1.   The Little Lambs Day Care Programme.

Around one in five women in Cambodia face an unwanted or unplanned pregnancy during their lives. For the unmarried woman or girl such a pregnancy is a crisis in their lives as the shame and social stigma is deep in the Cambodian culture. The woman’s family often banish her from their family home and the woman can find herself literally on the street. There are no social services to help or support her.

The woman is in crisis; feeling overwhelmed, feeling isolated, and feeling the difficulty of their limited choices. Tragically, abortion and trafficking are among their choices. Many of the high number of abortions that take place are illegal and unsafe.  Thankfully, there are NGO’s (Non-Government Organisations) that exist in Phnom Penh whose mission is to support women facing a crisis pregnancy. They help the woman make the best choices for the future for themselves and their babies.

Some women prefer to have their baby but consider an abortion for financial reasons. They have no-one to look after their baby as they have to work to earn money for accommodation and food etc.  Perhaps she needs to complete her training or education. It is then that the women or girl is introduced to our Little Lambs Day Care Centre. We will provide free quality day-care for babies such as theirs. We operate Monday to Saturday, 7.00 am to 5.30 pm. We will care for their babies from 3 months old until they are five years old, completely free of charge.

2.   The Village Children Feeding Programme.

We have been visiting slum villages of the city and  providing food for the children, babies, nursing mothers and pregnant women and girls since 2007.

The villages are such sad places. People there seem to be devoid of hope, living lives that seem empty. Generally, the villagers have come to the city from the countryside, called the provinces, in search of employment. However, not many of them are successful. The young people, especially the teenage girls can earn a good wage in the garment factories which are becoming increasingly common. This income is vital for their family. Sadly, the prolific city sex industry draws in some of the women. Alcohol is cheap so many of the men seem to just lie around all day doing little or nothing to help their families. Some villagers, pull large wheeled metal cage-like carts around the streets to collect recyclable materials – plastic drinks bottles, drinks cans, metal and cardboard. They sell these on to be reprocessed and reused. This will bring in two or three dollars a day at best. These collectors are known locally as ‘Ah Jie’.