OUR VISION
We hope and pray for a future in which those we serve experience the freedom, dignity and fullness of life that comes when we enter into relationship with Jesus Christ.
EIN: 26-3359068
Our Office
51 W Monroe St
Franklin, IN 46131
(317) 494-6226
Monday – Friday:
Monday – Friday:
9:00 am – 5:00 pm
BYTAVI Boutique
51 W Monroe St
Franklin, IN 46131
(317) 494-6226
Tuesday & Wednesday:
Tuesday & Wednesday:
11:00 am – 3:00 pm
Thursday – Saturday:
Thursday – Saturday:
10:30 am – 5:00 pm
A Hand Up, Not a Handout
Opinions: It is said everyone has one, and everyone is entitled to one. Yet here in Cambodia I have found people do not have opinions, or at least they do not share them. When I ask, “What do you think?”, I get blank looks. This has been a struggle for me, because I like others’ to have input. It’s how I get to know them. It’s how I see if they understand. After many hours a thinking and trying to figure this out, my conclusion is the Cambodian people are either the boss or the servant.
The boss has the power–the complete say in everything. The servant has no voice. They follow everything the boss says; without question, without reason, they just follow. This does not only affect their jobs, it spills over into the house, and even into ministry.
A few examples: A mother tells the daughter it is time to be married. The daughter gets married. Even if she doesn’t love the man, even if she is not ready to get married, simply because the mother says. A hotel owner gives tasks to the worker, seven days a week for 10-12 hours each day. The workers don’t question the amount of work. They just do the tasks. A bar manager tells the server to keep the customers happy. Even if that means her being touched in wrong ways, even if she is asked to leave with them.
This type of leadership has made it much harder to teach the girls how to be independent or how to think on their own. I have been trying for months for the older girls to take ownership of the cafe. Once I realized the boss/servant dynamic here, I knew I would have to give it to them, they would never take it. Finally during the past week I saw some light in two situations. The first one began with them creating specials without my direction. They made pineapple cookies, peanut butter+chocolate cookies, and chicken tortilla soup–all without my suggestions or recipes. Then the second one involved each month’s job rotation. So instead of my placing them, I wrote each job on the board, I handed them the marker and said you all talk and decide who works where. I gave them 15 minutes. When I returned, they had started to work and think things through. It took them almost a half hour, yet they finished without my help. Their set-up and reasoning was not what I would have done. They are learning and will do things differently next month.
Empowering people isn’t about giving them everything. It’s about providing them the ability to make their own choices and think on their own. It would be much easier to come in, fix their house, buy them rice, pay for schooling, and give clothes. Yes, all of these things are good, just like putting ice on an injury. But these are temporary. Skills like teaching them how to think, how to problem solve, and how to reason will continue throughout their lives. It’s about a hand up instead of a handout.
By Ryana DeArmond, Feb 2013
Cook with Love!
Valentines Day is around the corner, and it’s easy to get caught up in the expectations that sometimes surround the holiday. With flowers to buy and cards to sign and dinner reservations to make, the true meaning of love can get lost in the shuffle of our culture’s commercialism. The Bible defines love differently:
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” 1 Cor. 13:4-7
Sometimes love doesn’t announce itself at the front door; it slips in quietly through the back, revealing itself through acts of service to others. This Valentine’s Day, why not prepare a home-cooked meal for the one you love? CGI can even help you find the perfect recipe! There are dozens of amazing dishes in the pages of The Green Mango Café Cookbook, compiled from many of the recipes used at CGI’s Culinary Training Center in Battambang, Cambodia.
Why not treat your spouse or family to homemade cinnamon rolls for breakfast, pan-fried fish with ginger and miso for dinner, or lemongrass-coconut bars for a sweet dessert? All these recipes (and a whole lot more!) can be found in the cookbook.
And the best part of all? All proceeds from cookbook sales go straight to funding CGI’s programs for at-risk women in Cambodia, so the love can be felt all the way on the other side of the world!
