Giving Back: Housing Projects with World Housing

We are all about sharing the good vibes! And this brand was created as a way for us to share those good vibes and inspiration with all of you, and in turn, every time you wear one of our shirts, you are also helping to share those positive messages we put on them with the people around you!

Did you also know that a portion of all profits is donated to housing projects that we work on with WORLD HOUSING?

For 2019/2020 we have been donating a portion of all profits to the Girls 2 Grannies Village with World Housing. In partnership with the Cambodian Children’s Fund, World Housing is building a new community in the Steung Meanchey district of Phnom Pehn. 

This village is specifically designed for women and girls — it gives girls who have been orphaned or abandoned a supportive, safe place to live so that they can attend school instead of being forced to pick garbage to survive. It will also provide a home for the “Grannies” of the community where they can nurture the younger women and girls.  This village will house 200 of these vulnerable women currently living in Steung Meanchey.

We are changing ‘the rules for girls’!

We are excited about this project as it its changing the rules for girls! 

“Chbab Srey”, or “Rules for Girls,” is a traditional moral code of behavior that dictates a subordinate place for Cambodian women in society. Cambodian girls face great pressure to drop out of school early to go to work in order to survive. They live in dangerous conditions picking garbage while living in slums surrounding the dump.

Significant inequalities also exist in accessing education in Cambodia and despite having gender parity at enrollment, the dropout rates for girls are much higher. When women & girls are given a secure and supportive place to live they can stay in school. This safe housing is the foundation and enables continued access to education that will break the cycle of poverty for the next generation of Cambodian women.

Steung Meanchey history.

The Steung Meanchey district of Phnom Penh was once one of the largest garbage dumps in Southeast Asia. Serving as the disposal site for hospitals, chemical companies and heavy industry, Steung Meanchey was classified as one of the most toxic and dangerous environments in the world. Despite closing in 2009, Steung Meanchey continues to serve as an entry-point in Phnom Penh for destitute families who have no option but to try and make a living by scavenging and collecting recyclables from the garbage dump. Living in absolute poverty in survival mode they are under constant threat of violence, sexual abuse, human trafficking, and disease.

It all starts with a home.

 Without a safe home, children were forced to work in the dumps in order for them or their families to survive. So in working with World Housing and the CCF we are helping to provide this key element in hopes that it will change the trajectory of children and women in Cambodia, and to stop the poverty cycle.