Danielle Cormack in Cambodia: video diary 1

This week we’re taking you on a journey to Cambodia with actress and ChildFund ambassador Danielle Cormack. The Wentworth star has been a child sponsor with ChildFund for more than a decade and is a strong advocate for vulnerable children.

Danielle began her visit at the ChildFund Cambodia head office in Phnom Penh, where she spent the morning learning about the issues facing children in Cambodia`s rural villages and getting a broad overview of how ChildFund is helping. In the afternoon, it was time to hit the road to Kratie.

A five-hour car journey from the capital Phnom Penh, Kratie is one of the poorest and more remote regions in Cambodia. ChildFund has been working here since 2011, supporting around 20,000 vulnerable children and their families.

“Cambodia is still recovering from three decades of war, where 1.7 million people were killed or died under the forced hardship of the Khmer Rouge regime,” says Danielle. “So child poverty is a big problem here €“ malnutrition, lack of education, water, sanitation. We’ll be going to some of the ChildFund communities to visit the kids and see what programs ChildFund is implementing to deal with these problems.”

Danielle had a jam-packed first day visiting programs in different communities and says she was struck by the many ways in which ChildFund is helping children and families overcome poverty in these villages. From supporting children’s health through a nutrition group for mums, to improving the quality of education for children at rural schools, to helping young people secure a financial future through a youth savings group, these are just some of the ChildFund-supported programs being implemented in Kratie, thanks to the contributions of child sponsors in Australia and around the world.

“It`s been incredibly insightful to be on the ground and see firsthand the work ChildFund is doing in the communities here, with the local councils and local government bodies,” says Danielle.