Projects
M'Lop Tapang Centre for Street Children, Cambodia
Thirty years of civil war and unrest has significantly compromised Cambodia's traditional family structure and a growing number of children there now live or work on the streets or beaches. Many families can barely afford to feed their children, let alone pay the bribes Cambodia's teachers require for access to schools. With no shelter, no schooling and receiving only limited medical care, many are malnourished and extremely vulnerable both to physical and psychological abuse, especially since Cambodia has become a destination for foreign sex tourists.
Located in Sihanoukville, the main destination for homeless children in Southern Cambodia, M'Lop Tapang is a local NGO providing a safe haven. M'Lop Tapang offers shelter, meals, education, medical care and counseling as well as performing arts and sports programmes that help build a child's self-esteem. M'Lop Tapang, which means Under the Tree in Khmer, now reaches hundreds of children daily.
To help M'Lop Tapang expand its programs, ADMCF has funded the development of a new, larger day centre that will provide better facilities, more education and expanded healthcare. This centre will facilitate the launching of new programmes that include vocational training, hospitality service training and an expanded arts program.
Status
The centre was officially opened in October 2007. It provides much needed expansion to accommodate M'Lop Tapang's activities, including a health clinic and large play area funded by ADM Capital investors Jane and Anthony Weldon, classrooms sponsored by the Peak School Hong Kong, meeting rooms for social workers, a theatre for children's arts programme and performances as well as administrative offices. The education programme is sponsored by the Deutsche Bank Asia Foundation and M'Lop Tapang's unique arts programme is sponsored by the Sovereign Art Foundation. The new centre will increase M'Lop Tapang's reach from 250 to over 1,000 street children in Sihanoukville.
Projects
- M'Lop Tapang Centre for Street Children, Cambodia
- The Long Road Home, Community Centre & Playground, Cambodia
- Investing in the future - Vocational Training for Street Children, Cambodia