Community Development
The Community Development Program (CDP) incorporates projects to prevent poverty and support the most vulnerable people in Battambang. Our services are available to persons in need, regardless of the nature of their circumstances. We work with street 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, orphans, abandoned children and anyone else who is in serious need. The CDP views each person as a unique individual and responds with a customised approach to help them improve their life circumstances.
The Community Centre
CCT's Community Centre is due to open its doors, for the first time, in February 2010!
The Community Centre will provide vocational training, job placement, career advice, counselling, informative workshops, a mobile educational team and after-school care and activities for all of CCT's children, families and others involved in our CDP.
The Community Centre will be our operational base from which we run the Family Projects, the Street Kids Project and the CCT Shop.
Family Projects
In Cambodia, poverty breaks up families. The vast majority of orphanages in Cambodia are made up not just of orphans in the traditional sense, but also of children from poor families. There are many cases in which children are removed from their families simply because of financial hardship. There is the belief that children from desperately poor families are better off in institutional care where they can receive an education, access to medical care, and better nutrition. At CCT we plan to not only provide these necessities but ensure that the children remain with their parents and that the family unit remains intact. Whenever possible, CCT will continue to accept only actual orphans or children who are unsafe at home. We will help children with parents to stay with their families by supporting those families and helping them to become financially independent. We will achieve this through and in combination with the other projects within the Community Development Program.
Click here to meet CCT's Families.
Street Kids Projects
Street children have unique needs and require a unique approach to help them discover and embrace better choices for their lives. Often what they are looking for is a place to belong, to be needed, to be valued, and most importantly, a place that respects their freedom and individuality. We reach out to these children, seeking to build personal relationships based on guidance and trust. The street children involved in this project will have the full access to and support of our Community Centre where we will work with them to develop and implement customised plans to help them move toward a brighter future.
The CCT Shop
Painting by Sineit ChanThe CCT shop, located in central downtown Battambang, will generate income to improve the sustainability of CCT and reduce donor dependency. The Shop will provide practical training opportunities for the young adults in our Transition House Project and for the families we support in the community. We will sell products made and produced by our children and by our community families, so that their children can go to school instead of working and begging on the streets. All the proceeds go towards supporting the Community Development Program.