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The cruelties of the Khmer Rouge Regime and the subsequent years of turmoil have left deep scars in Cambodian society. Having mostly grown up in a world of terror, many Cambodians never experienced peace until the mid 90's of the 20th century and people have only recently started to deal with issues like trauma and reconciliation. In this troubled environment, CWS has supported many efforts for peace and democracy building and we are proud to have witnessed a lot of positive changes.

CWS believes that in order for poverty relief to be effective, shaping a peaceful setting in which reconciliation is possible is crucial. We therefore define “peace” in broader terms than most other NGOs in Cambodia. Peace is not simply the end of war but rather a situation in which people can cooperate with each other in an equal and respectful way. Issues like corruption, trauma, restorative justice and mutual respect therefore also form important parts of our peace efforts.

Through training and discussions, we make people aware of peace related issues like reconciliation, conflict prevention and dealing with trauma and aggression. We, for example, offer people the opportunity to talk about their thoughts on peace and democracy during guided discussion sessions. Although war has ended, lasting peace is something Cambodians are still struggling for on a daily basis. CWS helps to achieve this goal by reaching out for peace in every aspect of its work; peace is a prerequisite for stable development and it is the foundation that our work is based on.