5 august 2020
While the Smiles of Hope Foundation is making headway in these uncertain times, a major drama is taking place in Phnom Penh in one of the projects of the Advanced Center for Empowerment. Smiles of Hope is actively contributing to this NGO in Cambodia and the future for the projects there looked bright. ACE has been facilitating young people in one of the largest slums to live and study since 1995. In return, the students give lessons to small children in the neighborhood. (read more about that project here)
Then came the COVID-19 pandemic and all classes of students and children were temporarily halted. During the suspension of classes, the local team worked very hard to renovate the center, replace broken chairs and learning materials to be ready for reopening.
And then, in the midst of the pandemic crisis, the local government decided to completely dismantle the slum. The 650 people from 135 families had to leave their slum housing overnight. The poor families in the district lived there on the edge of a rubbish heap, where they lived off the sale of refurbished, recycled products. The residents have now been allocated undeveloped land 45 kilometers away from the city. Without running water, without electricity. Each family received a piece of land measuring 4 by 15 meters and a hundred dollars. This is of course completely inadequate to build a new shelter.
ACE has therefore decided to give these families very concrete support. By providing 120 families with food for at least 3-5 months and also providing 87 households with building materials to build their homes and to install sanitary facilities. Smiles of Hope supports this and therefore appeals to donors.
A lot of help is needed to give the families a good place. This takes time and money. In the days when the houses are being built, it is almost impossible to provide for the livelihood of the families. Therefore, a (minimum) budget has been made of approximately $ 40,000. Smiles of Hope would like to contribute to this with your help.
The Smiles of Hope Foundation is a Public Benefit Organisation (PBO) . Donations are therefore tax-deductible.
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Albert Schweitzerstraat 39
6836LA Arnhem | Netherlands
+31 26 845 33 30
info@smilesofhope.nl
KvK 77483642
RSIN 861021629