We have fantastic news from the Cambodian project to share with you! We are thrilled to announce the successful placement of the first child from a government Residential Care Institution into a local, loving home.

This placement is a culmination of years of hard work, dedication and collaboration by Care for Children's project team in Cambodia and our partners within the Cambodian government. The first child is now being embraced by a loving family, with the care and support to ensure a nurturing environment suitable for their well-rounded development.

Throughout 2023, Care for Children's dedicated training team in Cambodia upskilled 49 childcare staff, social workers and potential foster parents over 22 workshops. The training covered the whole process of safely placing, monitoring, and supporting a child in a family, including assessing children for placement, and matching children with families. Our support also included 1:1 technical support which helped the staff put the knowledge they had gained from the workshops into practice. This undertaking was marked by careful preparation and consideration of the needs of all involved.

Placing the first child is often the most challenging step, and this accomplishment fills us with great optimism for the future. It signals a shift towards a sustainable and family-centred approach within Cambodia's child welfare system. The impact of this achievement reaches beyond the individual child; it sets the stage for more success stories, demonstrating the viability and success of Care for Children's project model.

The commitment of this one family represents a beacon of hope and a testament to the transformative impact that a caring environment can have on a child's life. This signals the beginning of a journey to ensure that every child in Cambodia is afforded the opportunity to grow up in the embrace of a loving family, rather than within the confines of an institutional setting.

As we witness the positive effects of family-based care taking root in Cambodia, Care for Children remains committed to forging ahead in our mission to see a world of children in families.

Stay tuned for more updates on this journey as we work together to transform the lives of orphans and vulnerable children in Cambodia and beyond.