About Happy Hub Kampot
Our Mission
Happy Hub Kampot is a non-profit charity providing financial assistance to disadvantaged families.
Family Support, Health and Nutrition support, Medical assistance, as well as sponsorship for at risk children and families in the Kampot province and surrounding areas.
Our programs form partnerships with local villagers and the local chiefs to ensure a successful outcome.
Happy Hubs goal is to foster a commitment to at risk children and their parents to enable them to learn new skills, and earn an income or gain employment, hence the ability to self-support and reassert a sense of hope in the future and out of poverty. Only through personal relationships can a sense of individual responsibility be re-established that will give the community the commitment to follow through on path to a better and sustainable life with a sense of pride and accomplishment.
Affording the local children and community with an education will help them to understand and learn the importance of gaining a good education to help them be successful in putting their lives together. To accomplish this goal, they must be in a caring, inclusive learning environment that promotes their best effort and reinforces personal respect.
Affording the local disadvantaged parents, the opportunity to learn skills that will help them to gain employment or sustain a farming business, will enable them to live with their children again. Unfortunately, as it stands at the moment, there is a large number of children who are sent to orphanages because the parents cannot feed their children. Our aim is to change this, because we all know that in the majority of cases, children need their parents love.
Happy Hub is a program that is in direct response to the growing number of young Cambodian Children that are placed into orphanage’s in hopes of a better life. Unfortunately, many of these orphanages are not run properly and are putting the children at a higher risk. The goal of the program is to identify children who are in orphanages that are not complying with standards and leaving children at risk, not feeding them, educating them or caring for their health properly.
Happy Hub will focus primarily on disadvantaged youth and parents. The current situation in Cambodia with orphanage issues and poverty is particularly problematic and a perfect time for mentoring and support to be effective.
Happy Hub’s assistance will ensure education to disadvantaged children. Parents will be given opportunities to learn skills appropriate to their ability, whether it be cleaning, sewing, massage, beauty treatments, art and horticulture through a volunteer program.
Our building internship program will enable at risk youth from villages to learn construction skills through formal education, hence allowing then the opportunity for employment
Our water filters and latrines program provides villagers who do not have access to clean water or toilets, water filters to provide drinking water and latrines to prevent land contamination and the spread of diseases.
Happy Hub Kampot is not affiliated with any religion. It is important to us that the Cambodians maintain their Buddhist belief to ensure that their communities are allowed to continue with what has made them so resilient and happy.
Family Support, Health and Nutrition support, Medical assistance, as well as sponsorship for at risk children and families in the Kampot province and surrounding areas.
Our programs form partnerships with local villagers and the local chiefs to ensure a successful outcome.
Happy Hubs goal is to foster a commitment to at risk children and their parents to enable them to learn new skills, and earn an income or gain employment, hence the ability to self-support and reassert a sense of hope in the future and out of poverty. Only through personal relationships can a sense of individual responsibility be re-established that will give the community the commitment to follow through on path to a better and sustainable life with a sense of pride and accomplishment.
Affording the local children and community with an education will help them to understand and learn the importance of gaining a good education to help them be successful in putting their lives together. To accomplish this goal, they must be in a caring, inclusive learning environment that promotes their best effort and reinforces personal respect.
Affording the local disadvantaged parents, the opportunity to learn skills that will help them to gain employment or sustain a farming business, will enable them to live with their children again. Unfortunately, as it stands at the moment, there is a large number of children who are sent to orphanages because the parents cannot feed their children. Our aim is to change this, because we all know that in the majority of cases, children need their parents love.
Happy Hub is a program that is in direct response to the growing number of young Cambodian Children that are placed into orphanage’s in hopes of a better life. Unfortunately, many of these orphanages are not run properly and are putting the children at a higher risk. The goal of the program is to identify children who are in orphanages that are not complying with standards and leaving children at risk, not feeding them, educating them or caring for their health properly.
Happy Hub will focus primarily on disadvantaged youth and parents. The current situation in Cambodia with orphanage issues and poverty is particularly problematic and a perfect time for mentoring and support to be effective.
