EMBASSY PHNOM PENH'S NOMINATION FOR THE

UNCLAS PHNOM PENH 000883 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR S/GWI E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KPAO KWMN PHUM PREL SUBJECT: EMBASSY PHNOM PENH'S NOMINATION FOR THE INTERNATIONAL WOMAN OF COURAGE AWARD REF: STATE 111471 ¶1. Embassy Phnom Penh is proud to nominate Chen Reaksmey for the 2010 International Woman of Courage Award. There are a number of Cambodian women who demonstrate courage and leadership in the pursuit of women's human rights and advancement. Reaksmey stood out from the crowd due to her recent accomplishments, valor, and success in bringing vital information, hope, and dignity to an often neglected group of female drug addicts in Cambodia. The Embassy is pleased to have the opportunity to recognize Reaksmey's work, courage and compassion. ¶2. CANDIDATE: NAME: Chen Reaksmey JOB TITLE: Program Supervisor Korsang Setrey (Build Women) DOB: 25 May 1981 COB: Cambodia CITIZENSHIP: Cambodian ADDRESS: House 48, Street 480, Phnom Penh, Cambodia TELEPHONE: 099-646-618 EMAIL: hollis3387@yahoo.com PASSPORT: N0667559 LANGUAGE: Khmer and some English Background: Reaksmey is a vibrant, positive, and passionate woman whose self-possession, easy smile, and enthusiasm immediately make a lasting impact on anyone who meets her. One would never guess that her background is marked with hardship and personal shame, or that her chosen profession is emotionally grueling and puts her in danger's way each and every day. As program supervisor for a harm reduction NGO, Reaksmey provides clean needles, counseling, health, HIV/AIDS and other vital information to female drug users in Cambodia. She has also presented to international conferences on the innovative peer outreach conducted by herself and her staff and the need to focus more energy and resources on female drug addicts in a country where sex workers and drug addicts are typically seen as criminals and shunned by society. Reaksmey is an emerging leader whose work helps to diminish the spread of HIV/AIDS, drug use and trafficking in Cambodia. Reaksmey comes from an impoverished family in provincial Cambodia. By the age of 15 she was sent to Phnom Penh to find work to help support her family. Reaksmey had only attended 2 years of school and could not read or write in her own Khmer language. As is the case with many young, uneducated girls from the provinces, Reaksmey was forced to accept employment in the informal sex industry in order to provide for her family and survive in the city. She worked as a beer girl and in a karaoke bar, became pregnant, and after her daughter was born began to use drugs in order to cope with her increasingly desperate situation. Reaksmey saw the hopelessness which surrounded her and was determined to create a better future for her daughter, herself, and anyone else she could reach. She approached Korsang, a USG-supported harm reduction NGO which provides counseling, health, and other vital information to drug users, individuals with HIV/AIDS, and sex workers. From client, to volunteer, to employee, Reaksmey picked up the pieces of her life, ceased using drugs, and extricated herself from the sex industry. Now a program supervisor at Korsang, Reaksmey demonstrates bravery, leadership and compassion in her daily ventures into the most dangerous areas of Phnom Penh to provide HIV/AIDS and STD awareness training, clean needles, and counseling on the dangers of drug use. Reaksmey has been instrumental in the effort to focus more energy and resources on female drug addicts and has helped to establish an overnight shelter for addicts and their children. Harm reduction projects continue to face substantial political, social and financial obstacles in Cambodia, where the stigma and social exclusion associated with drug use and HIV make work in the field demanding and dangerous. Reaksmey's work puts her in direct conflict with both regular citizens and government officials who do not understand the concept of harm reeducation and rehabilitation. She has encountered intimidation from police, and Korsang's shelter has been moved five times due to the disapproval of the surrounding community. However, Reaksmey's outreach efforts have resulted in improved social understanding, increased awareness of the need for humane and equitable treatment for drug users, and more services for female addicts and their often addicted children. Reaksmey truly is a bright light, role model, and leader in an otherwise dark environment. Embassy Phnom Penh believes she embodies all of the necessary qualities - and more- to become the Department of State's 2010 International Woman of Courage. ¶3. Reaksmey has been informed of her nomination. ¶4. Post point of contact is Political Officer Amy Canon at canonal@state.gov. RODLEY