OUR STORY
Upon returning from a UN mission in Somalia, our founder Soung Santepheap (Sunny) was struck by the plight of homeless children in his home province of Kompong Thom. He vowed to do whatever he could to help and in 2001 he established KaisKids. He was joined in 2002 by Karen Butler, the full time programme director and together they set up Kais Village Community. The home, named after Kai – the first child that Sunny helped – now provides a bright future for over 40 children.
The Ministry of Interior License No 538 was issued in June 2001 and is renewed annually. We are a Cambodian charity registered as The The Society for Orphan Support (SOS), working name KaisKids.
The Foundation For Cambodian Children was set up to provide governance and oversight of monies raised for KaisKids Community Village and administration of the funds by the directors in Cambodia. The Foundation is a UK registered charity and regulated by the UK Charities Commission.
In 2005, KaisKids’ donors and staff refurbished 2 schools – Koh Thmei and Romdoul Thmei, providing education for another 170 children.
In 2007, KaisKids started an outreach program to support over 20 HIV-infected children in Kampot province.
In 2008, with the help of a UK charity and volunteers from the British Army a much needed nursery was built for up to 40 infants.
2014 to present day, some of the young people start to attend university or begin employment.
In 2022, KaisKids are looking ahead to a new chapter, as an exciting development has arisen to relocate to Phnom Penh. The move will provide greater access to health, education and employment opportunities.
MEET THE TEAM
SOUNG SANTEPHEAP (SUNNY) – FOUNDER
Soung Santepheap, known as Sunny, directs our Cambodian organisation. Sunny founded the charity in 2001 and has led its development ever since. Sunny is an unpaid volunteer.
KAREN BUTLER – PROGRAMME DIRECTOR
Karen Butler has been in charge of daily operations in Cambodia since joining in 2002. Formerly a Sales and Marketing Director in the 5 star hotel industry, Karen has made a life-changing switch and works unpaid for KaidsKids.
LIZ O’BRIEN – CHAIR OF TRUSTEES
Liz has recently been appointed to take over from Andrew James as Chair Of Trustees. She has 16 years experience as a primary school teacher and 8 years as a Special Educational Needs and Disability Coordinator across a cluster of five schools. Liz hopes to build on the fantastic work of Andrew and the outgoing trustees to support the team through the next exciting phase of development.
LEANG – SITE MANAGER
Leang and his wife Kunthea together with a team of local staff live on site, looking after the day-to-day needs of the children and young people.
Governance
Due to COVID the children were unable to attend school. Normally education accounts for 4% of all expenditure.
Child Protection
The safety and well-being of the children and young people at KaisKids is paramount. For an overview of the Child Protection policy, please click on the link below.
At KaisKids our passion is for the welfare of the children in our care, supported by good governance and careful stewardship of funds. Led by the Board of Trustees, the Foundation for Cambodian Children is the UK fundraising arm of KaisKids, registered with and regulated by the UK Charities Commission. It’s function is to oversee UK funding and transfer monies raised to KaisKids in Cambodia.
KaisKids also receives donations from sponsors and benefactors in Cambodia and other parts of the world. All donations impact the lives of the children and young people at KaisKids on a daily basis.
Executive Pay and Disbursements:
From the beginning Sunny (President) and Karen (Programme Director) have been supported by their family and business interest outside KaisKids. Therefore close to 100% of donations and funds are committed to the running of our programmes. Full time staff are recruited from the local community and remunerated in line with local pay norms.
“I continue to believe that if children are given the necessary tools to succeed, they will succeed beyond their wildest dreams.”
