Why this project & why Cambodia?

By Jaclyn Blanchard
September, 2023

5 minute read

“Drop by drop, the bucket is filled.”  This Cambodian proverb encourages that small deeds over time can work together to accomplish a large task.  It reminds me of parenting or relationships in general and how we have opportunities to add instruction and encouragement that ultimately lead to gradual growth in a person’s life and character.  Or of a goal that seems daunting at first, but with persistent effort over time, it can be achieved.  

         For the past seven years, my family and I have lived and served with the C&MA as marketplace ministries missionaries in Phnom Penh, the capital city of Cambodia, located in Southeast Asia.  The longer we are here, the more we can resonate with the concept that our efforts are indeed as drops in a bucket, but the humbling part of the journey has been long ago stated as a promise written in Proverbs 16:3, “Commit your way to the Lord, and your plans will be established.”  What started as a seed planted in our minds and wrenching our hearts was the global issue of human trafficking which led us on a journey to research and learn all we could about this devastating and current issue of modern day slavery.  About 10 years ago, our research led us to the organization Agape International Missions that has a vibrant and holistic ministry not only to survivors of human trafficking but also has a school in an at-risk area to work towards the prevention of children being sold into slavery.  The issue of human trafficking is broad and there are now many resources that one can find about the horrors of it as well as the implications on society. 

When we first moved to Cambodia, my husband Josh served as the Field Media Manager for Agape International Missions and he continued to serve in that role for four years.  He gained valuable experiences from learning more about the craft of media and the arts and how it is a skill that many people are eager to learn to seeing how Agape International Missions (AIM) and its programs were holistically approaching the complex issue of human trafficking, not to mention the cultural and language skills he developed.  About two years into our time volunteering with AIM and spending time in the local context, we began to see the situation with new eyes.  We began to view media as a way to help prevent human trafficking, specifically in the area of child sex trafficking which was so prevalent in the community where AIM does most of its ministry.  Ultimately sex trafficking is the result of sin and evil in the world but the societal precursors to it can be as numerous as the locations in which it is found.  Poverty is the main underlying culprit with other societal factors making contributions.  Take Cambodia for instance which is still recovering from a genocide that killed nearly two million people (one quarter of the population) in the years of 1975 to 1979.  The evil goal of the genocide was for Cambodian society to start back from “ground zero” in order to create a classless agrarian society.  Every person alive today in Cambodia has been affected by this genocide either by first or secondhand trauma or being raised by someone who has experienced first or secondhand trauma. 

The longer we are here, the more our hearts break for the Cambodian people we are living and working alongside.  The verse in Romans 15:13 has become particularly cornerstone for us: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”  The spiritual heaviness and effects of a genocide and the trauma felt here are so heavy at times that without the overflowing hope that comes only from the Holy Spirit, we could not remain here.  Instead of seeing the evil of human trafficking, we see the people who are rebuilding their lives, one step at a time; one drop in the bucket, drip by drip. 

Even still, the swift pace of modernity is being felt in Cambodia.  Even though there are still no public libraries here, smart phones can be found even in the remotest provinces.  Children everywhere have unbridled access to YouTube and TikTok and are being exposed at a very young age to explicit and inappropriate content.  In this article I will not get into the direct correlation between the pornography industry and sex trafficking, but the research available is nothing short of alarming.  We have asked ourselves the question, “What can we possibly do to make any sort of impact by way of prevention of sex trafficking in this nation?”  There are many Christian ministries and organizations in Cambodia, like AIM, with the mission to reach survivors of sex trafficking and also non-government associations like AIM and Asian Hope who started schools in rural, remote or impoverished areas to provide affordable education to children most at-risk of being trafficked.  An idea arose that involved helping organizations like these tell their stories well so that their good work could continue.

As a result, in 2020, we opened Ruang Studios, a media production company with a threefold goal:

1. Using media to support organizations and ministries that are impacting Cambodia. 

2. To train Cambodian creatives in media skills, as well as walking alongside them in discipleship and leadership development.

3. To create original media content that educates, empowers and protects the most vulnerable in Cambodia, especially those at risk of trafficking, exploitation and abuse.

Our heart to serve the Lord in Cambodia and to work towards the prevention of human trafficking has remained the same and as we have lived here and learned the language and the culture and have learned more about leadership development, we desire to pour into the emerging Christian leaders of Cambodia so that they can be leading the charge for the change for the Kingdom of God in Cambodia. We currently have six full-time staff members that we daily pour into through teaching media skills, discipleship, and through soft skills and leadership training. 

         Our most recent hire is a young Cambodian woman who has stepped into the role of Child Development Specialist creating curriculum for a new and exciting initiative we are launching. We are in the beginning stages of creating Cambodia’s first children’s TV show focused on social and emotional education. What’s so exciting is that it will be accessible to a large majority of Cambodian children, even those in the most remote provinces because it will air on YouTube.  Many of our current clients and partners in Cambodia are partnering with us as we launch this project because it is a felt need throughout Cambodia due to the inundation of modern technology without access to educational resources. We covet your prayers as we launch this initiative.

         To reframe the Cambodian proverb above, “Each drop in the bucket is a drop closer to filling the bucket.”  We are so grateful for the faithful partnership of the Body of Christ that works together for the glory of God’s Kingdom on earth. To encourage your heart further in the words of Paul in the book of Colossians, “Whatever you do, work at it with your whole being, for the Lord and not for men, because you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as your reward” (Colossians 3:23-24).