Cambodian Children's Fund

OUR APPROACH

At CCF, we believe that with the right education and support, one child has the

potential to lift an entire family out of poverty and that a generation of

educated children has the power to change a whole society. Through intensive,

long-term investments in children, CCF is helping students build the skills,

confidence and integrity they need to become the progressive spokespeople and

leaders of change in their communities.

Since 2004, we’ve been working with some of the most impoverished communities in Cambodia, centered around the former garbage dump at Steung Meanchey. Back then, our world revolved around the health and well-being of 45 children living on the garbage dump. Today there are more than 2,000 students working towards a better future for themselves and their families through CCF’s award winning education program.

The garbage dump was closed in 2009, however the need for CCF’s services continues as Steung Meanchey remains an entry-point into Phnom Penh for destitute families with no option but to try and make a living through scavenging or begging on the city streets.

Through a range of programs that focus on 6 core areas – Education, Leadership, Community Outreach, Healthcare, Childcare and Career and Life Skills – we take a holistic, on-the-ground approach to developing integrated solutions to the complex issues of poverty.

THE CCF MODEL

The two guiding pillars of CCF are Education and Leadership. The Education

Program is the driving force behind CCF’s operations, providing a pathway out

of poverty for students and their families. The leadership program ensures

that students graduate with a strong sense of social justice and a commitment

to making a better future not just for themselves, but for their community and

their country.

We learnt early on that transforming the lives of impoverished children through education isn’t as simple as opening free schools. We needed to do more – we needed to address the issues and dysfunction that kept the children away from the classroom. It’s only by addressing these barriers to education that we could achieve our goals of taking impoverished children and giving them a better, dignified life.

Through interconnected programs, CCF works with families to build plans for escaping debt, educating their children and developing job skills for parents and older children. CCF works at the grassroots, community level to develop integrated yet simple solutions to the complex issues of poverty.

PROGRAMS

We use insight to steer our operations, but compassion drives our programs. The

best interests of the children are the ultimate guide in our decision-making

and actions as we strive to deliver our 6 core programs with over 60

interconnected projects.

Skilled volunteers are a core part of CCF’s structure, ensuring we continue to capacity build and up-skill our local staff, as well as provide continual learning opportunities for our students.

Each program area is driven by key indicators, and are underpinned by principles and missions of their own: 

Education: The CCF Education Program is designed to serve as a foundation for lifelong

learning, providing students with a pathway out of poverty and preparing them

for a world beyond CCF.

Career and Life Skills: The Career and Life Skills Program is designed to enable young adults to complete tertiary or vocational education and build the skills they need to obtain and

maintain gainful employment and independence

Leadership: The CCF prepares students for their future as leaders in Cambodian society and equips them with the tools, training and knowledge to make a meaningful, positive impact on their community.

Healthcare: CCF provides free healthcare services to students, families and community members, and this program includes Cambodia’s only fully free medical clinic serving people of all ages.

Community Outreach: From providing assistance food packages to over 3,000 families in crisis, to building 450 World Housing homes, our community outreach team work on the ground to provide assistance to people in need.

Childcare: From young kids in our drop in day-care, through to young adults living in transitional homes while they study at university, we provide high quality care and support to children in need.

To learn more about what we do and how we do it, please visit our website:

https://www.cambodianchildrensfund.org