Tga impact in Cambodia

Denise Arnold has returned from Cambodia certain the work of a Tauranga-based trust established 18 months ago is having a positive impact on the lives of children and their families and communities.
She recently took 10 New Zealanders, including four people from Tauranga, to Cambodia where they spent $20,000 raised from donations and Cambodian Markets held at Creative Tauranga, The Cargo Shed and other events.

Denise Arnold says the stationery packs are greatly appreciated by the school children Cambodia Charitable Trust supports. Photo by Natalie Slade.

The Cambodia Charitable Trust is involved in work in four main areas: micro economic development, education and social development, health and human rights.
Health projects are a new initiative for the trust. It is supporting provision of eye testing and health checks in the eight schools they already work with and Denise hopes to be able to extend these to the school’s wider community as well.

Denise says the Cambodian school children often don’t know what to do when they first receive their stationery packs as they have never been given anything like it before. Photo by Natalie Slade.

Other projects include providing uniforms, stationery, library books and bikes to school children; giving new teacher graduates resource packs; funding work to provide fresh water and toilets; and supporting people to establish small businesses through micro enterprise loans. Businesses include school uniform and arts and crafts producers which supply the trust with products for its other projects.

Cambodia Charitable Trust volunteers enjoyed interacting with the children, even though they spoke limited English. Photo by Natalie Slade.

Land and human rights abuses are a major problem in Cambodia and Denise, who is a partner at law firm Lyon O’Neale Arnold, is working with Cambodian lawyers on these issues. During her recent trip she took eight Cambodian lawyers to a Law Asia conference in Vietnam.
The Cambodia Charitable Trust has a permanent stall at The Cargo Shed and all profits go directly to projects in Cambodia. Products on sale, all sourced from Cambodia, include original artworks, pottery, business card holders and folders, spices, silk scarves, handbags, t-shirts, crafts, cards, jewellery and toys.

Youngsters enjoying their stationery packs. Photo by Natalie Slade.

Alternatively the trust welcomes donations. To provide a child with a school uniform cost $10. A teacher resource pack costs $60, while a bike is $100. This Christmas the trust also has special gift cards available where people make a donation on someone’s behalf and receive a Christmas card to give them saying that instead of buying them a Christmas present, they have helped people in Cambodia. 

The classrooms at the schools the trust works with are basic.

Cambodia Charitable Trust volunteers distributing stationery packs to children.