Help by paying a visit

In Phnom Penh there are more things to do than visiting the Genocide Museum and the Killing Fields.

For a more joyful experience visit one of the art shows performed by street children or go dining in a restaurant supporting deprived youth. You'll not only have a wonderful time but supporting a good cause at the same time!

Classical and Folk Dance

The Apsara Arts Association (AAA) is a non-governmental organization in Cambodia created on October 2, 1998 by a goup of classical and folk dance teachers of the University of Fine Arts and other Departments of Arts in Cambodia.

It's purpose is to conserve, propagate and carry on the Cambodian arts, especially Khmer classical and folk dance and drama.

They have a dance school to teach Khmer classical and folk dance, music and drama to poor and orphan children. Now they have 23 teachers and about 200 students.

See a movie from Apsara Arts Association

Dining for a Cause

Not in the interest of my own restaurant ;), but still: you can eat out in Phnom Penh and support street children. The most well known place for this is Friends - The Restaurant.

Friends (Mith Samlanh) is a Cambodian NGO running twelve interlinked programs for street children with centers in Phnom Penh, Kampong Speu and Kampong Cham provinces and outreach activities in all provinces in Cambodia.

Mith Samlanh Friends runs a number of businesses as part of the training for the students in the center. Working in a real business environment, the children learn how to manage finances, to deal with customers and learn about accountibility within the commerce industry. Profits generated go back into Friends' programs and students are rewarded an income.

There are currently 201 Cambodian staff at Friends, and seven expatriates staff.

• Apsara Arts Association:
  #71, Street 598
• Friends - The Restaurant:
  #215, Street 13

Feeding orphans

The association also feeds 28 orphan children. Some of them are children whose parents died because of AIDS, and some of them are children whose parents or relatives do not support. They have the opportunity to study dance and get an education.

AAA is able to provide this through the contributions of sponsors. However, in order to continue to provide these services, they need more support from sponsors - especially for supporting the work of the administration.