CCF takes children trying to survive in the trash city of Steung Meanchey in Cambodia's capital out of their living Hell foraging on the "city of garbage" and gives them shelter, food, clothing, education, skills training, and love and respect.
(Eang's Before and After photos. Eang had never attended school before. Now she is in the 3rd grade and wants to be an English teacher)
"Cambodian Children's Fund was founded by Hollywood film executive Scott Neeson,
who travelled to Cambodia on holiday in early 2003 and found his life
changed by the desperate circumstances and unlikely courage of Phnom
Penh's most impoverished children.
After a 26 year-career in the film business, including tenure as
president of 20th Century Fox International and a similar position with
Sony Pictures International, Scott exited the industry to establish and
oversee CCF. He is now Executive Director and lives year-round in Phnom
Penh.
CCF was originally developed as one shelter providing a safe haven for
45 children in critical need. Within four short years, the CCF has
grown to incorporate five separate facilities, where nearly 400
children receive nutrition and housing, as well as medical treatment,
dental services and vaccinations.
CCF children are given a comprehensive educational program that
includes local language reading and writing, as well as multi-level
classes in English, social studies and math. They also attend evening
classes at the rooftop cultural center, where they learn traditional
Khmer music, dance and drama.
CCF is also expanding its community relief programs to provide
suffering families better access to education, health care, food
assistance and safe drinking water - essential in an environment where
an estimated 80% of illnesses are water related. Only through
self-sufficiency can the generational cycles of poverty and abuse be
broken."
Besides giving these children hope for a brighter future and an escape from the misery that is life at Steung Meanchey foraging for recyclable goods, CCF also teaches its students about their native Khmer language, culture, and arts and provides them with the skills they need to escape the cycle of poverty.
Scott Neeson's CCF Mission Reel:
Native Source provides unrestricted donations to CCF as well as having produced the fund raising video for the "Project Q" awards night for CCF held in NYC at the Core Club and in conjuction with the Harvard School of Public Health and the Quincy Jones Foundation in 2006.
