Welcome to
Supporting Cambodia
Born in the back streets of Phnom Penh in 2009, Supporting Cambodia is rewriting the script for some of the poorest families on the planet and delivering a life filled with hope and self-reliance.
Underpinning our in-country programs are two slum village schools where each day nearly 1200 precious young lives find hope, education and a brighter future.
Our Projects & Commitments:
Brand new $500,000 slum village school in Phnom Penh
Andong Primary School is where it all started and from humble beginnings in a single bamboo classroom with a handful of students, we recently cut the ribbon on a brand-new, multi-storey $500,000 school facility where in excess of 550 students now receive a first class and free Khmer education along with a nutritious meal. Our school is registered with the Ministry of Education and has the very latest text books and teaching resources and we are extremely proud that our students regularly outperform their middle class peers when pursuing further education.
Remote Oddar Meanchey school
a beacon of hope
Amid rice paddies and mango plantations, Trampoung Primary School is nestled in a very remote corner of rural Cambodia in Oddar Meanchey province, once the heartland of the infamous Khmer Rouge. Unemployment is rife and public schools non-existent, so for our 550 students the free education and nutritious meal they receive every day is a lifeline for them and their families. Our school delivers a comprehensive Khmer curriculum that is recognised by the in-country Ministry of Education and, like Andong School, our students are regularly top of their class when going on to the public high school in the next province. It has become a beacon of hope for thousands of families and is often the focal point for community celebrations, emergency food programs and health checks.
Food the fuel for effective learning
A key program in the operation of both of our schools is the provision of a nutritious meal to each and everyone of our nearly 1200 students. For the vast majority of them it is the only proper meal for the day and is received with great enthusiasm. As well as contributing to a far more productive learning environment, it relieves a great deal of pressure from the struggling families they come from who often are unable to put a meal on the table.
Emergency food a lifeline
during and after Covid
The impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic were felt in every corner of the globe, but you would be hard-pressed to find a community that suffered more than the remote Oddar Meanchey province in Cambodia. With their only access to employment over the border in Thailand severed, the families in these villages found themselves without work, without food and without hope. Countless older and vulnerable individuals succumbed to the virus and thousands of others were stranded at home with precious little to eat. We initiated an emergency food aid program that got bags of rice, tuna, eggs and sauces into the homes of some of the most desperate families, many of them down to their last grains of rice and some having not eaten for over a week. We are continuing to deliver this program as many families struggle to get back on their feet and at last count our beneficiaries’ number in the thousands.
OM House of Hope
When our first graduating students from Trampoung Primary School expressed a desire to attend the public high school in a neighbouring province we found an innovative way to transport them the 60km round trip – in the back of a truck. But as more and more classes graduated we soon ran short on space and so the OM House of Hope was conceived. Located just minutes from the high school, it is now the full-time home to nearly 65 students whose parents are forced to work over the border in Thailand and is a stable constant in their lives at a very important time in their education. Compassionate mentors live on site and provide a nurturing and harmonious environment to our future leaders and brightest young citizens.
Clean water a lifeline for villagers
You would think with all the rain that falls during the monsoon that drinkable water would be plentiful in Oddar Menachey village, but quite the opposite is the case. Much of the surface and upper ground water is seriously contaminated and has been making families extremely sick for generations. Thanks to the installation of a number of hi-tech wells that can tap into ground water over 100m below the surface, many thousands of villagers now benefit from safe drinking water year-round and a short walk from their homes.
The Supporting Cambodia Team
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In-country Director - Pastor Abe
Our visionary leader on the ground, Pastor Abe is an inspiring leader with a big heart to help his fellow Cambodians.
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Chairman - Rob Ellson
Passionate about raising awareness for the plight of our amazingly resilient and grateful village families in Andong and Oddar Meanchey.
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Andong Primary School teachers
A very dedicated team of compassionate individuals driven to nurture and encourage our precious slum village children.
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![Supporting Cambodia School Teachers at Trampoung Primary School in Oddar Meanchey]()
Trampoung Primary School teachers
Devoted to re-writing the script for our remote Oddar Meanchey village students and giving back to their community.
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OM House mentors - Chhay Song & Chek Toeung
An amazing couple who mentor and encourage up to 65 high school students in this dedicated boarding house.
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Oddar Meanchey support team
Responsible for our farming operations and delivering emergency food aid to struggling families.
“Without the ongoing support from Rob and our valued donors, we would be unable to impact the lives of so many needy Cambodians, and I offer a heartfelt ‘akun’ (thanks in Khmer)”
— Pastor Abe, In-Country Director
Your tax deductible donation goes a long way.
At Supporting Cambodia we understand that you don't want a large portion of your precious donation chewed up in admin fees so we've worked very hard to develop policies and procedures that maximise our oversight, accountability and reporting responsibilities, but at the same time keep our administration expenses to an absolute minimum.
Unlike some of the better known big charities on the block, we don't hide our admin fees in the fine print, in fact we think it's a point of difference worth celebrating. For every dollar you entrust us with, 92.5% of it filters through to our on-ground projects, keeping our schools open, students fed and families supported. What we do retain ensures we maintain our tax deductibility status and auditing requirements, both here in Australia and in Cambodia.
So we'd love you to partner with us on an amazing journey, that isn't just transforming lives, but restoring hope, dignity and self-reliance to some of the poorest families on the planet.
Your donation is tax deductible. Supporting Cambodia is a registered Australian charity through Global Development Group (ABN: 57102 400993).
If you’d prefer to make an electronic transfer our banking details are as follows:
Account Name: Supporting Cambodia
BSB: 015-600
Account: 1967 91878
Please include your name and email address for a tax receipt.
