Sunrise Children’s Villages Australia Cambodia Foundation Inc. is a non-profit and non-religious charity organization founded in 1993.It is an approved project of Australia Cambodia Foundation (ACF). It has donors in Australia, United States and United Kingdom. Its aim is to provide a loving, secure and safe home to orphaned and disadvantaged children in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap in Cambodia. They provide to children quality education, food, drinking water, medical and dental care along with training in the traditional and local arts. The children are instilled with the values of honesty, integrity, tolerance and mutual respect. They are given independence to make their decisions and the ability to adapt to change. It also supports children suffering from HIV-AIDS. The purpose of the organization is to make these children grow into healthy and independent adults.
Mission
The mission of the organization is to provide education, medical facilities and home to orphaned and disadvantaged Cambodian children so they can grow up to be happy, healthy and independent adults.
Aim
The aim of the organization is to provide such an environment to children that creates in them life and hope so they may recognize their potential and can adjust back as healthy adults in the society.
History
Cambodia is a third world country. Its history is lined with war, foreign occupation, civil war and genocide. This has resulted in a large number of orphaned and abandoned children. In 1993, Geraldine Cox founded the Sunrise Children’s Villages Cambodia under the license of Australia Cambodia Foundation. The purpose was to raise funds for the support of this organization to raise the orphaned children.
The organization is based on the belief that these abandoned and disadvantaged children should be provided with education, medical facilities and shelter so they may grow up to be independent and responsible adults in the society. They are taught the values of honesty, integrity, tolerance and respect for each other. They are made able to believe in their choices and trust their instincts so they can carve out their own destiny and follow their heart to explore their true potentials.
The Sunrise Children’s Villages Cambodia houses more than 200 children who are abandoned and orphaned or who suffer from HIV-AIDS. The camp has been moved many times due to military activity, coup or rebel movements in the country. Since its establishment, it has been relocated three times. It currently has camps in Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and Sihanoukville, Cambodia.
In 1998, the Cambodian Government recognized the Sunrise Children’s Villages as a non-government organization upon the request of Australia Cambodia Foundation Inc. Its current name was formally set up in 2000. The idea behind the name of the organization is to give out hope of a new life to the disadvantaged and vulnerable children of Cambodia.
Services Offered
Sunrise Children’s Villages Cambodia through the support of its donors and sponsors provide food, shelter, education and life skills to orphaned and disadvantaged children of Cambodia. It houses more than 200 HIV-AIDS affected children in its camps. It strives to create such an environment for the children that allow them to recognize their potential and abilities and readjust in the society.