'Hope of Children
Wat Norea, Battambang, Cambodia
There are many orphanages and children’s centers vying for attention and funds in Cambodia, some extremely well-run and some much less so. Before helping financially or before volunteering, it is important to check the background of the center and its management, which can range from superbly-run through well-intentioned-butpoorly-run organizations to full-blown scams.
In addition to Honour Village Cambodia near Siem Reap, another place that works for children is Hope of Children Orphanage near Battambang. Please note that these organizations are not linked in any way.
Battambang is a small city in the main rice-growing part of Cambodia, about three or four hours away by bus from Siem Reap.
Hope Of Children was started by Muny Vansaveth, a monk from Wat Norea, in 1992 with just eight children, and since then over 500 children have benefited from its programs. A major focus of Muny Vansaveth’s original work was children with HIV/AIDs, as these were often not welcomed in other homes. Today this is less of a focus, but work still continues on HIV awareness and education in the community, as well with other training programs for the community.
Hope Of Children requires funds and support and anything that you can do will help. Please direct any enquires to Ryoko Iwata at ryokopyonta@yahoo.co.jp. Ryoko is the Technical assistant for Ven. Muny (Facebook: Ryoko Iwata). Ryoko Iwata from Japan has been involved for 2 -3 years as administrator, helping with increasingly important policies and procedures of running a home for children. If you would like some personal information about both Honour Village and about Hope Of Children, you can also contact Craig Bolton at craig.bolton01@gmail.com
The location is Battambang, a small city in Cambodia about four hours by bus from Siem Reap. Originally located at Wat Norea, the orphanage moved to a pretty rural setting on land donated by villages a few hundred meters away, surrounded by small rice fields planted by the children and harvested for their use.
The Hope Of Children orphanage was started by Brother Muny Vansaveth, who with the approval of the Abbot left the monastery to start the orphanage with about eight children 20 years ago and who over the last two decades has helped over 400 children. There are 50 - 55 children currently, some of whom have been with Muny for 20 years.
Central Battambang is not far and some volunteers cycle there every day. For the less hardy, it’s a 5-10 min tuk-tuk drive to town. There is no on-site accommodation. The orphanage is in a rural setting very pretty surrounded by small paddies of rice that are planted by the children and harvested for their use. A wide range of accommodation is available in the town.
Links
Here is a Youtube interview with the Venerable Muny Vansaveth, Hope Of Children Orphanage, Battambang, Cambodia.
The Hope Of Children orphanage also has a Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/hoc.muny where you can also find links to the administrator’s Facebook page and other friends.
This 2008 newsletter of the United Nations Development Program in Cambodia also has a report on the Hope Of Children center: http://www.un.org.kh/undp/media/files/english1stquarter08_UNDP.pdf
