We Have Power

It comes as no surprise that we are facing some challenges as a global community. As we witness multiple and overlapping crises–ecological devastation, genocide, growing inequality–many people recognise that our social and economic systems are unsustainable for the majority of people and life on our planet. These are challenges that many people worldwide are rising to meet–including many calling for real change in the international aid sector.

There are over 3,500 NGOs and charities operating across Cambodia–most of them are foreign owned and controlled. International organisations have built a privatised system of social protection that pulls power and control away from local people and runs in parallel to public systems. This is a deeply disempowering model that leaves communities stuck in cycles of dependency and crisis. The Village Hive model has been born out of the wisdom of local people living under these conditions. The Village Hive addresses the structural root causes of poverty by delivering high quality social services across education, health, housing and social and financial support–the first of it’s kind globally. The data collected over the last 5 years of implementation of the Village Hives–now supporting over 50,000 people across multiple villages consistently shows a dramatic decrease in domestic violence, child family separation and child protection crises–while raising the standard of living of entire communities. The Village Hive model is supported by clear evidence globally that the key to lifting a nation out of poverty is investing in high quality universal public services.

The bigger picture theme that the film points to is the collective power that we have to change the systems that aren’t working for the majority of us–issues that many people worldwide are rising to meet.

Our vision is to spark a global conversation about systems change in the aid sector that strengthens the Village Hive rollout efforts across Cambodia.

For the film to be a lighthouse to help lift communties out of poverty and into self-reliance across Cambodia. Our aim is for the film to be screened widely – across public broadcasters in the global North, targeted film festivals and community screenings both in Cambodia and key nations engaged in the aid sector, fuelling a donor led shift in the industry. The campaign will then open to global conferences and online distribution, further inspiring donors to support the Village Hive and similar systems change programs across the global South, forging a strong network of partners and change makers who will connect via a central hub where donors can engage and support these organisations. We aim to inspire the next generations of change makers through educational toolkits and workshops on community led solutions to systems change.

Impact campaign goals and outcomes:

1. Amplify the voices of local leaders and show how capable and caring Khmer families and people are, dispelling misconceptions about Cambodian people.
– International film festival release & broadcasts.
– Community screenings with partners.
– Educational release & resources.
– Media and communications campaign.

2. Engage the international donor community creating awareness and behaviour change.
– Motivate donors to direct donations towards community organisations and NGOS leading in systems change and self-determination work.
– Screen the film at international forums, select major festivals, and community advocacy events.
– Build a coalition of community based organisations and NGOs leading in self-determination and systems change work, who donors can donate directly to.
– Engage students in Australia and internationally through creative, educational resources.

3. Influence policymakers & NGO leadership to shift the way the sector is work

In 2022 the team at the Cambodian Children’s Trust (CCT) for the first time ever, handed back power and control of social services to local council leaders working in the public sector in Ou Char, Battambang, under the Village Hive initiative. Joseph Purdam was invited to attend and film this ceremony and this event formed the beginning of close relationships that have come to shape this film. As CCT continued to shift their ways of working to a 100% Khmer controlled and operated team on the ground and lead the way for significant change within the sector, core team members Tara Winkler and Keir Drinnan stepped into funding support roles within the organisation from Australia.

As filmmakers, Becka and Joseph have been invited to see this project become a reality. Stewarding a story of both profound importance and nuance. A film that is a beacon of hope showing what is possible with radical new ways of working with community. We’ve now travelled to Cambodia three times and have been welcomed into the lives of families we now call friends. These relationships have profoundly shifted our perspectives and our lives, allowing us to see clearly that there is a brighter, more empowered path forward.

While the film has partly been funded by Cambodian Children’s Trust (CCT), it is not an advocacy piece for them. CCT have an exit strategy and are very much working towards their own redundancy. The story is not about a single organisation alone but about the transition work required from the entire aid sector. Joseph and Becka have full creative control and the rights to this project. While we are working collaboratively with CCT, full creative control rests with us, the filmmakers.

To the donor community:

We need your support to shift the outdated mindset of the aid sector. To fund programs that actually strengthen public systems, empower communities and significantly raise the standard of living within them.
Donate directly to the Village Hive communties and organisations who are bringing about lasting systems change’.