Infant mortality rates are among the highest in Asia; healthcare facilities are woefully inadequate in much of the country; clean water is hard to come by in the countryside; the incidence of HIV/Aids is the highest in the region; the country is littered with landmines and has one of the highest amputee rates in the world; the trafficking of both adults and children is commonplace; and the government lacks the resources and, sometimes, the will to be able to adequately address the situation. This paints a very bleak picture. However, Cambodians are resourceful and resilient and are slowly but surely rebuilding their lives. There are many non-government organizations (NGOs) offering a helping hand on this long road to recovery and the Hanuman Foundation will support a selection of these projects, as well as implementing our own initiatives in areas of urgent need.

What will the Foundation do?
Hanuman Tourism has always been a keen supporter of responsible tourism, sustainable tourism and ecotourism in Cambodia and the Mekong region. We try our best to support NGO-related tourism projects to assist disadvantaged Cambodians, including Friends Restaurant in Phnom Penh and the Artisans d’Angkor project in Siem Reap, among others. However, we believe we can and should do more to help the underprivileged and impoverished in Cambodia. In order to take our commitment to the next level, The Hanuman Foundation will support grass-roots anti-poverty programmes in the more remote areas that our tours visit. We believe the values of pro-poor tourism are shared by many of our partners and their guests around the world and we intend to give visitors the opportunity to assist in any way that they can. We plan to work in conjunction with local pro-poor tourism organisation Tourism Against Poverty (TAP) on our own initiatives.

Many of our international visitors ask us ‘how can we help?’ and in the past we have directed them to such worthy causes as the Cambodia Daily Mosquito Net Campaign, operating nationwide, and the Angkor Children’s Hospital in Siem Reap. We will continue to support such projects, but we plan to develop initiatives of our own to target vulnerable communities in the poorest parts of Cambodia. We have already earmarked several communities for assistance based on our current adventure tour itineraries.

We plan to concentrate on the fundamentals first, which means providing access to cleaner water for communities by drilling wells and supplying water filters, providing protection against life-threatening diseases such as malaria through the provision of mosquito nets and improving the quality of materials in remote local schools.

Initially we plan to concentrate on communities in Preah Vihear and Siem Reap provinces, linked to our innovative Temple Safari itinerary. Communities under consideration include the small village at Preah Vihear temple, the village of Koh Ker, the village of Phum Tahan on Phnom Kulen, the village of Ta Seng near Preah Khan and other smaller villages along the old network of Angkorian highways criss-crossing this part of Cambodia. We will also introduce some initiatives to assist the disadvantaged ethnic minorities of the northeast, including the Pnong people of Mondulkiri and the Jarai of Ratanakiri.

We also plan to work with a selected group of NGOs who are making an impact on the lives of Cambodians. We have chosen a combination of causes to ensure you can assist in any area of development, be it healthcare, education, child welfare, landmine clearance, heritage preservation and the promotion of arts and culture. Please click here for more details on the organizations we are working with.

We look forward to working together to make tourism a force for positive change in Cambodia!

Hanuman’s contribution
In order to demonstrate our commitment to making tourism a force for positive change in Cambodia, we are prepared to put our money where our mouth is! To that end, Hanuman Tourism will contribute a certain amount of money to kickstart The Hanuman Foundation and will add a minimum amount every year thereafter. We will set up a separate bank account to run The Hanuman Foundation.

Contributions from our partners
Many of our partners already support good causes around the globe. We will welcome contributions from our partners looking to assist development in Cambodia. This can be in the form of direct contributions to The Hanuman Foundation to help fund our anti-poverty projects in the remote provinces of the north or through donations to our partner organizations working throughout the country to improve the lives and livelihoods of the Cambodian people. Let us know the sort of activities you are interested in supporting and we can advise on the best way to assist.

Contributions from our guests
Naturally, we don’t want anyone to feel obliged to contribute to Cambodia’s development. The Hanuman Foundation is our way of trying to help, but we won’t be forcing it upon guests that come to Cambodia. However, for those that show an interest in assisting, we will offer them information with details of our projects in Cambodia. We will also establish a series of visits for prospective donors or sponsors. We have to tread carefully here, as we don’t want to waste the time and resources of NGOs in the country, but for visitors with a genuine interest in assisting Cambodia, this could be a very educational experience. Working with our selected partners, we will arrange half-day visits to their flagship project in return for a fixed donation to the organisation. It is to be hoped such visits will foster a lasting relationship with Cambodia through the sponsorship of individuals and organizations. For more details on the project visits we plan to offer, please click here.