Phnom Penh, Cambodia – While we’ve been travelling, we’ve happened several times upon an interesting NGO (Non-Governmental Organisation, read Charity) that works with street children. Friends International, started in 1984 in Cambodia, is based across IndoChina and does fantastic work. Their website states:
Friends-International works with marginalised urban children and youth, their families and communities to become productive, independent citizens of their country. We do this by listening to and being guided by those who matter the most to us - the children and youth we work with everyday.
Exploring a little how they do this made me sense that they have developed a really good and “best practice” model that seems to be making a significant difference. Their charter would make interesting reading and a good template for many charities!
So the challenge for any NGO is that you can innovate and develop numerous ways of doing a better and more expansive job of your core mission, but it needs to be funded. So the traditional nightmare… help please Mr Westerner?
Last night we ate at Friends. It’s a highly rated restaurant and we enjoyed it immensely. It’s different in that it is a tapas bar, serving small portions of various Khmer, Asian, & Fusion dishes. Set in a former French Colonial building, the food is extremely tasty, beautifully presented, with lots of interesting flavours mixed together in creative and delicate ways. The atmosphere reflects the wonderfully energetic streets & city, full of colour & intrigue. Our meal was not expensive ($26 for both of us, inc drinks); we particularly liked the Grilled Fish with Salsa Verde & Chickpea Hummus on crisply fried flour tortillas. Service was superb, efficient, and the whole evening was a delight. Rating: 11/10.
So was that last paragraph a commercial break? In a weird twist of words – maybe! Friends the Restaurant is owned by Friends International. Quite the business model; they own four restaurants – we’ve eaten at two of them (Friends & Makphet).
But it doesn’t stop there… this is truly a “social enterprise”. Each restaurant is staffed by former street children, as part of their higher level training and re-integration back into society. Operating as Students & Teachers, both serving and cooking, they are learning and perfecting a trade that has economic currency; many graduate to be able to work in the hotels and restaurants of the city.
So is it working – try getting in without a reservation! In Phnom Penh, Friends is #1 of 278 on TripAdvisor, Romdeng #2. In Vientiane (Laos), Makphet is #1 of 119. The food is very good, but its more than that… the ethos, the atmosphere, the sense of being part of something far larger and with more purpose than eating a mere tapa… that has currency; they are doing a superb job with an innovative “integrative business model”.
Friends International – a different kind of NGO… did I mention their Frozen Raspberry & Lime Daiquiris are to die for?
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