Safe Haven Children's Trust Information

Safe Haven Children's Trust was set up in March 2009 and registered as a UK charity in July 2009. Our aims are to help orphaned and abandoned children in Cambodia by giving them a safe place to live where their needs, both physical and emotional, are met. In order to do this, we operate as a charity in the UK and then give grants and provide aid to Mlop Children's Home which looks after the welfare of children in Cambodia. The founding trustee of Safe Haven, Benedicta Bywater, is also a director of Mlop Children's Home and so ensures that our high standards are met in our new centre. Why Cambodia? Cambodia has been ravaged by tragedy, a tragedy that is still being played out in countless lives across the country. The effects of the Khmer Rouge regime are still felt to this day. One of the most brutal regimes of the 20th century, more than 1.5 million people died in just over 3 years of their reign. Safe Haven Children’s Trust provides the best start for orphaned, abandoned and vulnerable Cambodian children, providing shelter, medicine and education. Only by looking after these children can Cambodia hope to have a bright future. Why Mlop? Mlop in the Khmer language roughly translates as a ‘safe haven’. This is what we are trying to create for the orphans of Cambodia. Mlop Children’s Home is different from current centres in some vital respects, which is why we passionately believe in it and the work there.