In Cambodia
Restaurateur Lay Neth, who was one of only a few family members to survive the Khmer Rouge days, knows what it’s like to be poor. He struggled to open his Veiyo Tonle restaurant, and began funneling some of the profits to his New Cambodian Children’s Life Association (NCCLA). The NCCLA became a bona fide orphanage in 2004, and supports 25 orphans, who are fed, clothed, housed, and taught English and Japanese languages, in addition to other courses. Lay and wife Tavy are big-hearted people who, in addition to overseeing the orphanage, still use some of the profits from the restaurant to fund NCCLA. They also let local indigent children run through the restaurant to sell books, souvenirs, and shoeshines, a crazy way to do business, but in keeping with their vision. Veiyo Tonle restaurant is located at 237 Sisowath Quai in Phnom Penh. You can donate directly to the orphanage at via this contact information.
In Thailand
Father Joe Maier is a tough but compassionate Catholic priest whose remarkable Mercy Centre has been helping to clothe, educate, feed, and house Bangkok’s unwanted children and AIDS victims since 1973. They support over 220 children, rescue others from abusive environments, and do more than any other organization of its kind that we know of. Religious dogma is kept to a bare minimum here, and Buddhism is honored. Their website at www.mercycentre.org has donation information, including 501(c)3 data for US-based contributors.
In Vietnam
Jenny Do is a remarkable lawyer and gallery owner who founded Friends of Hué, an orphanage in Hué, Vietnam. There, the children are fed, clothed, and educated, and provided medical treatment.
Jenny writes: “Friends of Hué is a nonprofit organization with a mission of providing long-term assistance in economic self-sufficiency, health care, education and emergency relief for victims of natural disasters in Thua Thien Hue and nearby areas in Central Vietnam. Friends of Hue maintains an Orphanage and Vocational Learning Center in Thua Thien, Hue Province, and provides basic medical care, corrective surgeries, and scholarship for disadvantaged children to rural communities in the Central area of Vietnam. All U.S.-based staff serve as unpaid volunteers.”
Donate at www.friendsofhue.org