Celebrating 50 Years of Cambodia Action
Chris Caitlin shares the fascinating story of the first fifty years of Network Member Cambodia Action's work.
Posted on 27 September 2023 by Global Connections
One man
Ezekiel 22 verse 30 says, ‘So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land’.
Those last words are very fitting of the gentleman who is considered the founder of Cambodia Action, Major Taing Chhirc. He was part of the Cambodian military before its overthrow in 1975 and was given the opportunity to bring his family to Scotland to further his engineering studies. Taing Chhirc was also a strong believer in Christ, a man who had a passion to see his own Cambodian people hear about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He wrote in one of his last recorded letters, to the church in the United Kingdom, “give us the right to believe in Jesus Christ … please look at Cambodia”, pleading for people to come to Cambodia to share the good news.
In 1973, he had that opportunity to speak to the wider Christian church when asked to share at the Keswick Convention. Thereafter, a prayer movement sprang up called ‘Cambodia for Christ’, purposing to pray for Cambodia because of the brutal conflict that was being thrust upon the population, a war that would take the lives of millions of people and displace millions of others. Cambodia for Christ quickly became the link between the UK and the Cambodian churches.
Major Chhirc desired to return to his country, to strengthen his fellow brothers, but sadly he was martyred on returning to the country. Despite this, the prayer movement back in the UK gained traction, later transforming into a registered charity called Southeast Asian Outreach, or SAO Cambodia. Taing Chhirc’s call to Cambodia was that seed, that spark which gave birth to the mission today - 50 years on. After realising the refugee crisis which was developing in Thailand, SAO Cambodia opened a relief operation in Bangkok, Thailand. This was to service the growing number of refugees on its borders.
The work included refugee receptions and possible resettlement abroad, always with the approach of sharing God’s love to those who came our way, all part of the desire of the founder, Taing Chhirc. Thousands of refugees came to France for resettlement and, as a result, SAO Cambodia worked alongside French churches, both in practical and spiritual ways.
In the early eighties, refugee centres were set up in Swindon and a refugee reception hotel was established in Gravesend, Kent. These were to serve Cambodians who would be passed on to Christian couples who served as house parents. Gravesend played an important role in SAO Cambodia, not only as a welcoming centre, but also, in 1985, the main UK administration office was set up there. All of these important centres helped these poor disoriented people who had lost everything back in Cambodia, people who were placed into a different culture, language and climate. SAO Cambodia and others would be instrumental in helping many.
In the late 1980’s, the country of Cambodia had started to open up to outsiders. SAO Cambodia saw this as an open door and sent a number of different representatives to explore what possible help the mission could offer in-country.
Early projects.
In the early 1990s, our first team of members entered the country as a result of two distinct projects. There were so many areas of need in the country and, to avoid duplication, the government - after a number discussions with SAO Cambodia leadership - offered two possible areas, food security and eye health care. SAO Cambodia embarked on the refurbishment of eye clinics and the project SCOPE was born, attracting several people who offered their assistance.
The food security project was called SCALE - SAO Cambodia Integrated Aquaculture on Low Expenditure. The purpose of the project was to teach farmers to use their paddy fields and introduce small edible fish. SAO Cambodia’s team provided the technical support but also used their time to befriend the families, play with the children and share their faith in Jesus. This project later developed into a local NGO called Farmer Livelihood Development.
Working in Cooperation - ICC
In 1992, 12 NGOs were working in the country, 10 of those Christian. A few years later that number had shot up, as many different agencies sought to help rebuild the country. The need for cooperation among agencies was very important in avoiding duplication, wasting money and human resources.
As a result, SAO, now called Cambodia Action, became one of the founding members of a cooperative called ICC (International Cooperation Cambodia). This internationally recognised body was made up of five different organisations working together, sharing common goals and values. The benefits were huge as we registered and were recognised by government. We shared a common office, sent volunteers to help with projects and we saw the blessing of helping the poor and marginalised peoples of Cambodia regain their value. ICC still continues today but as a completely independent Local NGO.
Our current work
Cambodia Action, like many other agencies, has needed to adapt to the changing trends in world missions. The so-called long-term missionary seems to be obsolete, with family and financial pressures moulding the thinking of any person wanting to go to the field. Cambodia is still a place of tremendous need. Our long-term team members, some many of whom have been in the field for ten years or more, report on a new generation of Cambodians who still need to hear about Christ as in our very first call, 50 years ago. We see the importance of raising up and supporting local partnerships formed by passionate individual men and women seeking to bring Jesus into everyday life. We currently work with seven different partners covering a range of projects from child protection to international teaching posts, all bringing the gospel to the Kingdom of Wonder, Cambodia.
50 years on and we are still answering Major Taing Chhirc’s call.
If you want to hear more, contact Chris Catlin: c.catlin@cambodiaaction.org.
Share your mission stories
We love to hear and share encouraging stories from the network, if you have a mission story why not let us know and we can share it.