Mekhala House began operation in October 2005 based on an identified need to provide assistance to orphaned and under-privileged girls in the region. Since that time Mekhala House has grown to be a home for 42 girls and 3 male siblings. It also provides employment for 11 permanent full-time staff.
The focus is on girls because they traditionally experience a higher level of disadvantage in Cambodia. There is a severe lack of social infrastructure to care for orphaned girls in the region, whereas boys are often able to live in the pagodas (temples) with Buddhist monks, who channel community support to these children. Orphaned girls are also at risk in Cambodia of being abducted by sex traffickers and forced into prostitution.
The Mekhala House project differentiates itself from many other orphanages by providing a high level of care to a relatively small number of children. FDCC aims to provide the children with the level of emotional, material and educational support that would be found in a typical middle class Cambodian family. Therefore, our staff-to-children ratio is higher than other similar organisations.
FDCC believes this approach is the best way to really make a difference to the lives of disadvantaged girls and help them become future leaders within their community.
All of the children attend the local school in Prey Veng. FDCC recognise that education is critical to providing them with the opportunity to have a successful future within their community. In the evenings and on weekends the children are given additional lessons and have the opportunity to study and play within the safety of Mekhala House which is protected by on site security guards 24 hours a day.
Where possible, the children are encouraged to retain family links in the community. Many of the children visited extended family members during Cambodian holidays such as Khmer New Year.