Safeguarding Cambodian Children released from RCFs

A Child Protection Crisis and Your Donation at Work

When 32 residential care facilities (RCFs) suddenly closed across Cambodia, over 320 children and young people were returned to their families without support, counselling, or a safety net. Spanning 14 provinces and compounded by the looming closure of another 34 facilities, the scale of this crisis is significant. With your generous support, This Life Cambodia has been on the ground, meeting these children and families where they are.

What Your Support Made Possible (December 2025 – March 2026)

In just four months, your donations contributed to helping This Life deliver the following:

• 1,337 follow-up visits were conducted with children and young people, at a minimum once a month, ensuring no child falls through the cracks
• 284 cash transfers provided immediate relief for basic needs
• 73 professionals, including This Life staff, NGO partners, and government officials from the Department of Social Affairs, Veterans, and Youth Rehabilitation (DoSVY), participated in a capacity-building workshop on strengthening family economic resilience
• 63 food packages and 62 hygiene kits were distributed to children and families in need
• 44 cases were successfully closed as children achieved stability
• 28 counselling sessions were held with children, young people, and families
• 22 new cases were assessed and enrolled in the programme
• 19 coordination meetings were attended by the programme team at provincial and district level, engaging 835 participants, more than half of them women (F=500), including six people with disabilities
• 11 school material packages were distributed to keep children in education
• Nine families received small business grants, in-kind support, and technical assistance to start income-generating activities
• Seven children received bicycles to travel safely to school
• Seven families received solar panels, improving household conditions
• One vulnerable family received support to construct a new home

Spotlight: From Uncertainty to Belonging — Maly's Story

Among the hundreds of children This Life is supporting, Maly's journey captures why this work matters.

Maly (a pseudonym) is a 12-year-old girl from Kampong Thom province who lost both parents at a young age. She and her two siblings were placed in a local residential care facility, where they had access to shelter, meals, and schooling. When that facility closed in September 2025, Maly's future became uncertain. Without structured support, she risked school dropout, financial hardship, and emotional harm.

In November 2025, Maly was enrolled in This Life's Reimagining Care (TLRC) project. Our team worked closely with local authorities and the Provincial Department of Social Affairs to assess her situation and develop a tailored reintegration plan. This included caregiver assessments, counselling, and ongoing monitoring. Maly was officially placed in a stable, family-based care arrangement within her own community.

To help the family build financial independence, the programme provided school materials, a bicycle to support Maly's safe travel to school, and a livelihood grant to establish a small-scale cricket farming business. The family's cricket farming has since grown from two trays to five, significantly increasing their monthly income and household food security.

Maly has resumed her studies in Grade 3 at her local primary school and attends regularly. Her uncle reflected:
"We are grateful for the support that helped our family begin again. The small business has improved our income, and we will work hard to ensure the children can continue their education."

Maly herself looks to the future with hope:
"I am grateful to This Life Cambodia for the support. I promise to study hard to become a teacher to teach the small children in my community."

Maly is no longer a child in crisis. She is a child with a home, a future, and a family who can care for her. That is what your support makes real.

Looking Ahead

This Life will continue monitoring Maly's family and all active cases to ensure livelihood activities remain sustainable and children's education continues uninterrupted. We are also strengthening collaboration with DoSVY and partner organisations to prepare for the anticipated closure of additional RCFs, ensuring no child is left without a safety net.
Your continued support enables This Life to protect Cambodia's most vulnerable children and to walk alongside families as they rebuild their lives.

Links:

• This Life Cambodia Website
• This Life Cambodia Facebook Page
• This Life Reimagining Care (TLRC) Program Webpage

Safeguarding Cambodian Children Released from Residential Care

Quarterly Update: September–November 2025

Dear GlobalGiving supporters,

Because of you, children affected by sudden residential care closures in Cambodia are finding safety, stability, and hope—back where they belong: at home with their families.

Over the past three months, This Life Cambodia worked closely with the Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation (MoSVY/DoSVY) and local authorities to respond to ongoing residential care facility (RCF) closures. These closures, while part of a national reform to protect children, often leave families facing sudden and overwhelming challenges. Thanks to your generosity, we were able to walk alongside families during this difficult transition.

What you made possible (Sep–Nov 2025)

With your support, we provided direct assistance and consistent follow-up to children and caregivers affected by RCF closures:

• 31 children and young people (17 girls) were newly assessed and enrolled in case management support
• 282 cash transfers helped families meet urgent needs such as food, health care, and essential household items
• 28 food packages and 32 hygiene and health kits supported families during periods of acute hardship
• 17 sets of school materials and 2 bicycles helped children stay in school and travel safely
• 6 solar panels improved household safety and stability by providing reliable lighting
• 5 families began small income-generation activities to strengthen long-term resilience
• 9 counselling sessions supported children and caregivers to cope with stress and emotional strain
• 1,001 follow-up visits and contacts (in person and remote) ensured children were checked on regularly and risks were identified early

Behind every number is a child, a caregiver, and a story of change. Here is a story of rebuilding hope shared by a child leaving a residential care facility:

When Ayib (a pseudonym for privacy protection) was just 15 years old, he had already spent three years living away from his family in a residential care facility in Siem Reap province. His mother, raising six children on her own, made the heartbreaking decision to place Ayib and his siblings there after struggling with unstable income, debt, and frequent food shortages. She hoped the center would offer her children safety, regular meals, and access to education.

Life there was not what she had hoped. Ayib often received only two meals a day and was expected to complete heavy daily chores, leaving little time or energy to study. Emotional and educational support was limited. In 2023, the center closed suddenly due to lack of funding, and the children were sent home with no preparation or follow-up support.

When Ayib and three of his siblings returned home, the family was facing extreme hardship. They had no stable income, no permanent housing, outstanding debt, and not enough food. The children were at serious risk of dropping out of school.

With support from This Life Cambodia and the Department of Social Affairs, and thanks to donors like you, Ayib and his siblings were safely reintegrated into their family. Over the following months, the family received practical, life-changing support—including cash assistance, food, hygiene supplies, school materials and uniforms, and a solar panel to provide light at home. To help build long-term stability, the family also started a small chicken-raising business.

Today, the family’s situation has improved significantly. Income from the chicken business, combined with the mother’s daily labor and fishing support from her husband, helps ensure the family has enough food and can keep the children in school. Ayib now attends school regularly and is in grade 9. His health—both physical and emotional—has improved, and he has grown more confident and responsible, often helping care for his younger siblings.

Ayib’s mother shared: “I am grateful to the teachers, This Life Cambodia, and the donors for providing food, hygiene supplies, and essential support during our most difficult times. I hope the organization continues to receive support so they can help more families like mine.”

Ayib added: “Thank you for providing school materials for me and my siblings. I will try my best to finish grade 12.”

Strengthening systems so children stay safe

In addition to supporting individual families, we invested in stronger child-protection systems so this progress lasts:

• 18 caseworkers (8 women), including two persons with disabilities, participated in refresher training on quality case management and child safeguarding
• Our team joined 24 coordination meetings and workshops with provincial and district stakeholders (1,424 participants, 591 women) to strengthen collaboration, referrals, and safe family-based care planning

What’s next 

In the coming months, we expect additional RCF closures to continue. With your continued support, we will keep identifying and supporting newly affected children, strengthening family-based care, and ensuring children remain safe, healthy, and learning—at home and in their communities.

Thank you for standing with Cambodian children and families during a difficult transition. Your generosity is helping children rebuild their lives with dignity, safety, and hope.

Links:

• This Life Cambodia Website
• This Life Cambodia Social Media Platform
• This Life Reimagining Care Program Webpage