Our Mission

The Global Child is committed to the safety, nurture, and education of Cambodian street children. Operating both a school and safe house in Siem Reap, Cambodia, we provide the most impoverished and gifted children with a well-rounded education, life skills, and a cultural understanding of their country to promote students’ independence and leadership.

Sokmao’s Story

Growing up Sokmao collected plastic along the river and sold vegetables at a market in Phnom Penh. As a young child, he was used to waking at 5:00am to work tirelessly with his grandmother instead of going to school. In 2004, he was welcomed as one of our first students at TGC.

Following tedious studying and hard work, Sokmao graduated from TGC and expressed his interest in the culinary arts. At this point, TGC sponsored Sokmao to go to Paul DuBrule School, a vocational school for Hospitality and Tourism in Siem Reap. Sokmao excelled in this environment, and his hard work opened the door to a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity as a contestant on MasterChef. Sokmao spent four months competing against the best of the best chefs in Cambodia.

During his 15 episodes on MasterChef Khmer, he utilized his skills, broad knowledge, and creativity to make delicious culinary dishes for the judges. Follow Sokmao’s journey on MasterChef Khmer.

Our History

Since 2004, The Global Child has been transforming lives of children, families, and communities who have been marginalized and neglected through providing high-quality education, social and psychological support, and leadership and empowerment training. Through our 17 years of experience working with some of the most deserving and passionate students, we have been able to not only teach them, but provide a safe and nurturing environment for them to grow into the leaders of tomorrow.

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It takes a community to raise a child, signaling the need for a holistic approach to educating to create change.

Education

Leadership

Community

The three guiding pillars of TGC are education, leadership, and community. Education is a driving force of our operations, but we recognize the importance of empowering and supporting our students, their families, and their communities.

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Why Cambodia?

In Cambodia, a large percentage of the population lives below the poverty line. This results in very few having access to education and the financial resources to escape the vicious cycle of poverty. Domestic violence, child abuse, and human trafficking are widely reported, as are health problems stemming from food insecurity, environmental hazards, and social problems stemming from gender stereotypes. As in many developing countries suffering the aftermath of war, unschooled and underprivileged children beg for an income of less than one dollar a day, which they bring home to their families. Under these circumstances, the familial obligations many children and guardians have (and perceive) and financial hardships prevent children from going to school, despite their eagerness to learn.

Thus, the objective of The Global Child is to afford underprivileged street-working children the opportunity to obtain solid schooling in two languages by subsidizing students one dollar for each day they attend school. Students are paid their subsidy weekly. They are taught a form of micro-financing (only without repayment), allowing the school to instruct students on how to wisely manage their monthly funds to attain sustainable home projects or future savings, thus learning business acumen from the start.

Making a Difference

100 +

Students Graduated from TGC

100%

Students Continuing to University or Trade School

2000+

Community Members Served

TGC Allowed Mary to Receive and Education and Pursue Her Dreams

“TGC has helped my family and keeps me safe. TGC is wonderful.”

Mary joined the TGC family in 2018. Due to the extreme poverty her and her family faced, Mary and her 6 siblings had to leave public school to help support her family. Now she is a shining star at TGC and hopes to become a teacher so she can give back to her community one day.

Our Commitment to Global Development

TGC is dedicated to helping vulnerable children, their families, and their communities escape poverty by ensuring basic needs are met and providing quality education, career development opportunities, empowerment training, culture-based discussions, and environmentally conscious practices.

Our approach aligns with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by the United Nations, that outlines the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that act as a call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and promote prosperity.