How the “2014 Business Chicks Cycle Challenge” came about and how I first got to hear about this
Article from Business Chicks newsletter, July 2013:
We fell in love with Somaly Mam last year so we've teamed up with PROJECT FUTURES to get behind her incredible work.
Somaly was the guest speaker at Business Chicks breakfasts in Melbourne and Sydney and she won our hearts forever.
Born into a tribal minority in the Mondulkiri province of Cambodia, Somaly began life at the bottom. She has endured horrors most cannot begin to imagine. Forced to work in a brothel with other children, Somaly was raped and tortured on a daily basis. One night, Somaly was made to watch as her best friend was savagely murdered. On another occasion she was punished by being locked in a cellar with snakes and scorpions. Despite the life to which Somaly was subjected, she never gave in and, incredibly, escaped with the help of a French aid worker in 1993.
Somaly could never forget the other girls left behind and in 1996 Somaly founded AFESIP – Acting for Women in Distressing Situations – a charity to fund a proper centre to help prostitutes in Cambodia. AFESIP is now an organisation that ensures victims not only escape their slavery, but have the emotional and economic strength to face the future with hope. AFESIP has now changed the lives of thousands of women and girls.
In 2007, the US-based Somaly Mam Foundation was born, founded by Somaly and two American friends, Jared Greenberg and Nicholas Lumpp. The foundation is a funding vehicle to support anti-trafficking organisations and to provide victims and survivors with a platform from which their voices can be heard around the world.
After meeting Somaly and hearing her story we wanted to get behind her work – that’s why we’ve teamed up with PROJECT FUTURES for the 2014 Business Chicks Cycle Challenge.
The 12 day challenge in February next year will see you cycle across Cambodia – visiting local villages and temples. You’ll also get to see Somaly’s life changing work first hand when you visit two of Somaly’s centres and meet the very brave girls who are the survivors of sex trafficking. You’ll also share a special dinner with Somaly herself, an experience you’ll never forget.
The cycle challenge will be physical, but you’ll also need to take on the challenge of raising a minimum of $7000 in the lead up to the trip. By registering, you will be committed to raising funds and awareness for Somaly Mam and her work in Cambodia with AFESIP. AFESIP run three Cambodian centres that rescue, rehabilitate, reintegrate and educate women and children who have been forced into commercial sexual exploitation.
PROJECT FUTURES was started in June 2000 by Premium member Stephanie Lorenzo. They are a non-profit organisation that raises awareness and funding for programs dedicated to combating human trafficking and sexual exploitation in Australia and South-East Asia. To date they have raised over 1.1 million dollars through a passionate network of young professionals committed to innovating the way our society contributes to charity.
PROJECT FUTURES has a long standing partnership with The Somaly Mam Foundation and AFESIP. They have run seven international challenges donating over $530,000 directly to her work.