You can purchase a hard copy or digital version here:
http://www.cgidev.wpengine.com/cookbook.php#.UQvotGjJDzJ
When Evil Prevails. . .
“All that is required for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing.”
I first heard this quote when teaching the play, The Diary of Anne Frank, to eighth graders at Greenwood Middle School. Nineteenth century British statesman Edmund Burke’s observation certainly applied to Hitler’s regime and the Holocaust of the 30’s and 40’s.
This same idea of doing nothing haunts me now when I think about human trafficking. In the areas where CGI works, it is very common for families, mothers and fathers to traffick their daughters in order to put food on the table. As CGI president and founder Chris Alexander often notes, “Most of the world is just one crisis away from making a bad decision.”
The above photo was taken outside a Beer Garden/Karaoke Bar in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Though these girls seem “of age”, CGI has seen girls as young as 5-years-old being exploited for sex.
The United Nations Global Initiative to Fight Trafficking (UN-GIFT) estimates that 2.5 million people worldwide are in forced labor (including sexual exploitation) with 56% happening in Asian and Pacific countries.
Meet the victims:
• The majority of trafficking victims are between 18 and 24 years of age.
• An estimated 1.2 million children are trafficked each year.
• 95% of victims experienced physical or sexual violence during trafficking (based on data from selected European countries).
• 43% of victims are used for forced commercial sexual exploitation, with 98 per cent women and girls.
• 32% of victims are used for forced economic exploitation, of whom 56 per cent are women and girls.
• Many trafficking victims have at least middle-level education
Let’s not be guilty of walking by the problem and looking the other way.
By Joyce Long / photo: Jocelyn Post
Fighting for Their Smiles
My name is Vanessa Alexander. I’m a sophomore at the University of Indianapolis studying Social Work with a minor in Child and Youth Programs. About six years ago my life was changed when I was exposed to the injustice of human trafficking. Since then I have been blessed to have some awesome experiences that have grown my passion for fighting this injustice. In high school I wanted to be a fashion designer, but as my dad opened my eyes to the horrors of this injustice, proving that something could be done, I decided to rethink how to spend my life.
When my dad founded Center for Global Impact (CGI), God started an amazing work. Two summers ago I had the opportunity to travel with CGI on a vision trip to Cambodia. My heart was filled with joy as I saw the faces of the precious young girls and sweet women working at seamstress workshops. It once again solidified that I knew God was calling me to fight for their smiles! In the past two years, I unfortunately haven’t been able to return to Cambodia but have been blessed to still stay connected with CGI. Now I spend a few hours each week working in the CGI office. Let me tell you…I LOVE IT! I have learned so much.
My best friend Lindsey has the same heart for the impoverished suffering from injustice. She also traveled to Cambodia whenI went two summers ago. God grew our friendship and our passions in a way that prepared us to come to the University of Indianapolis as advocates against human trafficking. Little did we know God was also working in five other students. Our paths soon crossed. Because of our passion about raising awareness for human trafficking, we decided to start Keys, a registered UIndy student organization focused on the injustice of human trafficking. So far we’ve shared what human trafficking means in each dormitory as well as selling byTavi products! Next semester I hope to be a “Campus Rep” for CGI, which will allow me to help more people get involved in fighting human trafficking.
As I reflect on the last few years, I realize how God has changed me, but never would I have expected Him to open so many doors. Human trafficking has recently become a hot topic. Yet, I think about how many people said, “No, I don’t know what it is.” I know I am not the only twenty-year-old who is hungry to make a difference. Sometimes it’s just hard to see that a difference can be made with statistics like twenty-seven million people currently trapped in slavery. CGI is making that number not look so daunting. I know specific names of women and young girls who are having their lives changed. That is why I want to devote my life to fighting for these girls. This year my goal is to make it known that YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE. It doesn’t matter if you are only 20 years old. You can change the world.
Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young,
but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.”
—1 Timothy 4:1