TPRF Grant Provides Food for At-Risk Children in Cambodia

A grant of US$25,000 ensures nutritious food for over 500 children

SOURCE The Prem Rawat Foundation

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 21 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A grant of US$25,000 from The Prem Rawat Foundation (TPRF) ensures direct food aid to impoverished children living at a toxic landfill site on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia.

This is the third TPRF grant since 2008 to Cambodian Children's Fund (CCF), a nonprofit organization dedicated to the education, health care and safety of marginalized Cambodian children whose families are trapped in persistent poverty.

An estimated 1,200 families live and work at the 100-acre Stung Meanchey landfill, scavenging through the garbage for scraps of plastic and metal to sell to nearby recycling centers. Children often work at night and are under constant threat from roving gangs and child traffickers. Domestic violence and child abuse are widely reported, as are manifest health problems resulting from malnutrition and environmental hazards.

For six years, CCF has been providing food, medical attention and education to children from destitute communities like Stung Meanchey. TPRF has helped to support their program each year since 2008. Paul Saunders, Board Chairman of CCF, writes, "Too many of Cambodia's children suffer in silence. Thanks to TPRF's commitment, CCF will continue to lead Cambodian children and their families beyond survival to a safe environment." The renewed funding by The Prem Rawat Foundation will ensure that over 500 children in CCF's Educational Centers receive the consistent and quality nutrition necessary for their development.

At CCF facilities, meals using fresh local produce, herbs, aromatics and meat are prepared on-site by experienced cooks trained in balanced nutrition and good hygiene practices. In addition, rice is distributed to 72 daycare 150 Satellite School students and their families as weekly school attendance incentives, and over 1,600 people are served nutritious subsidized meals in the Community Center Cafe each month.

TPRF's president, Linda Pascotto, observes that "TPRF is proud to support the Cambodian Children's Fund, which is making a huge difference to neglected children by offering them the chance not just to survive, but to grow up healthy and able to develop their own skills, talents and possibilities."

About The Prem Rawat Foundation (TPRF)

Created in 2001, TPRF promotes Prem Rawat's vision to address fundamental human needs so that people everywhere can live their lives with Dignity, Peace, and Prosperity. For more information, visit: http://www.tprf.org