Based in Siem Reap, Cambodia, Anjali House is registered as a local Non-Governmental Organisation. Created in 2006 under the umbrella of the Angkor Photography Festival Association, Anjali provides refuge, care and education for nearly 80 under-privileged children between the ages of 4 and 16 years old. Nearly thirty years after the brutal Khmer Rouge regime plunged Cambodia into a state of terror, years of civil war and famine, the country is slowly returning to stability. But the devastating effect to Cambodian society, infrastructure and the economy is still being felt today. One of the greatest challenges facing the development of the country is access to education, skills training and healthcare. In Cambodia there are approximately 5.1 million children under 15 years of age. Despite government school building programs and a large amount of work by local and International NGO's, primary school education is only available to approximately 60% of the nation's children. One of the major factors impeding access to education opportunities is poverty; with over 20% of the population living on less than $1 per day it leaves little to pay for schooling and other educational opportunities. In busy tourist areas such as Siem Reap local people have become aware that tourist dollars can be obtained easy by selling low cost items such as jewelry, postcards, books, roses or by begging on the street. The majority of this is done by children as their smiles and energy wins the hearts of almost every visitor. Unfortunately this money often creates a negative effect by providing a disposable income to parents that ends up being spent on vices such as drinking, gambling and drug abuse. Children are also pressured to earn more and more money, often not allowed to return home until specific daily targets have been reached, leaving them roaming the streets for long periods of the day and night. This in turn puts them at high risk of being subjected to physical or mental abuse.

Child sponsorship now online

We are proud to announce the Anjali House child sponsorship program. For all those who really want to make a difference and assist our kids future development we have created a sponsorship program that can meet the needs of our children and centre and your pocket. Our Life-line sponsorship package will cover costs to feed our kids everyday and provide them with the education materials they need for their public school studies. This sponsorship package is $250 USD per year or approximately $20 USD per month. With this package you will receive details of your sponsored   Full story>>

Anjali Kids Photography goes International

On the 4th Feb thanks to the work of Francoise Callier, Sohrab Hura & Ajay Hirani the children of Anjali will be exhibiting their photography overseas for the first time. 32 children worked with 7 International Photographers during two weeks of workshops in November as part of the Angkor Photography Festival 2008. These pictures were selected by the festival's Director, Shahidul Alam for inclusion at the Chobi Mela International Festival of Photography at the Goethe Institute in Dhaka, Bangladesh www.chobimela.org. The exhibition called ‘through our eyes’ focused on various aspects of the children’s lives from   Full story>>

Anjali House football team flourishing

The Anjali House boy’s football team achieved an extra boost at the weekend after winning their first match against Siem Reap International School. Despite appalling pitch conditions the team managed to finish 4-2, with the last goal falling in Injury time. After going 3-0 up in the first half SRIS pulled the game back to 3-2 with 15 minutes left. After a drop in morale the kids put up with sustained pressure on our goal but defended valiantly to maintain their lead. Then in injury time, as a last gamble saw the opposition manager send their   Full story>>