Since 2012, DARA Europe foundation has been committed to giving children in Cambodia a bright future. Read all the best stories from the kids and staff in Andong.
Making a difference for people in Cambodia
DARA Europe is on a mission to help the most vulnerable households in Andong, a poverty-stricken neighborhood in the Phnom Penh region. Our aim is to enable parents to support their own families.
With a varied set of educational programmes and family support activities, DARA Europe provides the building blocks for a resilient community. Our long-term collaboration with the local NGO Stellar Child Care Organization (SCCO) focuses on creating safe and stable living conditions, enabling the children to grow up in a supportive environment. Coaching, scholarships, micro credits and work facilities for parents further contribute to community empowerment.
Micro credits
With micro credits we stimulate parents to start their own businesses and generate a sufficient income to support their families. A micro credit or start-up loan enables budding entrepreneurs to purchase, for instance, a van, or production materials.
Learning and work projects
DARA Europe is dedicated to providing a safe place for women to work and learn. We collaborate with local workshops and social enterprises to create vocational training and skilled employment opportunities for mothers in Andong. Our local partners employ and train mothers in textile production work, enabling them to earn a living for their families while their children attend school. DARA Europe sells the sewing center’s textile products, such as shopping bags and party decorations, in the Netherlands, and proceeds are reinvested in income generating projects in Andong
Working for and with local talents
As part of our SCCO partnership, DARA Europe teams up with professionals in the Andong area to create a dedicated and knowledgeable team of teachers and social workers. We are convinced that the approach makes for a win-win situation. The professionals are well-informed about the local situation, and we support local talents with solid income generating and career opportunities.
Read the stories about the staff in Andong, and the children and families that they support.
Transforming the lives of children in Cambodia
DARA Europe facilitates community development activities in the most deprived neighborhoods in Andong. Our work builds on a 2009 initiative to provide shelter for children and orphans living on the unsafe and unhygienic streets of Andong. The former child center has developed into a leading facility for education, family-based care and community support.
DARA Europe collaborates with the local NGO Stellar Child Care Organization (SCCO) to provide education, family support and community empowerment for inhabitants of the four most vulnerable Andong neighborhoods. Since 2012, our foundation provides structural support to improve the well-being, safety and resilience of the Andong community.
Our mission to give children in Cambodia a bright future is founded on the center that was established in 2012 to create a temporary haven for children and orphans in Andong. The child center was designed as a loving and caring place to assist children in finding a safe home, in their own families, if possible, or with foster parents. Since 2013, SCCO has focused on supporting children and their families with a range of made to measure programmes, covering education, access to healthcare, income generation, and more.
In 2022, the Cambodian government’s Department of Social Affairs and a number of NGO representatives visited Andong to learn about the long-term community empowerment approach that SCCO has developed. The government stimulates NGO’s in Cambodia to adopt our family-based care model as a best practice.
Giving children a bright future
DARA Europe is still closely involved with a group of children that were cared for in SCCO’s child center. We find sponsors in the Netherlands to support the children and their families, catering for their specific needs and personal ambitions.
Over the years, DARA Europe has encountered many more children, adolescents, and parents that we would like to help towards a bright future. With a varied portfolio of activities, we organize support to enhance the well-being and resilience of the Andong community. Our projects include supplementary school programmes for young children, scholarships for adolescents, and vocational training and micro credits for adults.