Cambodian Children's Trust

Cambodian Children’s Trust (CCT) is a non-profit NGO running projects to help break the cycle of poverty in the Battambang region of Cambodia. We provide practical, long-term support to some of the most vulnerable people in Cambodia.

CCT was created in 2007 when Tara Winkler and her Cambodian team rescued 14 children from a corrupt orphanage in Battambang. The children were suffering from severe neglect and shocking abuse. CCT is now home to 34 children. We help the children overcome their backgrounds of abuse and neglect and break the cycle of poverty by providing them with the best possible health care and education.

CCT also supports several families in the Battambang region and is establishing a range of community development programs that reach out to people in need, regardless of their circumstances. We work with street children, orphans, abandoned children, people with HIV/AIDS, sex workers, victims of landmines, victims of sexual abuse and domestic violence, the physically and mentally disabled, families living in abject poverty, and anyone else who is in serious need.

Find out more about the children and families we support

If you have any questions about CCT please refer to our FAQ

If you cannot find the answer to your query please contact us.

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About Battambang, Cambodia

About Battambang, Cambodia image Click to enlarge

More than one third of Cambodians live below the poverty line, struggling to survive on less than $1 a day. Poverty is especially pervasive in rural areas and among children, who constitute more than half of the country’s population.

Battambang is the provincial centre of Cambodia’s north west region. Even though it is the country's second biggest town, Battambang has far fewer resources to support impoverished people than Phnom Penh (the capital) or Siem Reap (near Angkor Wat).

As one of the last strongholds of the Khmer Rouge, its economy was severely damaged by years of war and its population still bears psychological scars from that traumatic period.    

Poverty Statistics:

  • 40% of Cambodians live below the national poverty line. 34% of the population live on less than $1 a day and 78% live on less than $2 a day.
  • Over 70% of urban dwellers live in slums. Cambodia’s infant mortality rate of 143 deaths per 1000 births is one of the highest in the world. By comparison, Australia’s figure is 4.3 deaths per 1000 births.
  • Vaccine-preventable diseases, diarrhoea, and respiratory infections are among the leading causes of childhood death. Maternal mortality is also high.
  • Malnutrition affects most Cambodian children: 45% show moderate or severe stunting.
  • Only 57% of children reach Grade 5. So many children repeat grades that it takes on average more than 10 years to complete primary school.
  • Landmines pose a grave hazard for internally migrating children and youths who attempt to salvage unexploded ordnance and sell it as valuable scrap metal.
  • Other issues affecting children include physical and sexual abuse, child trafficking and severe illness such as HIV AIDS and tuberculosis (of which Cambodia has the highest prevalence in Asia at 700 per 100,000.)