Category: Projects We Support

(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.

(August 2025)

Nestled between Phnom Penh and the southern coast, the Cambodian Homestay in Prey Theat started as a small cultural exchange by Linda Meas, her family, and friends from New Zealand. Over time, it grew into a place that celebrates hospitality, culture, and women’s empowerment.

In 2013, with encouragement from Paul Gill of Sonas World, the Meas family launched The Weavers Project—giving local women skills and fair income through weaving. Today, more than 500 handwoven cotton scarves are made each month, with women earning 35% of the wholesale price. What began as training has now expanded into a homestay, a weaving cooperative, and even a free after-school center for 100+ children. Some of the weavers’ daughters are now at university, inspiring the next generation.

This year, the project and WCF decided to shift from supporting just two scholarships to creating wider impact. The new plan includes:

• Strengthening the cooperative’s capacity

• Starting a spinning & natural dyeing workshop (employing 4–5 more women)

• Adding a yarn twisting machine for new products

• Growing organic cotton (involving 5–10 more families)

• Continuing scholarships and motivating children to study further

The Weavers Project now inspires other grassroots efforts, supports over 125 women nationwide, and welcomes 500+ visitors each year. More than weaving scarves, it’s weaving dignity, education, and opportunity into daily life.

(June 2025)

In Kratie Province, the Dolphin School of English—run by the Khmer Association for Development of Countryside—has been a lifeline for underprivileged children since 2016, especially girls who face the toughest barriers to education. Today, more than 170 children, including 105 girls, benefit from free English lessons, personal development opportunities, and the confidence to dream of brighter futures.

The school is far more than a classroom. It is a safe space where hope flourishes, where past students return as teachers, and where each lesson chips away at the cycle of poverty. In 2024, with support from WCF, new latrines and a handwashing area were built, ensuring better hygiene and health for all.

Yet the need continues to grow. Classrooms are overflowing, and to welcome 35 more students next year, two additional rooms must be renovated. With WCF’s help, these bare walls can become vibrant, welcoming spaces—gateways to opportunity, safety, and lasting change.