Cambodian Children's Fund
In 2003, Neeson left Fox for Sony Pictures Entertainment but before starting his new role, he took a mini sabbatical through Asia.
Neeson was living the so-called American dream, but it took a trip to a Cambodian garbage dump to find his true calling. Neeson's life changed at Steung Meanchey, a toxic landfill just outside Cambodia's capital of Phnom Penh. Steung Meanchey was the city's dump, but home to countless children, many without families, and families who made their livings sifting through mountains of burning, hazardous waste for plastic and metal to sell to recycling centers.
Stunned by the desperation and unlikely courage of the families and children there, Neeson spent the remainder of his 2003 Southeast Asian holiday laying the foundation for Cambodian Children’s Fund (CCF). He returned home, started his new role with Sony Pictures Entertainment but made monthly trips to Cambodia to continue to build on this dream. By 2004, he had resigned from his Hollywood job, sold his home, boat and cars, hired his first local staff member and moved to Cambodia as founder and executive director of CCF.
CCF was initially developed to provide a safe haven for 45 children in critical need. Today, CCF offers refuge, education, medical treatment and leadership training to more than 1,500 children. Nearly two-thirds of these children once lived and worked atop the Steung Meanchey garbage dump and almost 75% are young girls. The dump was relocated in 2009, but the families remain and continue to rely on garbage scavenging as a means of survival, and instead wheel their carts into the city each day or night. CCF provides award-winning, comprehensive care for these families and others from underserved rural regions of Cambodia.
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