Wagga Wagga → Phnom Penh · Since 2015
Education is how the cycle breaks.
HELP Cambodia is a Wagga Wagga charity supporting the DCC school in Steung Meanchey, Phnom Penh — a community built on the city's old rubbish dump. In 2025, 124 students are enrolled.
ACNC registered charity.
Donations via RAWCS are tax deductible.
The DCC school in 2025
DCC began in 2010 with 15 students in a family living room.
124
Students at the DCC school
79
Sponsored by Australian donors
7
Studying at university right now
9
University graduates
Sponsor a student
$40 a month, and a child stays in school.
Sponsorship is A$40 per month and tax deductible. Funds are pooled to run the DCC school — primarily teacher salaries and classroom resources. Students get classes in English, computing, Khmer and traditional Khmer dance.
- An annual report showing exactly how the funds were spent
- A monitored email account to write to your student in English
- An invitation to join the team in Cambodia each November
of the 124 students are still waiting for a sponsor. In 2025, 79 are sponsored.
Our school
One man, a living room, and fifteen students.
Bophal Choun grew up in Steung Meanchey, the community on Phnom Penh's old rubbish dump. As a boy he walked 10km to the nearest government school. To earn his English certificate he walked 20km a day, five days a week, for three years.
In 2010 he began teaching fifteen children in the home he shared with his in-laws — the family vacated the house every day so classes could run. They did that for five years. In 2015 a touring group from Wagga Wagga knocked on the door. The school they went home and funded opened in June 2017.
Read Bophal's full story
Bophal and Chantrea with their three children. The family lives in the manager's residence inside the DCC school.
Three ways to help
Every Australian dollar goes a long way in Cambodia. Your donation goes where it is needed most — on the ground, at the school. Gifts made through RAWCS are tax deductible.
01 — Ongoing
Sponsor a student
A$40 a month, tax deductible. Funds teacher salaries and classroom resources, and you hear directly from the student you support.
Become a sponsor02 — One-off
Give a single gift
Give tax-deductibly through Rotary Australia World Community Service, or by direct transfer to HELP Cambodia. We will get in touch to say thank you.
Ways to give03 — Together
Fundraise with us
Schools, businesses and clubs raise money for DCC every year — trivia nights, raffles, succulents, even recycling cans. Tell us what you have in mind.
Talk to usFifteen years, one school
- 2010
Bophal begins teaching fifteen children in his family's home.
- 2015
A Wagga Wagga group visits. HELP Cambodia Inc is founded and registered with the ACNC.
- 2016
DCC is endorsed as a Rotary RAWCS project, making donations tax deductible.
- 2017
The new school opens its doors in June, built with Wagga funds and local labour.
- 2018
The University Scholarship Fund is created for students who make it to university.
- 2025
124 students enrolled. Nine graduates have finished university; seven are studying now.
There is no better feeling than to know you are providing a child hope for their future, and the future of their community.
Beyond the school
Partners we stand behind
DCC is our main project, but not our only one. We work alongside in-country organisations doing work we believe in.
Heartprint
Siem Reap
A community support centre in Phum Thmey village, focused on housing and education. Their mission is opportunity, not dependency.
Battambang Ophthalmic Care
Battambang
Free cataract surgery for the rural north-west since 2006 — the only service of its kind for a population of 1.2 million.
Building Community Cambodia
Siem Reap
Lotus House offers free English to over 300 children, plus an elderly care programme of monthly pensions and home repairs.
Days for Girls Wagga Wagga
Wagga Wagga
Twice partnered with us to distribute DfG kits to girls in rural Cambodia, alongside menstrual health education.
Make a difference.
Every Australian dollar goes a long way in Cambodia. Sponsor a student, give once, or talk to us about fundraising.