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Ockenden Profile

From Ockenden International to Ockenden Cambodia

CAMBODIA IN CONTEXT
Cambodia’s recent history has been turbulent. A former French colony, Cambodia’s King Sihanouk secured the country’s independence in 1954.  Any resulting peace and prosperity was however short-lived as Cambodia’s strategic geo-political position - bordering Vietnam, led to its increasing embroilment in the Vietnam War. American and South Vietnamese troops invaded the country in 1970 to eradicate Vietnamese communist forces but were unsuccessful. Such action contributed to Cambodia’s destabilisation, and facilitated the rise of the Marxist insurgency group, the Khmer Rouge.  Led by Paris-educated intellectuals, of whom Pol Pot is the most well known, the Khmer Rouge insurgency was focused on rural areas, but by April 1975 they were able to secure the capital Phnom Penh and declared Cambodia, the Kingdom of Kampuchea. Declaring the onset of Year Zero, the Khmer Rouge proceeded to empty the cities of people, and pursuing a policy of forced migration, pushed the Cambodian populace onto the land in a massive collectivisation of land and labour. All educated or skilled people were executed, and starvation closely followed. Whilst Cambodia’s killing fields reveal that thousands upon thousands of Cambodian’s died, no clear picture is known - however scholars estimate that Year Zero claimed between 1 and 2 million lives.

In 1979, the Khmer Rouge’s absolute hold of power was loosened by an invasion of Vietnamese troops, who perceived the Khmer Rouge to be destabilising their country. The 1980s saw massive refugee movements and continued fighting between the Government, Khmer Rouge and other insurgency forces (such as the monarchist group, Funcipec).  Western and Thai support to the Khmer Rouge, Funcipec and others ensured constant military opposition to the Vietnamese backed government in Phnom Penh.

In 1991, the Paris Peace Accords were agreed between the principal fighting factions and put in place UNTAC, the UN’s largest ever peace-keeping mission. In 1993, the first free elections were held for 21 years and a government was formed under the constitutional monarch, King Sihanouk.  The agreements of the peace accords did not hold and the Khmer Rouge boycotted the election, choosing instead to pursue their guerrilla war. 
The Khmer Rouge had retreated to the Thai border area, raising considerable revenue by supporting the deforestation of Cambodia and logging of precious hardwoods through to Thailand, and exploiting the gem trade. In the months following the election, a government-sponsored amnesty secured the first defections from Khmer ranks, with more defections occurring in 1994 when the Khmer Rouge was finally outlawed by the Cambodian government.

An uneasy coalition of Prince Ranariddh’s National United Front and Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party ended in July 1997, when Hun Sen followed up accusations that Ranarridh was absorbing Khmer Rouge defectors into his ranks, with a coup and named later as an event.  This led again to a large-scale movement of people to camps on the Thai border, and Hun Sen assumed sole leadership of Cambodia.  Elections in September 1998 and year 2003 returned Hun Sen to this position.

INTERNALLY DISPLACED PEOPLE & RETURNEES
In 1999, after three decades of civil war, Cambodia was finally at peace and approximately 370,000 Cambodian refugees were being repatriated from camps in Thailand by UNHCR. Many former Khmer Rouge fighting zones were integrated with the government and opened for resettlement for those who landless and homeless. The resettlement of refugees was a task that the Cambodian government delegated to the international community as it strived to cope with its own internal problems - economic, political, social and environmental.  Traditionally rural farmers, those refugees chose to either settle in their ancestral villages hence returning to their homeland and others chose to settle in new villages where land was available but also where malaria and mines were endemic. However, constraints to their lives are enormous: landmines, lack of regular employment, poor infrastructure and road access away from schools, hospitals and markets constrain their ability to secure food for their family on a daily basis as well as access to health care and educational needs for their children.

OCKENDEN INTERNATIONAL
Ockenden is a non-governmental, non-religious British organisation which was founded in 1951 to serve the needs of refugees, displaced people, returnees and their host communities.  Operational in countries often neglected by the wider international aid community, Ockenden’s activities are focused on developing the ability of those most vulnerable to poverty to meet their own needs and also those of their family. Using participatory techniques, Ockenden’s project programming seeks to build on and develop further the existing capabilities of refugees, internally displaced people, returnees and their host communities, so that they are able to address their own needs in a sustainable way.

