Hello Supporters,

The message is out! We’ve received a lot of press coverage regarding our work investigating and assisting police in shutting down illegal and abusive orphanages. The Brisbane Times, The Sydney Morning Herald, and The Age, call the orphanage industry in Cambodia “the stealing of a generation.”

Orphanages in Cambodia are a lucrative business. The children are the assets.
There are the highlights of the reports:

• Over 70 per cent of the 10,000 children living in Cambodia’s estimated 600 orphanages have a parent; although research shows most are portrayed as orphans to capitalise on the goodwill of foreign tourists and volunteers, including thousands of Australians.
• Up to 300 of these centres are operating illegally and flouting a push by government and United Nations agencies for children to be reunited with their parents.
• The managers of several respected Australian-run orphanages are alarmed by the situation and note that the number of orphanages has increased 65 per cent in the past five years, while the number of orphans has reduced dramatically as Cambodia recovers from genocide and an AIDS epidemic.
• There are many reports of cash transactions for children, although it is usually referred to as a donation to the child’s family.

Help us continue the fight. We can’t walk away from these children. Become their Champion. Become a SISHA Champion. Your small gift of $10-$100 helps to free these children and reunite them with their families.

Sincerely,

Steve Morrish
Executive Director

Read the Articles here:
The Age
The Sydney Morning Herald
The Brisbane Times

“Orphanages are often run as businesses, the children being the assets.”

-The Age