Childsafe Kampot and KCDI’s Emergency Temporary Shelter Program

Since Cambodia has become a tourist hot-spot and a location where many foreigners come and live, children have become more and more at risk from abuse and trafficking. Due to social problems and prolonged trauma, there has also been a rise in domestic abuse incidents towards children by Cambodian nationals.

Since early 2019, KCDI staff and directors have been undergoing intensive training to become a fully fledged member of the International Childsafe Alliance. This training has allowed our staff to understand children’s rights, how to protect children and adolescents, how to identify abuse, and working on prevention. Additionally, KCDI has had to submit many documents and accreditations to qualify as a member.

Childsafe training has been given by our expert partners Friends International (Childsafe Alliance partner), M’lop Tapang and APLE, and is an ongoing process.

Together with local Kampot partners Epic Arts and the Department of Social and Veterans Affairs in Kampot (DoSVY); KCDI has worked with these partners together to create Kampot’s first Childsafe Movement. Some of Epic Arts and KCDI staff have been specially trained to investigate cases of vulnerable children (abandoned, abused, orphaned, runaway, street children) and to work together with local authorities to bring constructive and skilled resolution to these cases. Epic Arts Childcare agents look after the Childsafe Telephone Hotline and investigate specific cases and refer these to KCDI. Together KCDI and Epic Arts work with the Kampot Department of Social and Veterans Affairs to assist the child or children in need. The hotline and Epic Arts Childsafe agents are sponsored by the World Childhood Foundation. Friends International and M’lop Tapang as well as APLE continue to train and give workshops to both Epic Arts and KCDI Childsafe agents and DosVY.

Very vulnerable children who have nowhere else to go are given Emergency Temporary Shelter at KCDI. This emergency shelter is also extended to street children and to single mothers who have small children and cannot get home. KCDI with the local authorities then help these women return to their provinces or resolve cases of domestic abuse, finding safe havens.

In some cases, children have nobody at all and then KCDI takes these children into our care and we provide them with a long-term home at our school.

We would like to thank our partners Friends International, M’Lop Tapang, APLE, Epic Arts and the Department of Social and Veterans Affairs for their wonderful assistance and expertise.