Cambodian Community Dream Organization, Inc.

Activities: Community Volunteer Projects / Humanitarian Projects
Countries: Cambodia / United States

The CCDO is run by international volunteers and paid local staff as a non- political, non-religious organization.

We are a small NGO making a big impact by tackling many important community issues. Cambodian Community Dream Organization, Inc. was first founded in Cambodia in 2007 by American Jenni Lipa with the sole object of building water wells.

However, Jenni quickly realized that children hold the key to the country's future. She believes that kids deserve not only clean drinking water, but a good education, better nutrition and improved health as well. Jenni spearheaded many new programs and initiatives and eventually registered Cambodian Community Dream Organization, Inc. as a US-based 501© (3) tax exempt charity (NGO) in February, 2009. After splitting from the original Cambodian partner in July 2013, she registered a new NGO in Cambodia under the name Cambodian Community Dream Organization.

Cambodia endured a genocide during the Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot era resulting in an estimated 2 million deaths or the equivalent of 25% of the population. Every family lost at least one member and today 65% of the population is under the age of 25. Poverty is widespread and yet, being very proud and hardworking, the Cambodians do whatever it takes to make ends meet. But many families in the rural areas earn less than $2 per day and cannot afford to build their own drinking water wells or even send their children to school.

Our Work

We work to improve conditions in villages surrounding Siem Reap, Cambodia by implementing three main programs:

Clean Water (wells, latrines and hygiene),
Education (English, Library & Computer),
Health & Wellbeing (Nutrition and Sports).

We continue to build water wells and latrines; to date over 1,200 water wells with 200 repaired wells and 350 latrines. We run a successful Clean Village Initiative to improve health and living conditions in Ampil & Banteay Srei & Angkor Thom Communes.

The organization sponsors education for 1,000 children at three schools: Kiriminoen and at both Ta Pang primary and secondary schools. We provide stationery and books as well as the much needed English teachers, sports programs, and the library and computer programs. We have installed playgrounds, soccer fields and volley ball courts. There are currently 250 children under scholarship, and bicycles are purchased so children who live at some distance can get to their schools. We feed 1,000 daily nutritious breakfasts and snacks with much of the vegetables grown in our two school gardens.

We have built three libraries, two school kitchens, two toilet blocks, a new English classroom at Kiriminoen and a new Learning and Cultural Center at Ta Pang with a computer lab. We run a preschool on each school site. We organize Women's Health & Education Community workshops which include information on anti-trafficking.

Volunteers

In the USA we need people to help with our fundraisers and awareness. In Cambodia, we welcome individual volunteers on a long term basis. A variety of volunteer positions are available in duration of minimum of 3 months to a year. We welcome passionate, dedicated college students and professionals who can contribute their time and knowledge in all areas of our programing.

We employ Cambodian Teachers for our English program and are not seeking foreign English teachers unless they can offer teacher development and curriculum training. Our schools are in the rural villages surrounding Siem Reap without public transportation access. Individuals use inexpensive tuk tuk's for transportation. We also have specific visitors tours that allow you to experience a day in the life of our CCDO programs.