Happy Hub’s assistance will ensure education to disadvantaged children. Parents will be given opportunities to learn skills appropriate to their ability, whether it be cleaning, sewing, massage, beauty treatments, art and horticulture through a volunteer program.
Our building internship program will enable at risk youth from villages to learn construction skills through formal education, hence allowing then the opportunity for employment
Our water filters and latrines program provides villagers who do not have access to clean water or toilets, water filters to provide drinking water and latrines to prevent land contamination and the spread of diseases.
Happy Hub Kampot is not affiliated with any religion. It is important to us that the Cambodians maintain their Buddhist belief to ensure that their communities are allowed to continue with what has made them so resilient and happy.
Our Vision
Our vision is to provide remote Cambodian villagers with life essentials to prevent illness and death. To assist villagers without hope, the opportunity to learn skills for employment. To enable the villagers to maintain their social network and integrity while building a better life for themselves.
Our Values & Approach
Community Values - We work to provide medical, educational assistance and health care to disadvantaged communities while ensuring that their customs and religions are not interfered with. We value the community unit in which the Cambodians live and feel that this is a very superior form of living, without material expectations, and with the love and support of family members. Our aim is to simply enable them to lead a healthier life.
Ethical Values - We put the best interests of the children and families ahead of all we do. This includes ethical marketing and fundraising strategies.
Transparency & Accountability - We strive to ensure that all sponsors, donors and recipient families are kept up to date with our projects
Ethical Values - We put the best interests of the children and families ahead of all we do. This includes ethical marketing and fundraising strategies.
Transparency & Accountability - We strive to ensure that all sponsors, donors and recipient families are kept up to date with our projects
Where our Projects Operate
- We assist 3 remote villages in the Siem Reap province with medical assistance, health and hygiene equipment.
- Our building apprentice program is currently operating in Siem Reap under the supervision of Rick Garson (www.projectscambodia.com) . This program is in partnership with the Lighthouse Club to enable village youth the opportunity for an education for employment.
- Alecia now lives with her 9 beautiful children on the outskirts of Siem Reap, where the children are thriving. Alecia has been busy running avillage assistance program for many of the impoverished villages around Siem Reap.
A Message from the Founders
If someone had said to me a a year and a half ago that I would be running a charity in Cambodia, I would have laughed at them.
It just shows that anything can happen, because here we are just over a year into what I can only describe as a rollercoaster ride.
After going to Cambodia for a holiday, where I stayed at an orphanage on the outskirts of Siem Reap, I soon realised that the children were a commodity for the ruthless Khmer director. While I was at the orphanage I met a beautiful American lady who had also been there helping. It was this meeting that had created this amazing charity. We agreed that the children had to be removed from the orphanages care as they had no medical attention, they were not fed properly and were at high risk of sexual abuse.
After asking the director to see the books, it became apparent that he was not going to be forthcoming with the information and became quiet agitated. Alecia was now in danger and had to leave the property with only her cloths on her back. Alecia maintained contact with one of the managers and they organised to meet up to organise a way of removing the children. We initially thought that we could return the children to their families and help the families earn an income, however after learning that this was not possible due to abuse, Alecia decided to become guardian of 9 children.
I have spent the last year busy dealing with red tape setting up the charity so that we can support and assist not only Alecia and the children, but also village communities with health, hygiene and work training programs. We realise that the best outcome for Cambodian families is to help them learn skills for employment so that families can stay together. As it is currently, most remote village families believe that sending their children to orphanages gives them a better chance in life, this is not true and if the children end up in a sham orphanage, then they are also at risk of being trafficked for sex or slavery.
So, when I look at all we have accomplished in the last year, I feel extremely proud and blessed to have so many passionate people who have helped with our mission.
We have some amazing committee members who have really stepped up and embraced the cause.
