Two of CCF's smiling children.  There are over 1,200 others being cared for by CCF.

From HRH the Prince of Wales to the Rubbish Dump

Scott today working his way through the rubbish dump in Phnom Penh and in his previous life as a Hollywood bigwig meeting Prince Charles.

Newest Trustee Juliet Phillips

Juliet Phillips is the latest recruit to join CCF-UK as a Trustee.  Not only is she a whizz at figures (she heads a finance department of eight) she has legal training, appears ten years younger than she actually is -  and brings pragmatism and diplomacy to her role with CCF.

Juliet studied law and accountancy and now works in Finance in the Insurance Industry.  During the summer of 2011, she was lucky enough to have the opportunity to take a two month sabbatical and decided to travel to countries that she had not previously visited.  Of all the countries she explored during that time, the one that really captured her heart was Cambodia.  She was very moved by the history of the country and the daily struggle faced by the people who live there as they strive to overcome the after effects of many years of civil war.  Most notable were the children, who were engaging, curious and playful, despite the fact that they lacked the essentials to live, let alone the material possessions that children in the Western World often take for granted.   A chance meeting in London when she returned, led her to the Cambodian Children's Fund and she became a trustee in early 2012.  

 One of Juliet's shots of children taken while in Cambodia in 2011

Indiana's Harrison Ford

Difficult to different between these two stars:  Scott looks just as Hollywood glam as Harrison in his hey day.  This was taken before Scott got down and dirty and founded the amazing Cambodian Children's Fund.

DI's View

Soundbites from UK Trustee, Detective Inspector John Geden:

I have been involved in a several operations to support the Cambodian National Police in investigating the alleged activities of Travelling Sex Offenders. Cambodia is an attractive location for preferential paedophiles from developed countries; there is a huge disparity between the wealth of the tourist and that of the local population in many areas. This disparity forms the key ingredient that allows an offender to abuse children at will, often with the agreement of the childs parent or carer and with little chance of facing justice.

In our comfortable homes it seems unimaginable that a parent would sell their children to a western paedophile. The very worst levels of poverty, in this country and in the rest of the developed world, are still several leagues above the crushing poverty that affects the population in many common abuse destination countries. During my visit to Cambodia I witnessed children digging for food in filthy rubbish bins and walking the streets with no shoes. I saw whole families living in the most appalling conditions imaginable and I saw how a combination of poverty and HIV had blighted a generation.

When you see this poverty in its full horror you understand how, faced with the possibility of not feeding their family, a parent would find a $30 offer from a westerner an attractive offer. I know all too well that $30 is a large amount and that children have been purchased for sex for much less.

More disturbingly, large numbers of children in the SE Asian region are trafficked into the sex industry on a commercial basis. Many NGO’s provide evidence of gang-masters recruiting, buying or even just abducting young children from poor rural communities and forcing them to work in the brothels in large cities. Research indicates that thirty thousand Cambodian children are trafficked into the sex trade and brothel owners in SE Asia can buy a woman or child from the traffickers for as little as $50 US. Virgins are even more valuable and fetch between $500 US and $1000 US.

The diverse projects that CCF delivers are low cost and high impact. They ensure that the most vulnerable families are kept above the poverty line with their most basic human needs being met by the charity. The work is long term and it is sustainable and directly reduces the threat of children being sold either individually or en-masse into the global child sex trade. It is so easy to miss this dynamic amongst all of the other support that CCF delivers. It is a combination of that direct aid and the sustainable long-term projects that CCF has developed that save children from sexual exploitation.

Scott & Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

In this year of the Jubilee we thought you might like to see an image of Scott in his more spruced up days as a Hollywood mogul.  Both he and the Queen look Royally chuffed!

CCF-UK's Secretary

Susie Nash undertakes a mass of work for CCF-UK - without any of the glory!  She takes notes at all the Trustee meetings, keeps donors updated with thank you letters and is a lynchpin of the UK operation.  She has never visited Cambodia but was enticed by her brother-in-law Michael Armitage - who founded CCF-UK - to take an active role.

Susie was previously a Production Assistant on TV commercials and more recently, invaluable PA to a number of high profile authors and movers and shakers in the theatre world.  Susie lives in West London and is married to Robin an advertising creative who has supported CCF-UK by providing graphics from time to time.

Mel Gibson & Scott Neeson

Scott during his Hollywood days, on the set of Braveheart  with Mel Gibson