CAMBODIA

Country Snapshot

Cambodia is a South East Asian country of approximately 12.5 million people and is one of the most severely mine-affected countries in the world. Nearly half of the villages in Cambodia are affected by landmines and unexploded ordnances. Cambodia also has one of the highest percentages of landmine-injured persons in the world, with approximately 45,000 mine-related amputations and injuries occurring between 1979 to 2005.

The estimated 10 million landmines still scattered throughout the country severely hinder all areas of socio-economic development. For people with disabilities, opportunities to participate in education, skills trainings, employment, and sustainable income-generation activities are especially scarce.

WRF's History

In 1999, World Rehabilitation Fund initiated The Artisans Association of Cambodia and the Business Advisory Council in Cambodia as part of its larger Socioeconomic Reintegration of Landmine Survivors initiative, in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme.

The Poverty Alleviation Through Community Empowerment (PACE) was a natural extension of WRF's initial work and focused on the needs of rural Cambodians with disabilities.

Artisans Association of Cambodia (AAC)

The AAC is an association of autonomous members who are collaborating to create more viable employment opportunities for Cambodians with disabilities, through the medium of craft production and sale.

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Business Advisory Council (BAC)

The BAC was started in 1999 and organized members of the Phnom Penh employer community to assist job placement efforts and focus on improving local vocational training programs. WRF and the BAC collaborated with the National Center for Disabled Persons (NCDP) and their existing job placement service for people with disabilities.

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Poverty Alleviation Through
Community Empowerment (PACE)

WRF created the PACE program in 2003 with support from the McMahan Center Abilities Activists. The project was geared towards providing individualized vocational training in Veal Thom-rural community founded by amputees.

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