Category: Projects We Support

(July 2025 ) Boeung Preah Primary School, a modest public school in rural Takeo, is home to 424 children from Grades 1–6. Though the school buildings are old and government support is limited, its heart beats strong thanks to extraordinary community unity. Parents from surrounding villages, the venerable monk of the local pagoda, and the NGO Samaki have joined hands to keep education alive — not with wealth or modern infrastructure, but with an unwavering belief in the children’s right to a better future.

After lessons, the most vulnerable students attend extra classes in small groups three times a week. They receive support in Khmer, mathematics, and logic-building games. A book-loan programme further nurtures a love for reading, with teachers carefully tracking progress.

The community’s commitment extends far beyond academics. When the Ministry of Education agreed to build three new classrooms and an office, they required the land to be raised with 100 truckloads of soil — an impossible cost for most schools. Yet over 200 families contributed what they could, while Samaki provided a zero-interest loan for the rest.

WCF’s grant targeted urgent needs: ✔ 3 months of extra classes, supporting 12 teachers ✔ Repair of 66 worn student tables ✔ Elevating the foundation for new classrooms.

We left deeply moved by the sacrifices of parents, the monk’s leadership, and the teachers’ dedication. Here, education is more than lessons; it is hope, dignity, and a shared mission.

(July 2025 ) In 2003, beneath the sheltering branches of a Tapang tree, six street-connected children found refuge. From that humble beginning, M’Lop Tapang has grown into a sanctuary of hope for more than 5,000 vulnerable children in Sihanoukville — a place where safety, opportunity, and dignity meet.

Its mission is deeply human: to provide education, child protection, medical care, family reintegration, vocational training, and creative expression under one compassionate roof. With a 98% Cambodian team — more than half of leadership roles held by women — M’Lop Tapang is deeply rooted in the community it serves. Guided by dignity, trust, and inclusivity, its trauma-informed, gender-sensitive approaches build lasting bonds with children who have endured hardship.

From harm reduction programs and male survivor advocacy to training tuk-tuk drivers and supporting small family businesses, M’Lop Tapang is far more than an NGO — it is a trusted partner in rebuilding lives.

WCF Grant – Supporting the Babies & Toddlers Care Program

In 2025, the WIG Community Fund (WCF) awarded a grant to strengthen M’Lop Tapang’s Babies & Toddlers Care Program, ensuring that the youngest and most fragile — often abandoned, neglected, or malnourished — begin life with dignity and hope.

Under the watch of a skilled medical team and three devoted nannies, 15–22 children under five receive daily care. Most arrive malnourished, sick, and withdrawn, nearly all below the 3rd percentile on WHO growth charts.

No overnight stays are permitted, as reintegration into safe families remains the goal. In the meantime, medical treatment, nutrition, and emotional care ensure every child has the chance to grow and thrive.

(July 2025) Keeping the Khmer Soul Alive: A Tribute to Cambodia’s Living Heritage

The Princess Buppha Devi Dance School, nestled in the heart of Phnom Penh, is more than a place of learning — it is a sanctuary where Khmer identity, grace, and dignity are lovingly preserved and passed down through generations. Founded in 2019 in memory of HRH Princess Norodom Buppha Devi, the school honours her extraordinary legacy and lifelong devotion to safeguarding Cambodia’s Royal Ballet — a cultural treasure that has survived wars, exile, and the darkest chapters of history.

A Sacred Mission

With deep reverence for tradition, the school is dedicated to protecting the spiritual heartbeat of Cambodia — the Royal Apsara Ballet. It offers free dance education to underprivileged youth while instilling values of humility, respect, and cultural pride. Here, dance is not just performance; it is prayer, history, and identity woven into every gesture.

A Legacy of Devotion

Each weekend, over 200 children gather to learn this sacred art, guided by master teachers and musicians who volunteer purely out of love for their culture. The school receives no government or royal funding; it survives on community passion, private donations, and modest event earnings. For many children, it is a sanctuary — a place where they belong, grow in confidence, and carry forward their ancestors’ legacy.

WCF Support for Royal Living Art

Through the WIG Community Fund, WCF supports dance uniforms and costume restoration — ensuring the Apsara continues to shine in the hearts and steps of the next generation.

(February 2025) In Phnom Penh, the Light of Mercy Home (LMH) serves as both a home and learning centre for children with disabilities, offering not only education but also the experience of living in a supportive community with peers facing similar challenges. LMH focuses especially on children who are poor and have never before attended school, ensuring they are not left behind.

The vision of LMH is clear: to enable children with disabilities to live with dignity and to be recognised as full participants in Cambodian society. The project emphasises independence, encouraging every child to embrace their disability as part of their identity while preparing for adulthood. In 2023, the Home provided full-time care and accommodation for 22 children and youth, aged 9 to 18, including 13 girls. Jesuit Mission works in partnership with Jesuit Service Cambodia to implement the project.

Daily life at LMH is centred on three key areas: care, education, and skills development. Children receive accommodation, meals, and healthcare to meet essential needs. Most attend nearby public schools with access to special education, while those unable to do so study within LMH. Beyond academics, students explore their talents through classes in computer skills, music, dance, gardening, crafts, English, and sign language.

Equally important, LMH teaches vital life skills, including hygiene and health awareness. These lessons build confidence and independence, helping children prepare for brighter, self-reliant futures.

(September 2025) It is a life-story of an exceptional and passionate couple from Japan, Akiko and Koji SASAKI who founded SIDE-by-SIDE International, dedicated to help Cambodians.

