Gon Preah
Kids at Risk Ministry
Children with little opportunity are growing into people who can shape Cambodia’s future
From One Encounter to Thirty Children
In December 2007, a staff member from our base met a young girl at the government orphanage in Battambang. Her mother had just died of AIDS. No one knew her name. They gave her one: the Khmer word for life.
By 2010 it had become a ministry. What started as a response to children living with HIV and AIDS has grown into something wider: caring for children in Battambang who are vulnerable, at risk, and often invisible to the people around them. Today, around 30 children are part of the program.
The work looks like this:
The first Friday of every month is Rice Day. Staff bring 20kg of rice to each family and stay long enough to actually talk, ask what’s needed, and pray together.
Most mornings, staff are somewhere in the city doing home visits. Sitting in homes. Checking on health. Building the kind of trust that only comes from showing up again and again.
Every child in the program is enrolled in a quality private school. We cover tuition and uniforms, then tutor the children in the afternoons on the UofN campus.
Every week, children have the chance to learn something beyond survival. Swimming. Art. Piano. Soccer.
Every child in the program has someone personally walking alongside them. Staff invest in each child’s education, wellbeing, and character, and for those open to it, their faith.
The work is consistent because the children need consistency. Most of them have had very little of it.
What We Have Seen Happen
When a child is growing up in a family that can’t afford school fees, living with HIV, or has lost a parent, the question isn’t, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” It’s whether anyone notices them at all.
What changes that is usually one thing: Someone decides to show up.
One student from the program recently graduated with a law degree. Without support, finishing school at any level would have been out of reach. Five students have now graduated from Grade 12. Three children currently sit in the top three of their class.
One girl is now part of SALT Academy’s Mighty Girls. She has somewhere to be and people who expect her there. That didn’t happen by accident. It happened because staff went to her home, sat with her family, and kept coming back.
This is what the ministry looks like from the outside. From the inside, it looks like someone choosing, week after week, to go back to the hard parts of the city and keep showing up for children the world walks past.
What Your Support Does
What $60 a Month Covers:
- 20kg of rice for the child’s family each month
- School tuition at a quality private school
- School and athletic clothing
- A bicycle
- Medical costs
That’s it. Sixty dollars a month sponsors one child. Everything listed above is covered.
How Giving Works:
Sponsorship is a monthly recurring gift. When you’re ready, tap the button below to contact someone on our team who will walk with you through the process. If you have questions before giving, please contact us.
Not sure if monthly giving is right for you? A one-off gift is also welcome.
Sponsor a Child Today
Every child in this program is known by name and cared for personally. For sixty dollars a month, you can be part of what makes that happen.
Serve With Us in Battambang
If you’ve done a DTS and the transformation described on this page is the kind of work you want to be doing, reach out to us.
Gon Preah Kids Ministry is part of the wider UofN Battambang base, one of the largest YWAM campuses in the world, operating since 2006 with over 100 staff from many nations.
Staff in this ministry go out daily into the harder parts of Battambang. They tutor children, show up to Rice Day every month, and build trust with families.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does my $60 go?
It covers rice, school tuition, clothing, a bicycle, and medical costs for one child.
It does not go to staff wages.
Can I give a one-off gift instead of monthly?
Yes. Monthly sponsorship is the most consistent way to support a child, but one-off gifts are welcome and you can request for the funds to go to the same work.
How do I know it's making a difference?
The children in this program are enrolled in school, tutored weekly, and known personally by staff through regular home visits and individual support. One student has graduated with a law degree. Five have completed Grade 12. This is not a remote program. Staff are serving with us full time.
You can also see more frequent updates on our Gon Preah Facebook page.