Our ministry partner, Peace Bridges Organisation, is transforming lives and environments through peacemaking in Cambodia.

“Peace starts within and from me. When we care for ourselves and each other at home, it becomes easier to care for our community and our forest.” – Sovann, Forest Protector from Preah Vihea Province

Peace Bridges is a Cambodian Christian peacebuilding ministry. Our mission is to equip and walk alongside leaders, communities and churches so they can live out reconciliation in every part of life. We believe violence is never the answer and that peace must be built intentionally, relationship by relationship.

Cambodia’s history carries deep wounds of war, mistrust and injustice. Those impacts are still felt today in quieter but very real ways. Some families live with unspoken tensions or unresolved hurt. Many individuals carry the weight of personal struggles such as trauma, broken relationships, or depression. Communities can find themselves divided by political differences or shaped by religious misunderstandings that keep neighbours apart.

For the Indigenous Kuy ethnic minority, these challenges can be even greater. The Kuy are one of Cambodia’s largest Indigenous groups. They have a deep connection to their ancestral forests, which are both a source of livelihood and a foundation of cultural and spiritual identity. The Kuy language, traditions, and ways of life are under pressure from land loss, modernisation and the erosion of Indigenous rights.

Kuy women face a double challenge; as Indigenous people and as women in male-dominated decision-making spaces. Their voices are often overlooked in community meetings, their contributions undervalued, and their rights to land and resources ignored. Many have limited access to education, economic opportunities, or leadership roles, yet they carry vital knowledge of forest management, food security, and community care.

These struggles are compounded when economic pressures, deforestation, or large-scale land concessions threaten traditional livelihoods. At the same time, competing interests can strain community unity, and the environment is used in ways that place everyone’s future at risk.

Yet even in this reality, there are leaders, many of them Kuy women, who are quietly rising to speak, act, and inspire change for the good of all.

We exist to help break these cycles. Our work focuses on transforming relationships, strengthening communities and equipping the church.

Whether it’s a woman breaking barriers in environmental protection or a family turning from exploitation to cooperation, Peace Bridge’s work is about nurturing hope where division once thrived.

Transformation can be slow, but every restored relationship is a seed of peace, one that can grow into a stronger, more united, and more just Cambodia.

Story of Transformation

Change often starts at home. In Preah Vihea Province, Sovann once relied on selling illegally cut timber to feed his family. His wife worried about the damage to the forest and future generations. She joined a Peace Bridges workshop on family reconciliation and environmental stewardship and persuaded Sovann to attend too.

In the sessions, they learned about shared decision making, resolving conflict without violence and how caring for creation is part of caring for people. Sovann realised their livelihood choices shaped both family peace and community wellbeing.

He made the hard decision to stop logging and start growing vegetables instead. At first, income was lower and neighbours mocked him. But over time, his family found stability, his wife felt more respected, and together they became active in conservation activities.

Now Sovann encourages others to make similar changes. “We thought cutting down trees was the only way,” he says. “Now I see we can protect our forest and still provide for our children.”

This article was first published in issue 43 of our Resonate magazine. Read more encouraging Resonate stories here >>