16/11/2025
My week in Cambodia was one of those experiences that stays with you forever.
I had the privilege of spending time with Cambodian Children’s Fund, an organisation that has transformed an entire community through education, safety, nourishment and love.
From preschool through to high school, CCF now has seven incredible schools, with scholarship pathways that even link students to Trinity College, Melbourne University and universities around the world, giving young people the opportunity to achieve university degrees.
And then there’s our beautiful girl we sponsor.
Seeing her confidence grow, watching her walk proudly into school with her new backpack, meeting her teachers and friends… it is one of the most humbling and heart-expanding experiences of my life.
Being on the Gala Committee for CCF has always felt like a privilege but nothing compares to standing here in Cambodia, seeing firsthand the lives being changed. The difference between supporting CCF from afar and being here on the ground is indescribable. Meeting our sponsor child in person, seeing her world, her classmates, her community… it all becomes real in the most profound way.
What moved me again today is just how holistic CCF truly is:
• the Granny Program, supporting vulnerable elders
• the Rice Co-operative, helping families build stability
• the Evening Food Program, feeding and sustaining the whole community
• and a deep commitment to breaking cycles of poverty through education
It is nothing short of spectacular what Scott Neeson and the entire team have created here, a community rebuilt from the ground up, with dignity, opportunity and hope.
If you’ve ever wondered whether sponsoring a child or supporting a program can truly change a life… the answer is absolutely yes.
I see it every time I return.
And today, with my sponsor child’s little hand in mine, I felt it all over again. 💛
