21-year old Sinat graduated from high school this year, the first child in her family to do so. Her family had moved to Sihanoukville from the poor rural countryside when Sinat was just a young girl. The parents moved in hopes of making a better life for themselves and their children. Sinat had been attending…
Sreyroth* is a 37-year-old single mother of two young girls aged 8 and 11 years old. Both children attend classes at M’Lop Tapang’s Education Center. Recently, Sreyroth lost her job as a cleaner when the business she was working for was sold to a new owner. After being referred to our ‘Futures’ employment office Sreyroth…
Until recently 12-year old Veasna* and his younger sister were spending his days at a local construction site where their parents are working as laborers. Like many families, they had moved to Sihanoukville to find employment as workers in the city’s booming construction and development sector. This is an all too common site in Sihanoukville.…
Based on real life events, the 30 minute video tells a story about the risks of unsafe employment and being trafficked to another county. View the video on our YouTube page. View the video on our Facebook page.
In the last week our Education Center was severely flooded during heavy rains. Since building our Education Center almost 10 years ago we have never experienced flooding like this. The damage has been extensive and the costs of repairs will be in the tens of thousands of dollars – structural damage to walls and classrooms,…
With so much development and construction going on in and around the city, and a seemingly lack of city planning, flooding around M’Lop Tapang’s Education Center is becoming more frequent and more severe during times of heavy rain. Fueled by massive Chinese investments in hotels and casinos the city is changing quickly. The construction boom…
Recently our 24-Hour Hotline received a call from a woman who wanted to let us know about a young couple whose 2-year old boy was in the hospital. The little boy, Samnang*, was seriously ill but the family was very poor; they couldn’t afford the hospital fees and often did not even have enough money…
7 year-old Sinat’s* family moved to Sihanoukville so that her parents could find work as laborers in the city’s booming construction industry. Like many of the workers that have moved here, Sinat’s parents brought along the whole family, including the little girl and her two younger brothers. Her family, like so many others in the…
When our social workers first met Chamnab* many years ago he was a 10-year old boy living on the streets with his two sisters after their single-parent mother abandoned them. The team helped them to find a safe place to live and Chamnab started to go to school. He later dropped out of school in…
Happy Birthday M’Lop Tapang! This week M’Lop Tapang celebrated 16 years of working with vulnerable children and families in the Sihanoukville area. As the city is quickly transforming and is no longer the sleepy little beach town it was when M’Lop Tapang started we are now faced with new challenges and opportunities. Despite the obstacles…