Colin Norris visited Cambodia and created the water filter run program, as well as identifying medical situations in villages, and he is a tireless fundraiser. In conjuction with Julie and Aja Cordner they assisted Sok Lin and his siblings who are all deaf and cannot talk to Phnom Penh hospital for assessments and a plan for the childrens education. Kathy and Craig Hickson got to spend some time with the HHK family and helped the children and our manager Bora with medical knowledge while on their trip to Cambodia.
We have been busy fundraising over the last year to provide funds for our projects. Colin Norris has worked tirelessly through the year running market stalls to raise money for our projects. Colin and Katherine have both visited Cambodia 2 times over the last year to assist in the programs and set up new programs, and we are so grateful for that. We look forward to the next year with lots of fundraising events in stall :)
Of course none of this would be possible without our sponsors and donors. Without the funds we could not do the work that we do.
The dedication of everyone is heart warming and I hope in time proves to create a better life for some of the worlds most disadvantaged children and families.
Trisha Simpson
Co-founder & Treasurer Happy Hub Kampot
It just shows that anything can happen, because here we are just over a year into what I can only describe as a rollercoaster ride.
After going to Cambodia for a holiday, where I stayed at an orphanage on the outskirts of Siem Reap, I soon realised that the children were a commodity for the ruthless Khmer director. While I was at the orphanage I met a beautiful American lady who had also been there helping. It was this meeting that had created this amazing charity. We agreed that the children had to be removed from the orphanages care as they had no medical attention, they were not fed properly and were at high risk of sexual abuse.
After asking the director to see the books, it became apparent that he was not going to be forthcoming with the information and became quiet agitated. Alecia was now in danger and had to leave the property with only her cloths on her back. Alecia maintained contact with one of the managers and they organised to meet up to organise a way of removing the children. We initially thought that we could return the children to their families and help the families earn an income, however after learning that this was not possible due to abuse, Alecia decided to become guardian of 9 children.
I have spent the last year busy dealing with red tape setting up the charity so that we can support and assist not only Alecia and the children, but also village communities with health, hygiene and work training programs. We realise that the best outcome for Cambodian families is to help them learn skills for employment so that families can stay together. As it is currently, most remote village families believe that sending their children to orphanages gives them a better chance in life, this is not true and if the children end up in a sham orphanage, then they are also at risk of being trafficked for sex or slavery.
So, when I look at all we have accomplished in the last year, I feel extremely proud and blessed to have so many passionate people who have helped with our mission.
We have some amazing committee members who have really stepped up and embraced the cause.
Colin Norris visited Cambodia and created the water filter run program, as well as identifying medical situations in villages, and he is a tireless fundraiser. In conjuction with Julie and Aja Cordner they assisted Sok Lin and his siblings who are all deaf and cannot talk to Phnom Penh hospital for assessments and a plan for the childrens education. Kathy and Craig Hickson got to spend some time with the HHK family and helped the children and our manager Bora with medical knowledge while on their trip to Cambodia.
We have been busy fundraising over the last year to provide funds for our projects. Colin Norris has worked tirelessly through the year running market stalls to raise money for our projects. Colin and Katherine have both visited Cambodia 2 times over the last year to assist in the programs and set up new programs, and we are so grateful for that. We look forward to the next year with lots of fundraising events in stall :)
Of course none of this would be possible without our sponsors and donors. Without the funds we could not do the work that we do.
The dedication of everyone is heart warming and I hope in time proves to create a better life for some of the worlds most disadvantaged children and families.
Trisha Simpson
Co-founder & Treasurer Happy Hub Kampot
I arrived in Cambodia in November of 2015, after having worked in Uganda and Sudan. During my time in Uganda, Cambodia came onto my radar because of the trafficking of children from Africa to SE Asia. My intention was to spend some time here, a year at most and build contacts within my government here on the ground, assist in setting up of safe houses and medical treatment and eventually the return of these children to their families in Africa. That was my intention. Through a series of events I came across an orphan camp in Siem Reap, I was not familiar with orphan camps, as things in Africa aren’t run in the same manner. At first I believed the man running the camp was genuinely vested in a better outcome for the children in his care, unfortunately that was not the truth.
