Answering Some of Your Questions

How did Remember Nhu get it's name?


The overall organization, which I like to think of as an umbrella, is called Remember Nhu. This is how it is promoted in the States and other Western, developed countries to raise awareness about the issue of human trafficking and to raise money.

In the actual countries, however, there are multiple homes which are not referred to as "Remember Nhu" homes. They are each named Help Cambodia, Help Thailand, etc. (based on the country.) For instance, if you were to talk to a house mother in one of the houses and mention Remember Nhu, she wouldn't know what you're talking about. So, I picture these homes as smaller spheres underneath the umbrella. Each home has it's own personality, it's own sustainability, it's own girls (they don't typically switch girls), it's own house mothers and fathers. I'm not even sure if the girls are aware of other homes like theirs, honestly. But each home is created, funded, and maintained by RNhu.

Sorry, a little sidetracked. So, the name...

Nhu is the name of a girl who Carl and Laura (the founders of RNhu) met in Phnom Penh. Missionaries (Friends of Carl and Laurie's) had led Nhu to belief in Jesus Christ and noticed that Nhu had gone missing (she had been sold by her grandmother as a result of becoming a Christian.) Nhu had begged her grandmother to use part of the money to send her to beauty school so she could start a salon and support the family instead of working in the trade. They told Carl and Laurie about Nhu, so Carl and Laurie trekked over to talk to Nhu and work out how she could be funded to go to school and stay out of the trade. Carl and Laurie were introduced to the sheer magnitude of the issue, and decided to make a home to keep more girls out of the industry and give them an opportunity to be educated and have a sustainable career.


On a completely unrelated note....
A little about my personal (but definitely still related to LIFTED) life.
Sam, you play guitar, too?

Yes, I do!! I play piano as well. I love to sing and write music. I've been trained in classical and commercial voice performance as well as composition (only a little) That's actually how I first became acquainted with LIFTED!

Before the first LIFTED event (which was only supposed to be a one-time event)Cat asked me to play a set of my original music in a line-up of about 4 music groups/music artists. The whole group that put on the event are all close friends of mine from high school and music stuff, community, and church stuff. Carl and Laurie decided to support LIFTED as an organization of events like the first one on different campuses, at churches, retreats to raise awareness and funds. Thus, the opportunity for this internship AND the opportunity to play more of my music at future shows!

You can hear some of my songs here on my myspace.


So, that kind of nicely segues into the other question... what else will I be doing with LIFTED other than computer work?

Since LIFTED is small, I'm definitely a part of the brains of the whole thing. A lot of my hours I've already logged have been in meetings and conversations with Cat brainstorming about the future of LIFTED and how it can be improved (that's where a lot of my anthropology training and mindset is being used.) I'm helping plan the events we have this semester and am definitely helping to develop events in the further future. That's everything from what bands will be (or could be) playing, the venue, our contacts, info booth set-up... I mean, every detail of what goes into the event, I help plan! Which is awesome!!

And then on top of that there's this trip I'm on right now, visiting the RNhu homes in Cambodia and Thailand (3 all together), getting to know Carl and Laurie, getting to know the girls and how everything works. I'm definitely collected a lot about the culture and history to see how that plays into everything (especially since RNhu is a Christ-centered organization, and the culture is predominantly Buddhist)

AND there's the fact I get to play my music at some events!! I'm actually also working on an EP (a small album of 4-5 songs) hopefully out by May, and everything I'm doing with LIFTED is definitely integrated in what I'm writing.


Okay, I hoped that help clear some things up! Keep asking questions as you have them. I can't wait to share more about what I'm learning here and how I can apply anthropology to benefit the people here, RNhu, and LIFTED.

Cat, Stef, and I with the girls at Help Cambodia in Phnom Penh



Me getting my hair cut at Agape Salon by Nhu!!


Playing games with the girls at Help Cambodia



We'll be back February 6th, and I'll be updating shortly thereafter!
-Sam

Finally! An Update... from southeast asia!

So, Catherine and I are in Thailand!!! We've been gone since the 22nd, and I was hoping to update before leaving but, as is the case before any big trip, things were a little hectic.

Right now we're having a nice afternoon rain. We just ate some noodles, veggies, and chicken at a local restaurant (staple dish here) that also makes homemade cakes (definitely NOT a staple here, so we ate up!!) Catherine is playing the guitar, and we're preparing to go visit the Red Light district this evening to see girls at work. Remember Nhu exists to prevent girls from ever getting to this place, so it will be very beneficial to see what exactly we're preventing.

Last week we were in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. We visited the RNhu home there, which houses about 25 girls from age 7 to about 17. Half of the girls are Khmi (Cambodian) and the other half are Vietnamese refugees, and therefore are illegal residents. These girls in particular come from the river, which is a highly concentrated area of Vietname refugees. 70% of all Vietnamese girls on the river are trafficked. They are either rented or sold. Because the refugees cannot get a real job, their only real options are to collect recyclables, beg (which is an industry in itself, more on that later), or to sell a child. While in Phnom Penh, we visited the river twice and passed out fresh fruit to the children and some adults. This put a whole new light on the significance of prevention. Some of the girls we laughed with on the riverside will be sold or rented very soon.

We'll be going to Chaing Mai tomorrow until the 4th, then back to Bangkok to fly back home. There are 2 girls homes there which we will stay in.

