Cambodia has one of the world’s largest disabled populations, including an estimated 43,000 landmine survivors and 50,000 people affected by polio.

In a country where the average income is less than 50p a day, disabled people are the poorest of the poor. Discriminated against at every level of society, they are seen as ‘useless’; a burden on the family and the community.

Unable to participate in education and employment opportunities, many disabled men, women and children live as outcasts, begging on the streets for their survival.

Denied their equal rights, they remain trapped in the cycle of poverty. We are working hard to break that cycle, through practical projects such as rehabilitation, community work, capacity building and advocacy - promoting equal rights from grass roots to government level. We also share our expertise in other developing countries, and have recently established partnership projects in East Timor and Sri Lanka. The Cambodia Trust is one of the first NGOs in the world to achieve ISO 9001:2000 certification.
[Photo © Martin Flitman]