Urban Poor Women Development (UPWD) was established in 1997 (and formally registered in 1998) as a local non-governmental, non-profit and non-political organization, working with urban women groups to develop their capacity, empower them to address their issues, and to secure their rights and livelihoods. During the course of its actions, UPWD supported to establish local structure called People Organization for Community Development (POCD) and developed their capacity overtime to take ownership in addressing community’s
problems in a sustainable manner.

Identity: UPWD is a community development organization focusing on vulnerable women, children and youth in urban slum areas.

Vision: UPWD wants to see the members of communities (especially the women, children, youth, and vulnerable people) in urban/slum areas live with dignity and favorable livelihoods within Cambodian society.

Mission: UPWD exists to facilitate the processes to organize communities, strengthen the capacity of the POCD and local authorities, and support the communities’ initiatives to promote land rights and livelihoods of community members in urban/slum areas.

Goal: Concerns and needs of vulnerable women, children and youths in urban slum areas are supported, considered, and positively responded from relevant stakeholders, and thus, their living conditions improved.

Approach: At UPWD, we use the systematic approaches of:

a) Community Organizing (CO) to empower communities to take ownership and assume responsibilities for self-management;

b) Right-Based Approach (RBA) to raise community awareness of their basic rights and make duty bearers to take responsibility and be accountable for their citizen; and

c) Capacity Development (CD) to strengthen UPWD staff and People Organization Community Development on organizational development.

In addition, UPWD is strengthening Cooperation Approach to achieve common goals; using Networking Approach for communities to raise common voice that can influence decision-makers to benefit poor women, youths and children; and Media Approach (including
social media) for advocacy purpose.

Currently, UPWD is implementing projects as follows:

Project1: Community Empowerment (Funded by MISEREOR, People In Need, Hauirou Commission)

Goal: Communities in slum urban areas that UPWD works with will have increased capacity, ownership, and confidence in approaching problems in communities, and work together to solve them effectively.

Objective 1: Capacity of People Organization Community Development (POCD) to function as an organization and to implement its program activities will be further developed and strengthened.

Objective 2: Communities in urban slum areas that UPWD works with will have increased capacity and actively/fully participated in their own local development.

Expected results:

• Increased POCD’s capacity on organizational development and ownership
• 50% of community leaders increased level of functioning and able to claim their basic rights from line of local authorities 

Project 2: Community Land and Housing Right (Funded by MISEREOR, People In Need, Hauirou Commission)

Goal: Communities in slum urban areas that UPWD works with will have their secured land and housing and will be able to use them legally without worries.

Objective1: Poor women living in slum urban areas with whom UPWD works will receive official land title for their land/house.

Objective 2: Legal assistance will be provided to communities and their advocacy activities will be supported to claim their legal rights on land and housing.

Expected results:

• 16 community families received official title for land/houses
• Freedom of expression among community people increased in expressing/articulating their rights to relevant duty bearers and stakeholders
• External legal supports increased in time of land/housing issues

Project 3: Community Livelihood Enhancement (Funded by MISEREOR, People In Need, and Hauirou Commission)  

Goal: Communities in slum urban areas that UPWD works with will have increased opportunities for income generation to support their living.

Objective 1: Community people, in particular poor women, living in slum urban areas will be able to generate incomes through micro-business activities

Objective 2: Poor women living in slum urban areas, with whom UPWD works with will have improved health conditions and reduced health costs.

Objective 3: Children of poor women’s families living in urban slum areas will have increased access and opportunity to formal education
so that in a long future they will be able to get a good job that can earn sufficient incomes for living.

Objective 4: Good practices regarding local governance in UPWD target areas will be further enhanced that bring about benefits to poor
women, children and youths.

Objective 5: Communities living in slum urban areas that UPWD works with will have more awareness of climate change and environment; and they better adapted to its negative impact on their living conditions.

Expected results:

• Trained community members improved up to 20% of incomes
• Poor family in community received health ID card and obtained health services free of charge
• 80% of children completed grate 9 and 50% of poor children decreased drop out of school
• 60% of target community managed wastes properly  

Gender 

At UPWD, we integrate Gender aspects and activities in all the funded projects. There will be no stand-alone project on gender.

Expected result:

• Gender roles among 40% improved
• Gender equality and equity among 50% strengthened
• Domestic violence reduced and child protection efforts increased