What we do
We provide help for economically and socially disadvantaged communities in North-West Cambodia.
Regular projects include:
- food packs & rice feeding programmes
- formula milk for under 2’s
- toiletries and basic necessities
- bicycles for children to get to school
- educational & vocational support
- sewing programme
Why Cambodia? – Our Back Story
Through the twinning of the Catholic Dioceses of East Anglia & Battambang in Cambodia, the Catholic Parish of North Walsham, Norfolk [includes Aylsham & Hoveton] has been twinned with St Francis Xavier Parish, Svay Sisophon, in North-West Cambodia since 2005.
In 2007, parishioners Katie & Bob Maidment and Susie Thomson visited Cambodia as part of a diocesan party and decided to start a parish-based support group.
For the next 7 years, friendship was promoted and practical support raised, initially within Sacred Heart Parish, but increasingly in the wider community, with Katie and Bob also running annual group visits to Cambodia.
By 2014, much of the practical support [ie: funding] was coming from outside the Parish and the area being helped had spread far beyond Svay Sisophon, so the ‘twinning’ connection was no longer accurate.
For this reason among others, it was decided to set up an independent, UK registered charity, not connected to the Catholic Church, in order to continue “Supporting Cambodia”.
In keeping with the Cambodian Church’s approach, the five original Trustees [Bob and Katie Maidment, Carol Shippey, Ian Andrews and Jan Northway] were unanimous that the charity should embrace all faiths and none – just ‘people helping people’. And it remains exactly that.
However, the success of any overseas aid charity depends very largely on reliable contacts on the ground to deliver the projects. So although Support Cambodia is not in any way a Catholic charity, through regular visits our personal contact network has been carefully built up over 17 years and many of them [though not all] are connected in some way with the Church, one of the biggest NGOs in Cambodia. This gives us a sound platform from which to ensure our projects are delivered and funds accountably spent. No charity money is given directly to the Catholic Church – funding distribution is entirely controlled by Support Cambodia.