About Us
Building sustainable communities in Cambodia
Our Mission
Cambodia Family Support is dedicated to helping rural communities in Cambodia's northwest build sustainable futures. We focus on protecting communities from the effects of climate change, improving water and food security, and promoting education and literacy.
Through strategic investments and community-led initiatives, we empower families to break the cycle of poverty and create lasting change in their communities.
Our Director, Dr. Samnang, and CFS field staff visit villages across the provinces to assess their needs and the financial or other support required to make significant, beneficial changes to their livelihoods.
Where We Work
Battambang and Pailin Provinces
Cambodia has an area of 180,000 square kilometres and a population of approximately 14 million. The country is divided into 25 Provinces.
Battambang Province is located in the northwest of the country and shares a border with Thailand to the west. Battambang, the capital of Battambang Province, is Cambodia's second-largest city, 300km northwest of the capital, Phnom Penh.
Battambang is subdivided into 12 Districts and further into dozens of communes. The population of the four western-most districts of the province is approximately 100,000. They are dependent on subsistence agriculture.
The area is described by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as consisting of 'greater than 75% poor', the highest index of poverty for the country.
The Communities
Rural communities in both provinces comprise families who live in single-room thatch houses without electricity or running water. The majority have virtually no access to health services. Employment is occasional, is low paid ($20-30/month) and seasonal.
It is to these poorest of poor communities in the northwest of Cambodia that this initiative is dedicated. Many of the rural poor in these western parts of Cambodia have migrated into the area seeking land, or because of its proximity to Thailand.
The border districts are relatively infertile and the population poverty-stricken, even by Cambodian standards. Because the people are ultimately dependent on the land for survival the margins are narrow and their options few.
The young are vulnerable to exploitation and trafficking into the sex and forced-labour markets within Cambodia and abroad. There are a high proportion of single parent families, mostly headed by women whose husbands have deserted them or were killed in the war or by land mines.
Dr. Samnang's Story
It's hard to imagine anyone better qualified to be Director of Cambodia Family Support than Dr Samnang Eng. You'll understand why when you read his story.
"I was born in 1964 into a poor family in Takao province in the south of Cambodia. I was the eldest of 4 children born to parents who were both teachers. My father and all of my siblings were killed during Khmer Rouge times. My mother and I survived and she now lives with me and my family in Battambang Province. This is my story."
When I was 11 the Khmer Rouge took power in Cambodia. Pol Pot wanted to create an agrarian society and part of his plan was to forcibly move all Cambodians from cities into rural areas. Pol Pots' army forced my family to move to a very remote rural area in Koh Kong, Cambodia's south-westernmost Province.
After many hardships and the loss of his father and siblings, Samnang eventually reunited with his mother. He went on to complete his education and medical training, and now serves as the Director of Cambodia Family Support, dedicated to helping others in similar circumstances.
Join Our Mission
It's why our community-led program needs your help. Your donation will greatly assist in rebuilding and sustaining families and small villages. Together, we can help them break the cycle of poverty once and for all.
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