I'm collecting so much information culturally as well as what ministries are here working against trafficking. I'm gathering about the local Church, but understand I'm only seeing blips. Everything I see and taste and experience here I want to collect!! I'm saving it all up in my heart and brain and can't wait to be able to go back through everything to sort it and see more of how the anthropological difference can be applied here.

preliminary internship doings

I guess I could explain how I got involved with LIFTED events.

This time last year, my good friends Catherine and Jess invited me to play music for what they called a "benefit concert." I was looking to play more, and was really excited to do it for a good cause. Catherine, who was the visionary for the event, said the event was called LIFTED. It was to be a one-time event in Raleigh to raise money and awareness for Remember Nhu.

Carl and Laurie, the founders of RNhu, were impressed with the outcome of the LIFTED event, and flew Catherine and Jess to Ohio to talk about the potential of future LIFTED events.

What came out of that meeting was a "go" on a pilot year for LIFTED as a NPO in and of itself, directly partnered with RNhu. Catherine is a full-time 5th grade teacher at a year-round school, so this year (April 09-April 10) was and is to see if Catherine could be employed as a full-time employee of RNhu and LIFTED. Catherine takes her weeks of track out to work full-time with LIFTED events, but also finds herself working on these things in and during school days.

So, when I approached Catherine and Jess last summer about possibly doing this as my internship with her, she was so excited at the thought of having someone who could give LIFTED attention full-time, and someone who could help her with things she doesn't always have the time to do.

When we got the "go" for the internship, Catherine began sending e-mails and informing me on the current and future goings-on of LIFTED. So, I've kind of been working on things unofficially since December.



This was Catherine and I's first official LIFTED meeting, which we decided will be every Monday and will be called "Monday Funday!"





This is an event we did last Saturday, January 9th, which we called a "Spark"
The Spark was a coffeehouse-style event, very casual, to inform those in the area who were familiar with the event we did last April about our current status, what's going on with us, and our upcoming trip to Thailand and Cambodia. It gave these people a chance to give money towards this trip and to commit to prayer as we travel. I played some of my music at the event, and spoke a little about my role as an intern as well.



We put maps on the walls for some nice aesthetics :)





Catherine, singing and playing guitar during the casual dessert & coffee time.



Jess and I, waiting for our turns to play and sing!

More on LIFTED's partnerships with North Ridge Church and Jess Ray & the Rag Tag Army (music) to follow!

the internship - a basic overview

This blog is primarily to satisfy my requirements for getting college credit from Appalachian State University during my internship with Ohio-based non-profit organization, REMEMBER NHU (specifically with their NC branch entitled LIFTED.)

It will be interesting balancing my academic requirements, and my personal thoughts and ties to this NPO, and the cause in general. As a forewarning, this blog may be a crazy mix of both academic observations and personal thoughts.

ME- a snapshot

Name: Samantha Crowder
Age: 22
Hometown: Raleigh, NC
Education: pending B.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies (Cultural Anthropology and Creative Writing) from Appalachian State University in Boone, NC. We'll see about that diploma after this internship!
Interests: cultures, serving, art (in all different ways!), tea, writing, making music, traveling

LIFTED - a snapshot

LIFTED is a non-profit organization based out of Raleigh, and linked in partnership with Ohio-based NPO Remember Nhu. Remember Nhu exists to extinguish the use of children in sexual slavery. UNICEF estimates that approximately one million children are sold into sexual slavery each year. There are houses in Thailand, Cambodia, Burma, and other countries. These houses function similarly orphanages, with house and dorm parents. The houses provide education for the children, so they may be able to stay out of the industry.

Remember Nhu works primarily through prevention, meaning, taking children who are at high risk for entering the sex slave industry (impoverished families, recent death of one of both parents, etc) and putting them in the homes before they have a chance to live within that industry. From what I understand, however, Remember Nhu also makes relationships with girls already in the industry, and give them options to escape.

LIFTED partners with RNhu by putting on one-night events in the States to inform and ignite our generation to combat the emergency of global sex trafficking. There is music, media, and speakers. Attendees are encouraged to donate money and/or purchase merchandise, which goes directly to Remember Nhu.


Sam + LIFTED! What will that look like?

Educational objectives:
- better understand how anthropologists apply skills and knowledge in public and private agencies/services.
- understand the work of professionals in NPOs, ministry based and non-ministry based, and to gain awareness of possible job opportunities
- apply critical thinking skills
- develop oral and written communication skills
- develop time management skills
- specifically, to better understand how an anthropological approach to non-profit humanitarian work and ministry can directly benefit the agency/ministry, the people they serve to give aid to, and the information/media with which they use to raise awareness.

Means of accomplishing these objectives:
- keep this blog!
- reporting weekly to Dr. Keefe, my advisor from App
- responsible for specific tasks including
(a) gathering anthropological data during the Vision Trip, including notes, statistics photos, videos, personal thoughts and reactions, as well as collecting reactions from other team members (Catherine, Stef)
(b) using this info to more seamlessly and efficiently translate this data to our culture to raise awareness and funds.
(c) use this translation in media at events (videos, pamphlets, posters, art, and music)
(d) create anthropological/informational resources for people interested both in LIFTED events and helping RNhu
(e) meet & greets at events, some speaking during events, setting up, breaking down
(f) routine weekly studying news feeds, documents, history, etc to compile resources and keep LIFTED team informed on current events involving sex trafficking


Vision Trip - What's that?

From January 22nd to February 6th, Catherine (my internship on-site supervisor) and I will be traveling to Thailand (Bangkok, Chiang Mai) and Cambodia (Phnom Penh) to visit the RNhu houses.