison – before they even get to a trial. Just imagine what it must be like for these boys trying to survive in small, overcrowded cells full of grown men.
(Incidentally, one of my good friends in Cambodia had this exact thing happen to her son. She’s told me way more about that experience than I can share with you here. I’ll simply say it wasn’t pretty.)
Here’s what Se (pronounced “sigh”) Chhin my good friend and the leader at This Life has to say about this situation.
I’ve spent years leading This Life’s programs, and if there is one moment I keep returning to, it’s the moment of arrest. A boy stands at a fork in the road. One path leads into the system . . . totally alone. The other path leads him home. The law already gives us the option to choose the second path. What it needs is someone to activate it.
That’s what diversion means to me. It is not about erasing what happened. It is about meeting a boy — at his most vulnerable moment — and choosing to invest in him rather than lose him. When we get that moment right, he stays connected to his mother, stays in school, and has the chance to grow into an adult who gives back to his family and gives forward to his community, rather than one the system has already given up on.
This is why I care so much about getting this right, and why your support means so much. For those of you seeking more information about how this Diversion Program works in more detail, you’ll find it right here.
So . . . there you have it.
Not a typical opportunity for service through our Foundation,
but one so compelling that I simply cannot turn away from it.
Perhaps you’ll feel the same.
This is your opportunity to support the fine work being done by This Life, and change the future for hundreds of boys in need of a second chance. |
If you’re interested knowing about the work that our other Cambodian NGO partners are doing in service to those most in need, you can click here.
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Others need a bit of help.
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We Help People Help Themselves
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