Read a selection of media coverage about our work:

Joint Statement On Sovann Komar Situation

As child-rights focused organisations, UNICEF, Save The Children and Friends-International are dedicated to the safety and well-being of children. We work with the Royal Government of Cambodia to strengthen its child protection system and build the normative framework to ensure that children are protected from harm and have access to child protection services.

In October 2020, the Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation (MoSVY) invited the three organisations and partners to join an Inter-Ministerial Committee to provide expert advice on the wellbeing of children at the Sovann Komar children’s residential institution. Our role is advisory, and MoSVY is the decision-making body.

We believe that the Government and the Sovann Komar management – like all care homes for children – must adhere to national and international standards of child care. These include the right to a safe environment where they can freely share their experiences, feelings and future plans. It is critical that children have a say in decisions that are impacting their lives. Children’s rights to privacy, including their right to confidentiality in social worker interviews, should be respected, and their images or words should not be used improperly in public forums.

The Government should ensure the protection and safety of children and expedite its investigation into their safety and wellbeing.

We remain committed to working with all partners to find solutions that are in the best interest of the children. We will continue to provide expert support to the committee on case management processes, specifically child and family assessment, case planning, and monitoring. These are vital measures to protect the best interests of the children living in residential care, including children living at Sovann Komar.

Cambodia’s orphanage tourism

The Independent Singapore

When one walks into an orphanage in Cambodia, he will be shocked to find out the orphanage is not a real orphanage, and the orphans are not real orphans. Known as ‘orphanage tourism’, the orphanages are increasingly used to serve the tourism industry. It is no coincidence that the surge in orphanages matches the tourism boom, where 4.5 million tourists visited Cambodia in 2014- up from 4.2 million in 2013… Read more.

We are WOMEN – Min – Cambodia

Elle

Min has left school very young to work and help her family. With the help of the non-governmental organization Friends International, she has taken up her studies to learn reading and writing and works on a course to become a beautician… Watch.

Letters: Sounding off on older Vancouver, voluntourism in Cambodia and more

Los Angeles Time

The article “Giving Back While Traveling” [by Rosemary McClure, April 3] is disappointing in that it promotes voluntourism in Cambodia and ignores problems associated with it, thus undermining the work the Cambodian government and other organizations are doing to address this issue… Read more.

'Poverty porn' and 'pity charity' the dark underbelly of a Cambodia orphanage

The Sydney Morning Herald

Many Australians responded to a plea to save the pretty Cambodian girl called Pisey from child predators… Read more.

Tourisme humanitaire: la vraie fausse pitié

Libération

Profiter de ses vacances pour aider les populations locales, l’idée est plutôt louable. Mais l’amateurisme et le cynisme de ce secteur en vogue inquiètent les ONG sérieuses… Read more.