The Sareka-House

In February 2009 Sareka's earliest supporters and friends Jean-Michel and Martijn visited the Sihanoukville dump site. They were so moved by what they witnessed that they decided enough was enough, and that they were going to help the twenty most unfortunate children in a massive way. Together with Sokha they made a plan to create a shelter where the children could live permanently, away from the dumpsite and away from the scavenger lifestyle forever. In the shelter the children would not only have a save environment to live and play; they would also be given nutritious meals, clean water, and for the first time ever in their lives they would be able to go to school. That same week the Sareka-House was created, and now, over six months later, it is home to twenty children who now have the opportunity to smile and play, and eat good meals and attend school. These are rights which no child should ever be denied.

Jean-Michel and Martijn have since setup a charity organisation in the Netherlands to raise the funds to keep Sareka-House alive. Staff at Sareka house includes Sokha Peng, the director, who not only oversees the daily management of the shelter, he also provides a consistent Cambodian presence at the dump site to assess the needs of the community. There is also a local woman from the dump-site, who has been given a paid job, living in the Sareka-House and preparing daily meals. Meanwhile Martijn has moved to Cambodia to live and work permanently. He controls the financial aspects of Sareka, and reports to Jean-Michel and their donors in the Netherlands. Jean-Michel still lives in the Netherlands.. He is currently fundraising around the clock and tries just about everything he can to find more donors, sponsors and possible governmental support for Sareka. The charity foundation in the Netherlands, stichting wees welkom, recently launched their new website, if you're interested, and able to read Dutch, please follow the link above and have a look.

Although at this present time the project still runs smoothly, funds are low and more donations are most needed. As well as maintaining the house and caring for all of the needs of the children who live there, there are still children who live on the dump site. There are still children who we haven't rescued yet and are still scavenging day after day for barely enough money to eat. There are still children on the Sihanoukville dump site living their day to day lives surrounded by filth, children who don't go to school, children who desperately need medical and dental care, children without access to clean water; children who need to be saved from the endless spiral of poverty which they were born into.