This Life Reimagining Care

believe that children and families do best when they remain together. When circumstances require that children cannot remain with their immediate families, alternative solutions to institutionalization of children should always be sought.

At This Life Cambodia, we began our work by talking to people in Cambodian communities, and they told us from the start that most so-called orphanages are unnecessary, and that the children within them usually have living parents or other relatives. In fact, of the 16,000 or more children in orphanages, 80% have a living parent. Poverty was usually the real reason children end up in orphanages.
In fact, even after 12 years and thousands of conversations in more than a thousand villages across Cambodia’s provinces, not once has anyone identified an orphanage as a possible solution to the problems they face. That is why we have never considered offering residential care to children, and have in fact worked to strengthen communities so that when a family is facing crisis or poverty they have the support to keep children with them rather than send them to orphanages.
This Life Reimagining Care does an even more demanding job. We patiently identify children who did end up in institutions but who do have family and then help to return them to a loving home, while working hard to make the transition smooth and tackle any problems that might arise. Reintegration is difficult but essential work.

What is the aim of the program?

To contribute to the reduction of children in residential care institutions in Cambodia, increase the capacity of social workers to undertake quality reintegrations, and promote family based care.

What activities do we run?

What are the program outcomes?

Outcomes for all of This Life’s programs can be found in our Annual Report.

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