Cambodia has a very recent history of civil war. Our country however has proved to be strong and is slowly moving forward and trying to be part of the developing world. The Paris agreement of 1993 allowed Cambodian people to have the opportunity to vote for the leader of their country. This meant we could move from a country of Communism into Democracy. The civil war and the years of genocide left people psychologically traumatized. Many people lost family members, children were left without parents and became orphans and many people were left crippled due to land mine injuries and other casualties of war.
Cambodia is developing quickly and many non-governmental organisations have been set up (NGOs) up in order to help Cambodian people. Some of them aim to improve the overall living conditions of children in Cambodia. Money, professional education and support from big multinational charities and donors can do nothing but help our country. There is however a long way to go to mend the psyche of our country and ensure that the children of today are able to support their own children positively and that this new generation can grow up proud, capable and able to prosper.
World economic trends are changing every day. Many donors have also changed their vision, mission, and policy. Such changes have influenced NGOs and left a vacuum in support. Smaller organisations now have to survive on their own. This in turn has affected smaller communities that are desperate for NGO support but have not yet been contacted. We feel that these are the people that need the help. Such organisations do not have the ability, language skills, communication skills, contacts or networking skills to gain external support.
Khmer-V aims to facilitate volunteers to work in these isolated Cambodian communities, but it also plays a very important role in assisting NGOs to make positive decisions and make them more effective in helping children and the poor rather than reinventing the wheel. Khmer-V will locate donors of time and money worldwide from diverse sources in order to maintain this unique network. Volunteers with us will have the opportunity to work within this environment having one-to-one contact with the communities they support whilst also being part of the logistical and strategic decision making processes. (A percentage of the volunteers contribution goes directly towards the communities they are working with).
