What will your donation contribute to? Who will it help?
Turning Tables would put your generous support towards expanding the reach of the currently established Turntable Lab in Phnom Penh; we will focus our efforts on engaging the most marginalized and vulnerable street children in Phnom Penh, who are typically difficult to reach and only rarely participate in the educational activities of the many exiting NGOs. To do so we want to launch an Outreach Campaign to reach out to this target population. Turning Tables emphasizes the critical importance of meeting such children on their own turf. As such, Turning Tables seeks to create a mobile music workshop to conduct music workshops on the street, anywhere, at anytime. Such activities will spread enthusiasm, confidence, and excitement about Turning Tables among participating children, making it more likely that they join Turning Tables permanent activities at the Turntable Lab.
If significant progress can be made in our Phnom Penh expansion efforts, we also hope to establish a new Turntable Lab in the city of Sihanoukville with your support. It is Cambodia’s second city, with a growing economy and unfortunately a booming sex tourism sector--stealing the innocent lives of children.
The target groups for Turning Tables activities in Cambodia are at-risk youth aged 13-20 living on the streets of Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville. Close engagement and access to this group is ensured through cooperation and shared housing with the organization Skateistan (http://skateistan.org/) which, on a monthly basis, hosts its own activities for more than 250 Cambodian street children. In addition, Turning Tables intends to focus on strengthening the outreach work among the most vulnerable street children (cf. the above mentioned).
It is a central objective for TT to break down gender stereotypes and gender roles; we strive to ensure equal gender distribution both with regard to the team of instructors and the young participants themselves.
By securing an accessible, safe space in which enthusiastic youths can learn to express themselves creatively, TT aims to provide a unique, novel alternative to other educational initiatives while retaining the core elements of an education and skills-building programme. The Turntable Lab will improve the participants’ self-esteem and strengthen their ability to express themselves. At the same time, the children will be welcomed into a supportive community which will make it possible to eventually integrate them into one of school programs run by Turning Tables partner organization, Pour un Sourire d'Enfant (PSE).
What is Turning Tables? Why is music education important?
Turning Tables (TT) was founded as a Danish non-profit organization in 2009. Our staff members consist of a diverse crowd of musicians, activists, and head-in-the-clouds idealists from a variety of backgrounds. We believe that music is a fundamental part of youth development.
Music inspires. It is a vehicle for communication and self-expression that transcends boundaries of nationality, class, gender, religion, and language. At the core of TT’s raison d’etre lies our belief that everybody, regardless of gender or social, political and economic marginalization, should have the opportunity to be part of a global music culture. We help vulnerable young people express their grievances, hopes, and dreams in a constructive manner, build creative environments for learning new skills and sharing experiences with peers.
Music education is a powerful vehicle encouraging vulnerable children to engage with the community and to foster a hope for a brighter future. Music-making empowers young people to be creative, confident, and enthusiastic about their own talents and lives.
Turning Tables first project involved setting up DJ Schools in three Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon: Mar Elias and Sabra/Shateela camps in Beirut and Nahr Al Bared camp near Tripoli. Three years on, all three music labs are self-sustaining and are used weekly by enthusiastic boys and girls in the camp. Building on the experience from these projects, TT expanded its efforts to refugee camps in Amman, Jordan. In cooperation with UNRWA, we set up permanent labs in Jabal al-Hussein camp in 2010, then Talbieh camp in 2012.
Our first project outside of the Middle East is the new Turntable Lab in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Turning Tables officially opened a Turntable Lab--a DJ, electronic and hip hop music and rap lyricism school for street children and sexually exploited youths in September 2012. In the weeks leading up to the opening, TT conducted music workshops for 75 such children and trained four local DJs and music producers on how to teach and engage with local youths.
Although there are already many NGOs working to provide a better future for Cambodian children, traditional educational (i.e. schooling) outreach often fails to engage the most vulnerable--those kids who are the most in need. Stuck in cycles of violence and abuse, the self-confidence and self-esteem of child prostitutes and street children are battered. Unsurprisingly, such children struggle to regularly attend school, keep up with their education, and proactively work towards better life opportunities.
Since the most vulnerable children are often unable to fully engage with traditional educational outreach, TT hopes that by first building their sense of self-worth, fostering self-confidence and the belief in an ability to improve their lives, participation in the Turntable Lab will encourage young participants to take progressive steps to further their life opportunities--in the form of school enrollment and beyond.
With the establishment of Turntable Lab Cambodia, TT began a partnership with the Cambodian organization Pour un Sourire d'Enfant (PSE). Established in 1996, PSE has
helped street children in Phnom Penh re-enter school and further their education. Today, PSE runs six schools in Cambodia, reaching over 6000 marginalized young people. Long-term cooperation between the PSE and TT will help the most vulnerable street children to be ready to enroll in one of PSE's schools and/or training programs.
The Turntable Lab continues to enjoy considerable local support. Every day, young people come by to produce music and express themselves creatively in an open and supportive environment. Building on this success, Turning Tables is looking for support to continue and expand our activities in Phnom Penh so that as many marginalized children as possible can participate in the joy of making music. Providing such creative opportunities also allows for the marginalized Cambodian children to connect with the global youth music culture and with young people in Turning Tables labs around the world.
How else can I help?
If you cannot contribute by donation now, we would be very grateful for any effort to help spread the word about our efforts. Please:
- Share Turning Tables (turningtables.org) and our Indegogo fundraising campaign on your social media networks, such as Facebook and Twitter.
- Like us on our Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Turning-Tables/179151555435511?ref=ts&fref=ts
- Mention us to your friends, especially people who might be interesting in helping out. Get people excited about Turning Tables!
- If you are either in one of the areas we work in, or would simply like to volunteer or get involved in any capacity, we would be happy to have you on board the Turning Tables team.
- Learn more about us on turningtables.org