Ockenden has been working in Cambodia with displaced people and returnees since 1995.  Ockenden’s approach is to work in partnership with (usually fledgling) local organisations – providing programming and organisational support.  By supporting local organisations and building their capacities to meet their community’s needs, the benefits of Ockenden’s work will extend beyond the lifetime of Ockenden in that country.

The Annual Conference in November 2006, beneficiaries and partners declared “mission of Ockenden International accomplished”.  Ockenden International departed from Cambodia but it did not mark the end of its work because an independent local successor organization called “OCKENDEN Cambodia” continues.

In total Ockenden, in serving those 23,537 displaced families worked with 16 direct partner NGOs or Community Based Organisations and promoted 20 different livelihood or infrastructure improvement activities over its 9 years in Cambodia. And thanks to the past and current donors of Ockenden and Ockenden Cambodia: 1- Besom Foundation; 2- Charles Hayward Foundation; 3- Japanese Embassy; 4- Canadian Embassy; 5- British Embassy; 6- Belgium Embassy; 7- New Zealand Embassy; 8- Swiss Embassy; 9- The European Union; 11- The Kadoorie Charitable Foundation; 12- DFID; 13- Food Security Initiatives Fund-CIDA; 14- NLCB/Community Fund; 15- Netherlands Embassy; 16- Australia Embassy; 17- Royal Gov’t of Cambodia (ADB/NRDP); 18- Jerzey Overseas Aid (JOA) and 19- DANIDA/DFIF (through The Asia Foundation).

OCKENDEN CAMBODIA
OCKENDEN has been successfully implemented its integrated development projects in the North-west of Cambodia. These facts have encouraged the Ministry of Rural Development, Provincial Departments of Rural Development, Provincial Departments of Planning, OCKENDEN itself and its LNGO and CBO partners to decide to continue its unique culture of development in the long run, until the country achieves acceptable standards of living for all of its citizens.

As part its exit strategy, localisation from UK based Ockenden International to OCKENDEN Cambodia has been implemented accordingly. OCKENDEN Cambodia has been localised from 07th January 2007; registered with Ministry of Interior on 14th February 2007 and a special handover ceremony took place on 2nd May 2007.

Presently OCKENDEN Cambodia is working in partnership with nine local Cambodian NGOs and 12 Community Based Civil Society Organisations in four remote north-west and north-east provinces of Cambodia (Banteay Meanchey; Battambang, Otdar Meanchey and Rattanakiri), with a focus on those who are the most vulnerable – often widows with limited extended families and hence the limited support, the elderly and disabled. Managed by bottom up and decentralisation approach of our experienced staff OCKENDEN Cambodia focus on supporting nine major activities through its local partner organisations and Community Based Civil Society Organisations:
 
1.    Self Help Group (SHG)- To increase household income through the provision of micro-credit (SHG establishment)
2.    Agriculture resources- To increase household incomes and improve livelihood through the provision of agricultural and livestock inputs.
3.    Cow Bank- To establish cow bank committees which will enable poor farmer to receive cows.
4.    Vocational Skills Training- the household incomes will increase through skilled job employment and the creation of small business ventures
5.    Literacy- To increase abilities in reading, writing and calculating up to the level of completion of primary level of the non- formal education through literacy courses.
6.    Community Forestry- To establish community forestry and strengthen human resource management capacity for sustainable environment.
7.    Domestic violent and Gender awareness- To raise Gender & Environmental awareness.
8.    Water and Sanitation- To improve access to clean water and family health care.
9.    Capacity Building- To increase the management skills of Partner Organisations, Community Based Civil Society Organisations and Local Authorities.

- OCKENDEN supports the development of the local partner organisations, Community Based Civil Society Organisations and Commune Council Members through training, mentoring and other support OCKENDEN aims to build their capacity, at both a programming and organisational level – so in the long run they are able to access funds from other international donors.
- OCKENDEN supports the implementation of Decentralisation and Good Governance through delivery of training courses on topics related to Decentralisation to local partner organisations, Community Based Civil Society Organisations, Local Govenment Officials including CCs and key villagers.
- OCKENDEN supports the formation and strengthening of NRM Civil Society Organisations through delivery of CSPPM programme in the North-East province-Rattanakiri.
  For more information, please contact Ockenden Cambodia, Road 1/69, Sophy village, Kampong Svay commune, Sisophon.  Tel (855-54) 71 00 34  Fax (855-54) 95 89 40; e-mail: ockenden.siso@online.com.kh; www.ockenden-cambodia.org