The foundation: principles and guidelines

The activities of the Aid Association for the Children of Cambodia (Kinderhilfe Kambodscha e.V.) are based on the principles and guidelines summarized here.

Protection and respect
Protection and respect are essential concepts for working with children, which is true in Cambodia as well. Our code of conduct (for members and employees) and our Child Protection Policy reflects the importance of children's rights in our work.

Sustainability and helping people to help themselves
All of our activities are oriented towards having a sustainable impact and not simply to lessen current, acute suffering.  It is our goal to help the children and their local care-givers become self-sufficient so that they are no longer dependent on donations. Our aim is not to work on projects for them, but instead to work with them to realize their goals. Based on our experience, (re)building a functioning community is one of the most sustainable forms of development assistance.

Professionalism
Because well-intentioned does not necessarily mean well done, we rely not only on our own expertise, but also on professional assistance and advice. Our consultation network includes organizations such as the German Society for Technical Cooperation (GTZ, Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Technische Zusammenarbeit).
It's no coincidence that the founder of our association and the initiator of Building a Dream is himself an architect.

Using your contributions
We strive to keep costs that accrue in Germany to an absolute minimum.  In this way, over 90% of donations and member contributions can be used for our work in Cambodia.  An independent accountant in Phnom Penh audits and verifies each year how donations are used.