Sunshine Centre Cambodia

The sunshine Centre in Phnom Penh, Cambodia is where we are going to serve. Here is an overview of what the centre does: Sunshine Program Our program is designed to provide a place that is safe, supportive, caring, enriching and stimulating for children. The children are from families that earn less than US$2/day. The children themselves would spend their days roaming the busy, dirty streets, trying to make money, usually by collecting recyclable materials. In these hazardous conditions they not only are vulnerable to exploitation and abuse but miss out on the simple pleasures of childhood. Our program provides: Before and after school care for up to 90 children aged 3-17 years 2 meals per day and clean drinking water Government school lessons School uniforms and school books Medical and dental care Hygienic bathing facilities Recently, we enrolled more than 80 children into public school, many for the first time in their lives. In addition, all families are regularly visited and we are exploring ways of helping them become self-reliant.

Sunshine Pre-School Program The Sunshine Pre-School Program provides a daily haven to about a dozen pre-school aged children. It is a place where children can spend their days learning and playing. Each day, when the children arrive at the Centre they are bathed and given fresh clothes. The rest of the children's day is spent participating in creative learning activities such as playing games, coloring, songs, and writing. There is a child-minder and a pre-school teacher at the Centre, who provide support to the children throughout the day. Pre-school children also participate in the wider activities of the Centre with the older children.     Sunshine Family Support Program We have seen that just focusing on children's needs is not enough to guarantee them a better future, we need to involve their whole family. In order to build relationships and trust between the Centre and the families, each family is regularly visited by Centre staff. In addition, every two months we invite all the parents and care-takers to come to the Centre for a time of fellowship and sharing of news. We update them on the happenings at the Centre and also take the opportunity to teach them different aspects of health, hygiene, parenting skills, and child protection. The children also take pride in putting on a short skit or performing songs. The goal of the Sunshine Family Support Program is to encourage the families of Centre children to make better lifestyle choices and to value their children's education. For instance, it is important for families to  understand that it is a better lifestyle choice in the long term for their families, if their children are given the opportunity to finish their education.