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Kdei Karuna is a politically-neutral peacebuilding NGO aiming to contribute to sustainable peace efforts in Cambodia. Through an expertise in dialogue facilitation and sustained engagement with communities, Kdei Karuna encourages locally-driven approaches to address conflict, encourage mutual understanding, and promote healing.
Kdei Karuna - meaning “compassionate action to heal” in Sanskrit - aims to contribute to sustainable peace efforts by addressing the scars of conflict inflicted over decades of instability and war.
Kdei Karuna began working in Cambodia in 2005 as a branch of the Boston-based International Center for Conciliation (ICfC). Recognizing the unmet needs of Cambodians in dealing with historical wounds, the organization began implementing projects using ICfC’s Historical Conciliation methodology. This methodology aims to produce empathy and understanding from hatred and anger through a deep reflective dialogue process, helping people get unstuck from painful memories. After a number of years working within rural Cambodia, this methodology evolved to better fit the needs of Cambodians in dealing with their own past memories and in addressing conflict between groups. In 2010, the organization registered as a local non-governmental organization under the laws of the Kingdom of Cambodia
For more than 10 years, Kdei Karuna Organization (KdK) has established itself as a leading peacebuilding and reconciliation NGO in Cambodia. Through participatory and community-engaged approaches, KdK has implemented truth-telling and memorialization initiatives between a number of groups, including former Khmer Rouge cadres and victims, ethnic minorities, and youth.
Their programs utilize creative and non-threatening ways to reflect upon difference, in addition to conflicts stemming from the country's Khmer Rouge past. Methods include the production of mobile exhibitions to raise awareness of differentiated histories, support of community-driven memorials for psychological healing and education, and facilitation of community dialogues. More recent program work also includes intergenerational dialogues between youth and Khmer Rouge survivors of gender-based violence.
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