About The Program
Cambodia Family Support Australia raisies funds for Cambodia Family Support, a Cambodian non-profit organization, committed to assisting the people of the border districts of Battambang province in the northwest of Cambodia.
The largely destitute population comprises mainly of Cambodians displaced and dispossessed as a result of the long-running war with the Khmer Rouge which ended ten years ago.
Abject poverty, malnutrition, mental and physical ill-health,
lack of opportunity and despair are endemic.
What We Do
The Program supports the activities of a group of
committed Cambodians working with their countrymen. Initially
established in 1998 during the war with the Khmer Rouge the Program
provided assistance to the poverty-ridden population of Cambodia’s
Battambang province.
The population was destitute; many families including
large numbers of children were disrupted, often with only the mother
surviving and no means of support. In many cases families were
child-only, i.e. a family without parents, children caring for children,
invariably without means.
Abject poverty, malnutrition, mental and physical
ill-health, lack of opportunity and despair were, and remain endemic.
The Cambodia Family Support Program has become a life-line and source of
hope for many of these victims of circumstance. It offers some support
and opportunity where there otherwise would be none.
Assistance for the poor takes many forms and must be tailored to
specific situations as well as to the realities of budgetary
constraints. It primarily focuses on helping the people help
themselves. Often a small input can result in a change of circumstance
with a profound impact on a destitute individual or family, allowing
them to achieve a sustainable existence through initiative, hard work
and responsibility.
Battambang province is in the northwest of Cambodia. The western part of the province is remote and poorly serviced. The majority of the population moved to the area as internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the time of the Khmer Rouge or as returning refugees from the border camps in Thailand. The area iis difficult to access, has very few basic services (water, electricity, health services, etc) and very little prospect for employment. The people are very poor.
