Save Children in Asia Organization

The Save Children in Asia Organization, SCAO, is an orphanage and English school just minutes outside of Phnom Penh. Their efforts are dear to the hearts of Loop Abroad’s founders, and we are excited to bring students there to volunteer.

Founder Sath Samith wanted to create a home for disadvantaged children. Cambodia is home to over 250 orphanages, fewer than 10% of which are run by the government. The term “orphanage”, however, can be misleading. In the 1980s, many children who lost both parents under the Khmer Rouge regime were displaced to orphanages. Now, about a quarter of the children living in orphanages have lost both their parents. The rest have parents who are financially or physically incapable of caring for their children. Since few government systems exist to support or supplement such families, orphanages are a commonly used system for raising children.

SCAO’s orphanage is the permanent home to 17 children, from ages 4 to 20,who live at the center with Mr. Samith, his wife and their two children. Most of these children have lost at least one parent, or their families are living in severe financial distress and are unable to care for their children. One of the children has a mother who also works at the orphanage preparing food and cleaning. All of the children attend school classes at the English school and the local Cambodian school.

The facilities are not fancy. The classroom has a sand floor, a tin roof and plastic tarps for walls. The orphanage itself is a traditional Cambodian-style building. It has a plain cement floor, small dining area and living space, small shared bedrooms for the children, and a bathroom.

But while it isn’t fancy to look at, SCAO is a place of amazing heart. The children are wonderful, and they laugh and learn with vigor. Over 450 children from the surrounding villages come each day to attend English classes, staffed by English-speaking volunteers and by former students of the school who have gone on to high school or university.

When the orphanage can raise enough money to sponsor a scholarship to high school, technical school, or university, the funded student is expected to come back and share his or her knowledge with the others. SCAO aspires to fund further education for each of the students living there so that they can become independent, self-sufficient citizens.

Part of your tuition goes to fund the orphanage and provide scholarships for their students. This year, Loop Abroad’s Spring Break Cambodia program will fund one scholarship for an SCAO student and help to build a listening lab for English learning at the school. We will also help our students, if they like, to raise funds in their schools or communities to provide additional scholarships.