Trish and I met while she was visiting with her daughter, at that point we had started to see the cracks in this organization and came up with a plan to not only help the children, but to make it possible for families to stay together and become self sufficient, by teaching of skills, helping with crops, water systems. On paper this was a wonderful plan, but neither of us expected that some children would not be able to be placed with their families. During this time, I had to make a decision that I knew would alter my life forever, I gained custody of nine children. This was not an easy decision for me, I am not what people would have concerned a “Kid” person. I enjoyed high adrenaline, high risk work.
The last year and a half has brought many changes, challenges, joy, love and so much more. We have grown as a family, we started as 10 strangers, today we are as much a family as any natural family. It was not easy in the beginning, as many of my children had different trauma issues, fears, insecurities, but by giving them a stable, structured and healthy life, we have all thrived. They are the greatest gift I could have ever been given, and today I couldn’t imagine my life without them in it. Watching them grow, mature, thrive, both physically and emotionally is a priceless gift.
We have recently moved to Phnom Penh, so we are in another season of adjustment, but it is the right move for us, better education for the children and a lot of opportunity for projects in surrounding villages for Happy Hub. There are many slums, extremely poor villages in this area that we will now have the ability to access and hopefully, through the love and support of our amazing donors and committee members, we will be able to improve and impact many more families in this coming year. I am very excited at what this next year will bring. None of this would be possible without all of the beautiful people that have helped us, held fundraisers, and worked tirelessly together with Trish and I to achieve something that will change lives, we are so thankful for all of you.
Trish and I met while she was visiting with her daughter, at that point we had started to see the cracks in this organization and came up with a plan to not only help the children, but to make it possible for families to stay together and become self sufficient, by teaching of skills, helping with crops, water systems. On paper this was a wonderful plan, but neither of us expected that some children would not be able to be placed with their families. During this time, I had to make a decision that I knew would alter my life forever, I gained custody of nine children. This was not an easy decision for me, I am not what people would have concerned a “Kid” person. I enjoyed high adrenaline, high risk work.
The last year and a half has brought many changes, challenges, joy, love and so much more. We have grown as a family, we started as 10 strangers, today we are as much a family as any natural family. It was not easy in the beginning, as many of my children had different trauma issues, fears, insecurities, but by giving them a stable, structured and healthy life, we have all thrived. They are the greatest gift I could have ever been given, and today I couldn’t imagine my life without them in it. Watching them grow, mature, thrive, both physically and emotionally is a priceless gift.
We have recently moved to Phnom Penh, so we are in another season of adjustment, but it is the right move for us, better education for the children and a lot of opportunity for projects in surrounding villages for Happy Hub. There are many slums, extremely poor villages in this area that we will now have the ability to access and hopefully, through the love and support of our amazing donors and committee members, we will be able to improve and impact many more families in this coming year. I am very excited at what this next year will bring. None of this would be possible without all of the beautiful people that have helped us, held fundraisers, and worked tirelessly together with Trish and I to achieve something that will change lives, we are so thankful for all of you.
Alecia Damico
Co Founder, Awesome mum & Humanitarian
Co Founder, Awesome mum & Humanitarian
Meet the Team
Achievement's of 2019 & 2020
- Distributed over 60 water filter systems to remote village families.
- Provided rice, food and medical supplies to impoverished villagers
- Built 1 house and toilets for families in need.
- Provided a scholarship for Narong
Thank you to our Sponsors & Donors
Major Sponsors
Raffle Donors
Governance
Happy Hub Kampot is a registered charity with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits commission (ACNC)
Happy Hub Kampot has a DGR 1 status, therefore allowing us to issue tax deductible receipts for any donations within Australia over $2.
Happy Hub Kampot is an Incorporated Association - number 1A55846
ABN : 90568817664
Happy Hub Kampot has a DGR 1 status, therefore allowing us to issue tax deductible receipts for any donations within Australia over $2.
Happy Hub Kampot is an Incorporated Association - number 1A55846
ABN : 90568817664
