While planning my trip to Cambodia, my friends at Not For Sale made me aware of a social enterprise starting here in Cambodia. It is a group called StopStart that is based in Australia and the heart of the company is to create jobs and industry for women that are rescued out of sex trafficking.

Currently they have a factory that makes recycled bags and they are starting to produce t-shirts as well. I traveled to their factory today to meet with the staff as it has been a desire for Jedidiah to find factories just like this to work with. We agreed to work together in an effort to build their capacity, increase their awareness on logistics, sourcing and production. Their business model is still being developed, but part of the Jedidiah long term mission is to find and empower these burgeoning factories. We would love to build a Jedidiah t-shirt program with factories based on these models wherever they are in the world.

We had to say goodbye to our new friends here in Phnom Penh. It was great to be here with Aaron Chang; getting to know him and his talents first hand was a special gift to me. Also, a special thanks to Keith Kall (of World Vision USA) who pushed for this trip on our behalf. World Vision took me to places that I never would have experienced on my own. They truly travel to places no one else goes, loving people and serving others daily.

To say I am inspired by their work is not saying enough. My heart and mind are pierced with the sights, sounds, smells and images of this week. I will do my best to process everything, giving honor to the people I met and supporting World Vision…

I leave you with some of Aaron’s images below. On behalf of the Jedidiah team, thanks for following along…

Kevin Murray