Our History
Damnok Toek Organization grew out of the efforts of Goutte d’eau- A Child Support Network. This Swiss foundation began working in Cambodia in January 1997. Their aim was to respond to the urgent need to support street-involved children in the community of Neak Loeung. Goutte d’eau was created by a group of friends who travelled the world during their studies. They wanted to do something about the unimaginable injustices they had witnessed in developing countries.
Goutte d’eau’s work in Neak Loeung did not go unnoticed. Soon, they were contacted by the Cambodian government to replicate their project in Poipet. Realising that the Thai authorities deported several hundreds of trafficked Cambodian children to Poipet every month, Goutte d’eau began a collaboration with the IOM (International Organisation for Migration), UNICEF, MOSVY and other agencies to set up a structure offering support, education, and child protection to these children to break the cycle of unsafe migration and trafficking.
24 years later, Damnok Toek’s scope of operations has expanded to four provinces of Cambodia. Projects are added and adapted as needed to address gaps in existing child protection efforts. For instance, Damnok Toek observed a high number of children with disabilities returning to Cambodia who had been trafficked to Thailand for begging or sexual exploitation. We made it a priority to address this concern and with the financial and technical support of Goutte d’eau we were able to establish programs specifically for children with disabilities.
Damnok Toek continues to monitor the trends across the country to provide dynamic programs based on the organisation’s principles of prevention, protection, rehabilitation, and reintegration.
