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Digital Divide Data Newsletter – April 2005Greetings from the team at DDD! We'd like to share with you some of our recent successes as an organization ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nounv Soriya Starts a New Life With DDD
My name is Nounv Soriya and I am 24 years old. I was born in Beanteay Chey, Cambodia. When I was young, my neighbor tricked me and sold me in Thailand. She told me that I could get a good job in Thailand. After she sold me, they sent me back to a brothel in Cambodia to work as a sex-trafficker. My family did not know that my neighbor sold me to the brothel. I knew through other sex-workers in my brothel that I would not be able to get out. The owner of the brothel forced me to have sex with men every day. If I did not make money from sex for him, he would not allow me to eat. Sometimes he warned me that if I did not obey him he would hit me or treat me badly in other ways. While I was in the brothel, besides providing sex to men, I help the owner clean the brothel. I never laughed; I always cried and was scared all the time. I think the brothel was like hell for me, but I never complained. If I complain I would be treated badly. I tried to leave one time, but I could not escape. He told me that if I tried again, my family would be killed. I never saw my family, because I was afraid that the owner of brothel knew my family. I always thought that my future will not be in the brothel. I thought that I would have freedom one day. One day I sent a letter through a man who had sex with me to give to my parents. After two days this letter was given to a radio station, and then the Cambodian Women's Crisis Center came to rescue me from the brothel. They gave me freedom from the brothel hell. Now I am not in danger, but I am not sure of the future. I am still afraid that my former owner at the brothel will find me or my family. I am living in fear. Because I was so afraid to be alone, I decided to marry a man almost 5 months ago. Now I am happy to be at DDD. I am working as an operator doing data entry. I am also studying English and Computer at DDD. Someday I want to be staff in an NGO with a good salary. Also, I wish my husband can take care off me. I hope to have a bright future and I believe my life will not be in the brothel again. Thank you for taking care of me and letting me express my feelings about my past life. Tom Friedman Profiles DDD in his new book, "The World is Flat" While many of the companies are noted for their ability to adapt to the changing business landscape in order to survive, Friedman highlights DDD as a company that used the opportunities presented by this flattened world to make a social impact. In his interview with Jeremy Hockenstein, Friedman describes how DDD's founders visited Cambodia in early 2001 and discovered, in a country slowly recovering from decades of genocide, Internet cafes on every street corner and a population eager to advance their knowledge of computers and technology. "We decided we would try to leverage our connections in North America to bridge the gap and create some income- generating opportunities for people,'' Hockenstein explained. "We have tried to pioneer socially responsible outsourcing. The U.S. companies working with us are not just saving money they can invest somewhere else, they are actually creating better lives for some of the poor citizens of the world.'' Only in a flat world, Friedman argues, was DDD able to create opportunities for those who would otherwise have none and at the same time provide a service that would attract American business. In February 2005, DDD Laos won its first local job from the Participatory Livestock Project. It was a small survey project which required data entry work as well as data analysis. Although the project was small, the task was challenging, especially when the data in the questionnaire was confusing and often entered incorrectly. However, with DDD's strong team spirit, hard work and perseverance, we were able to deliver the output to the client on time. Winning and successfully completing our first job in Laos gave us exposure to other organizations in the area. In late March 2005, because of our reputation in providing international standard services and professional confidentiality to clients, we were selected to work for the International Labour Organization. The project requires high quality data entry of registration forms into the registration database at the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare. DDD has sent a team of 16 operators to help the client perform the rush job from April 4 to May 05, 2005. DDD's Board recently agreed on three core principles to strengthen our focus on building our team. Based on these principles, we are developing an even stronger set of staff development programs that will not only shape DDD, but help each of our staff members become strong leaders for the future of Cambodia and Laos . DDD's social mission will focus on developing the values and skills of young people to strengthen DDD, and ultimately to broadly support economic and social development in Cambodia and Laos . In agreeing to this first principle, we recognize that developing leadership our team is one of DDD's top priorities. Staff development will not only help us build a strong business, but will prepare our team for key roles in the private sector, government and civil society in their country when they leave DDD. We will model the kind of accountability, transparency and integrity in our business practices that we hope to develop more broadly in Cambodia and Laos . Just Hewlett-Packard shaped much of the talent that led to Silicon Valley's success, we aim to build the capacity and skills in future leaders of Cambodia and Laos . Social mission activities will aim to develop strong technical skills in our staff. Each staff member at DDD has always been eligible for a scholarship to study; our work schedule is arranged so that staff can work in the morning and attend classes in the afternoon-or vice versa. Through this program, DDD has become a significant "buyer" of education services. We've learned that the quality of education in Cambodia and Laos varies widely. Based on this second principle, we will identify the very best local training programs for our staff. We will also work with local educational institutions to shape their training programs to teach the skills we need to grow our business--and that our team can use wherever their future takes them. Personnel decisions will be based on merit. Our mission at DDD is to create better futures for disadvantaged people. As we have employed young people with physical disabilities, orphans, rural migrants and woman who were trafficked, we've seen many of them become talented and committed members of our team. We've also come to recognize that by only focusing on these populations, we are losing the chance to employ some of the best talent in Cambodia and Laos . With this third principle, we've decided to broaden our recruiting to a wider range of local talent. We will also put in place more thoughtful compensation, evaluation and promotion systems to build a world class operation. With the guidance of board member Dorothy Hamachi Berry , VP for Human Resources at the International Finance Corporation and under the leadership of our Board Chair, Michael Chertok, we are now working with our teams in Cambodia and Laos to design a human resource program that makes sense locally- and aligns with these new principles. We're excited about the opportunities ahead. (back to the top) DDD has established a scholarship fund in the name of Leo Kham Bounmany, an employee in our Laos office who was killed in a moto accident in April 2005. Leo was married to Chansamone, another DDD employee.
IV Sovannary from Cambodia represented DDD at the IFC's annual Grassroots Business Organization (GBO) workshop in Washington , DC in April 2005.
Congratulations to two DDD employees from Laos who graduated to well-paying jobs ($150/month, more than double their DDD salaries): Soulinthone who will work at DataCom on sales and marketing and Viengsone who will work as an office assistant at the Commerce Company.
(back to the top) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ About DDD: Digital Divide Data (DDD) is a social enterprise established in July 2001 to create jobs and educational opportunities in developing countries by providing outsourced data services to business and public sector customers. DDD is established in the U.S. as a 501(c)3 organization, as well as organized as a non-governmental organization in Cambodia. Our business employs disadvantaged individuals, including people with disabilities, landmine and polio victims, orphans, and abused women. Total employees - 170 Number of Offices - 3 (Phnom Penh, Battambang, Vientiane) Fiscal Year 2004 Client Revenue - $200k Fiscal Year 2004 Donations - $250K DDD relies on the support of individuals and institutions to supplement its revenue from client work and ensure that we achieve our social mission. Contributions of any amount are helpful and greatly appreciated. Sponsor the education of one of our operators here |
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In his new book, "The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century," Tom Friedman highlights Digital Divide Data's unique model of social entrepreneurialism as an example of an organization that has exploited the opportunities presented by a flattened world. The New York Times columnist's new book explains the convergence of technology and events that gave India, China, and many other countries a new stake in the success of globalization. 
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