Overview

Padek's Strategic Plan 2009-2012 adopted the following vision, mission, goal and development objectives. Padek’s mission is to build and strengthen the capacity of appropriate people’s organisations in order that they can: • Become independent quickly. • access and manage necessary resources to meet basic needs and to prosper in a sustainable way and in a way that is not detrimental to other segments of the population and future generations • support appropriate local initiatives • Network closely with government, NGOs and other people’s organisations to promote and adopt appropriate models of development and to promote sustainable patterns of development for Cambodia. • promote human rights, child rights and promote gender equity Goal: To empower disadvantaged people to improve their quality of life in a sustainable way through building and strengthening civil society organization . Development objectives Padek has four long-term objectives. Objective 1: Organization Building Civil society organisations capable of managing and coordinating resources for the total development of their communities. Objective 2: Food Security and Income Generation Civil society organisations capable of improving the food security and income of their communities. Objective 3: Education and Culture Civil society organisations able to network with government and other organisations in order to educate their communities about the value of education for all, and to nurture non-oppressive culture. Objective 4: Health Civil society organisations able to network with government and other organisations in order to promote and implement health and sanitation awareness and practices for all.

Background

Padek's funding agencies, together with the United Nations, were instrumental in supplying emergency aid to Cambodia in three year period (1979- 82) following the Vietnamese overthrow of the Khmer Rouge regime. The Cambodian people who were on the brink of hoplessness and despair in 1979 were revived to a certain degree by the generous gesture of the international community. In 1982, however the United Nations declared the emergency period over and the scale of funding for assistance dropped drastically. Throughout most of the 1980's no development aid was implemented and much emphasis were given to delivery of goods and services. Nevertheless, the agencies that were later to form Padek began to work individually in Cambodia in the 1980’s and there was some cooperation between them. 1987 was a watershed year in several ways: government rules concerning internal travel and living in the provinces were relaxed somewhat and the NGOs presence in the country began to increase. The 5 member agencies (NOVIB, FOS and Oxfam organization from Amerca and Belgium) had already been working closely together for some years (they were joined by Oxfarm Hong Kong 1990) and now decided to create a consortium called Padek. It was especially designed for the situation in Cambodia, and which would eventually become a fully Cambodian asset. The member agencies of Padek have had a long history of commitment to and involvement in the development of Cambodia. In the period leading up to the Paris Peace agreement, Padek's emphasis had mainly been on projects of a sectoral and infrastructure nature. By 1991, Padek found that it became possible to introduce a process of change in its approach, which eventually resulted in the swing away from institutional, and/or infrastructure projects and more toward an integrated approach to community and rural development. At the same time, an increase in the field presence and in the logistic complexity of the organization made it necessary to open a permanent field office in Phnom Penh and to engage the service of a permanent representative. It was also decided to increasingly recruit Cambodian staff to work alongside the expatriates in the new project areas. These project areas were selected on the basis of a range of criteria, including attention to and support for vunerable group sustainability and maximum use of resources. CAMBODIAN PARTNERS The Cambodian partners are organized groups of rural and urban poor, including Village Development Committees (VDCs), Commune Development Committees. (CDCs), self-help groups, expert committee, Commune Council, local NGOs and other local people's organisations. Furthermore, Padek collaborates closely with government authorities at district, provincial and national levels. In relation to the government, collaboration is predominately with staff from the ministries of Rural Development, of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, of Environment, of Education and Ministry of Women's affairs.

Value

Underpinning all of Padek’s work, we believe that: Involving local communities in the design and implementation of program activities encourages ownership and responsibility, leading to sustainable development Strengthening trust and solidarity within the community leads to greater efficiency and effectiveness of programs and initiatives Building the capacity of individuals to identify problems within their community and to find solutions enables the organisation and communities to respond appropriately to local needs Prioritising gender equity and diversity, good governance, participation, and advocacy as cross-cutting program issues ensures an holistic approach to sustainable development Providing best-practice transparent program support ensures the organisation remains accountable to our beneficiaries, donors and partners.

Mission

Padek’s mission is to build and strengthen the capacity of appropriate people’s organisations in order that they can: • Become independent quickly. • access and manage necessary resources to meet basic needs and to prosper in a sustainable way and in a way that is not detrimental to other segments of the population and future generations • support appropriate local initiatives • Network closely with government, NGOs and other people’s organisations to promote and adopt appropriate models of development and to promote sustainable patterns of development for Cambodia. • promote human rights, child rights and promote gender equity

Vision

An equitable, peaceful, self-reliant society where there is no poverty.

Goal

To empower disadvantaged people to improve their quality of life in a sustainable way through building and strengthening civil society organization