The Bomnong L’or centre (started by Help the Cambodian Children), was started in 2003 with the realisation that a strategically located community centre would revolutionise the lives of people living in an impoverished district in Sihanoukville, Cambodia.

The idea was simple, “Help the Children”. In Cambodia and other developing nations, children, and their education, are often literal investments in the future. The district we work in is an area where most families live in tin shacks, with no access to running water and opportunities to escape the poverty trap are few.

When we opened, many families were under so much strain that children were being sent out to work to help support their families. This, combined with the fact that parents could not afford the cost of school uniforms meant that many children were not attending state school and therefore receiving no form of education at all.

The Bomnong L'or centre was born and dedicated itself to alleviating this poverty by focusing on education and increasing opportunities. It has steadily grown into a fully-fledged, multi-disciplinary asset to the community, combining education, health care, community outreach and nutritional support.