For nearly two decades, Side-by-Side International, by the duo Akiko and Koji Sasaki, has been a quiet but powerful force of good in Cambodia. Thanks to their unwavering compassion and dedication, they have donated ambulances to hospitals, trained hundreds of medical students in CPR and emergency care, and equipped healthcare providers with vital neonatal resuscitation skills— saving countless new-born lives. Akiko has never hesitated to stand by Cambodia’s most vulnerable.

Today, with deep gratitude and pride, we stand beside SIDE-BY-SIDE — thankful for the lives she and Koji continue to safeguard with such courage and compassion.

(August 2025) Since 2006, Empowering Youth in Cambodia (EYC) has been a beacon of hope for young people growing up in some of Phnom Penh’s most underserved communities. At its core, EYC believes that every child, regardless of background, deserves the opportunity to learn, grow, and thrive.

Through its human-centered model, EYC creates safe, inclusive, and inspiring learning spaces where education goes beyond textbooks to nurture confidence, resilience, and a sense of purpose. Public schooling is supplemented with free courses in English, computer literacy, math, leadership, arts, and health—programs designed to equip youth with the knowledge and tools to build brighter futures.

EYC’s work extends far beyond academics. Regular health clinics, psychosocial support, and strong community partnerships ensure students’ overall well-being. More than 800 students each year—many from families facing severe hardship—benefit from this holistic approach. A hallmark of EYC is empowerment: half of its 25 staff are alumni who now give back by teaching and mentoring the next generation.

WCF Support – Reducing Barriers, Building Futures

The WIG Community Fund proudly supports EYC with a grant that provides:

✔ Textbooks and notebooks for 700 children

✔ Course books for 100 adult learners

✔ 70 school bags with supplies

✔ 70 school uniforms for students in need

✔ Deworming medication for 600 children

This support reduces financial barriers, strengthens health and confidence, and ensures that children walk into classrooms with dignity, curiosity, and hope. Together with EYC, WCF helps youth rise above circumstances and build meaningful, self-directed lives.

(June 2025)

Since 2007, Kumnit Kumar Organization (KKO) has supported vulnerable children in Phnom Penh’s Andong community with education, healthcare, nutrition, and protection. Born from the work of the Italian NGO CIAI, KKO is built on the belief that every child deserves safety, learning, and the chance to dream.

Today, one of KKO’s most urgent missions is helping children living inside 14 brick factories in Kandal Province—the hidden victims of poverty and debt. Many risk dropping out of school to work in unsafe conditions. Through its weekly mobile kindergarten, KKO provides early education, play, and encouragement to children aged 3–12, while offering uniforms and supplies to help them access public school.

KKO’s holistic programs also deliver health clinics, hygiene and nutrition training, sanitation projects, and community empowerment. Annual enrolment campaigns and scholarships encourage continued education.

With WCF’s support, factory yards become classrooms, fear turns to trust, and children gain the chance to build brighter futures.

(July 2025)

Founded in 2013 by Princess Ermine Norodom, Shanty Town Spirit is a grassroots non-profit dedicated to uplifting Cambodia’s most vulnerable communities through education, healthcare, training, and care. With a small but committed team, the organization works closely with families to promote independence, dignity, and well-being. Over the years, it has supported hundreds of children and families with essential services, confidence-building, and opportunities for brighter futures.

In Kandal Province, more than 90 children currently study in a cramped, makeshift classroom once used as a kitchen. With few furnishings and no proper infrastructure, desks, shelves, and whiteboards are borrowed from neighbors, while overcrowding makes teaching difficult and limits children’s safety and engagement.

With WCF’s 2025 grant, Shanty Town Spirit will transform this space into a safe, well-equipped classroom with proper furniture and materials. This change will not only strengthen learning but also improve hygiene, safety, and emotional well-being—giving children the dignity to study today and the foundation to dream for tomorrow.

(April 2025)

IL NODO’s mission is to empower children and young adults through high-quality education and vocational training, ensuring equal opportunities and nurturing a new generation of creative, motivated, and optimistic youth. They’ve been operating within Cambodian prison system since 2012, striving to enhance the living conditions of pregnant women and children accompanying their mothers behind bars, safeguarding their rights to nutrition, healthcare, birth registration, early childhood development, and education.

In 2023, IL NODO extended support to 80 infants aged 0 to 4, their mothers, and 30 pregnant women. Additionally, they run a playroom outside CC2, the female prison of Phnom Penh, where children aged 18 months and above can spend their days outside the prison cell under the care of professional staff. The funds provided by WIG are allocated to ensure food provision for as many children as possible and to facilitate monthly doctor visits for baby medical checkup and vaccinations in accordance with the national program.

(June 2025)

Kep Children currently serves 64 children—around 50 attending daily—offering a safe, nurturing space where education, health, and nutrition come together. The program provides kindergarten for the youngest, after-school classes, extra Khmer and maths lessons, creative activities, and even Kun Khmer boxing on weekends. Many children come from low-income families near Kep market, with tuk-tuks ensuring safe transport.

Beyond learning, the program cares for overall well-being with school lunches, monthly rice donations, annual dental check-ups, medical fee reimbursements, and family support. Children also join excursions to beaches, parks, and farms—broadening horizons and building confidence—while partnerships with organizations like BSDA keep youth engaged.

This year, the “Bicycles for Education” project will provide 21 sturdy bicycles plus workshops in road safety and maintenance. With reliable transport and practical skills, children can reach school more easily while gaining independence and responsibility.

With WCF’s support, Kep Children is breaking barriers to education and creating lasting opportunities for stronger, self-reliant communities.