Mr. Sar Sokhapong Daniel

Mr. Sar Sokhapong Daniel, Community Peace Building Initiative Program Manager

What motivated me to work at Peace Bridges was seeing the impacts on my country from the experience of a long civil war. Even though the genocide is over, a lot of people are still affected, and the war has really impacted their attitudes and behaviors. They become angry and violent easily, and so a lot of families and schools live with violence. Even I suffered violence as I was growing up.

So when I saw those things I also observed that I could not change anything, because people expected to change things with violence. But violence cannot end violence, and so the situation became worse and nothing ever changed. Because I saw a lot of violence in families and communities, and against minority groups like the Cham people, I asked myself, “As a citizen living in a country with a lot of violence, what can I do to help?”

When I heard about peacebuilding training offered by Peace Bridges, I was very interested and applied. After I finished, I was even more motivated to see what I could do for society and how I could use my knowledge and skills bring healing. So when I learned Peace Bridges was going to employ a new position, I applied. I am now very happy that I can use my knowledge and skill to help the people in my country by providing peace education to the Christian churches, Buddhist monks, community groups, prison inmates and staff, and so on.

After the training and support I have provided, I can see the impact on people’s lives. I can see their changed attitudes and that the training also benefits their families, workplaces, and communities. But the work is not finished and a lot of areas and groups still need peacebuilding work. For this reason, I still have a heart to continue my work and see peace extend across Cambodia.