Children of the Mekong

Children of the Mekong Through education, we give children in Southeast Asia the chance to dream of a better future.

Children of the Mekong is a London-based charity registered with the UK Charity Commission (No. 1116375) and the UK branch of “Enfants du Mékong”, a French charity founded in 1958. Our aim is to improve access and quality of education for the poorest children and their communities in seven countries in Southeast Asia. We run 3 types of programmes: child sponsorships, one-off development projects and education centres.

In the heart of Sihanoukville, where casinos rise and women sell their bodies to survive, one woman sits on the floor an...
30/07/2026

In the heart of Sihanoukville, where casinos rise and women sell their bodies to survive, one woman sits on the floor and offers something different: love.

Sister Michelle has spent her life alongside the most vulnerable in Southeast Asia. At her Fountain of Life centre in Cambodia, she welcomes around forty young children off the streets, feeding them and teaching them Khmer, English, and Chinese, keeping them safe from abuse. She also stands with the women of the neighbourhood, never judging them, offering training and a way towards independence.

Her belief is simple. Education is the key to freedom.

Where the most vulnerable are treated as disposable, she reminds them they are worth everything.

Education is about more than the classroom.For many of the young people we support in Thailand, school alone isn't enoug...
28/07/2026

Education is about more than the classroom.

For many of the young people we support in Thailand, school alone isn't enough to break the cycle of poverty for good.

That's why our Holistic Training project goes further. Through summer camps, life-skills training, and career guidance in Chiang Mai and Bangkok, we help disadvantaged young people build confidence, discover their talents, and step into the world of work.

Because a confident, capable young adult doesn't just change their own future. They lift up their whole family and community.

Help us support their journey.

Every afternoon, in the shantytowns of Manila, a woman in her sixties sits cross-legged in the street and opens a book.H...
23/07/2026

Every afternoon, in the shantytowns of Manila, a woman in her sixties sits cross-legged in the street and opens a book.
Her name is Mam'Percy. In neighbourhoods where 40% of people live in poverty, where a single fire can destroy 800 homes in a night, she reads stories to street children and draws with them. For a few hours, they forget their surroundings and discover a thirst for learning.
She has served her community all her life. She has run street libraries four days a week since 2012, and the children who follow her know her by two names: Mam'Percy, and Mum'Percy. Both suit her.
Where there are few adults to set a good example, she is a breath of fresh air.

In Bangkok's slums, some children live surrounded by rubbish, in homes too cramped to move, never sure where the next me...
21/07/2026

In Bangkok's slums, some children live surrounded by rubbish, in homes too cramped to move, never sure where the next meal will come from.
In the neighbourhoods of Nong Khaem and Klong Toei, poverty is defined by overcrowding. Families are packed into tiny dwellings. Many children are raised by grandparents in poor health, or by parents whose work is unstable. Too often, there simply isn't enough to eat.
We're launching a new sponsorship programme to keep ten of these children in school, led by Viyada, a local manager who has served Bangkok's poorest for over thirty years. For a child here, staying in education is the difference between the streets and a future.
Your sponsorship can keep one of them learning.

Some of these children walk to school through what was, months ago, a conflict zone.In the farming commune of Ou Sralau,...
16/07/2026

Some of these children walk to school through what was, months ago, a conflict zone.

In the farming commune of Ou Sralau, on the Cambodia-Thailand border, fifteen children are growing up amid drought, poverty, and the upheaval of a recent border conflict. Many are the children of farmers and labourers. Some live with their grandparents while their parents seek work across the border.

Sponsorship offers them something rare in this region: the chance to stay in school. For girls especially, it can change everything, opening the door to independence, later marriage, and a future beyond the rice fields.

The child we help today will help rebuild their country tomorrow.

A cramped dormitory that floods in the rainy season. One room shared for both meals and study. This is where twenty girl...
14/07/2026

A cramped dormitory that floods in the rainy season. One room shared for both meals and study. This is where twenty girls are trying to build their futures.
In the remote village of Dak Tuk, in Vietnam's Kontum province, the Sisters of the Miraculous Medal welcome girls from poor ethnic minority families into their boarding house. Living with the Sisters during the week gives these girls something rare: balanced meals, a safe routine, and homework support in Vietnamese, a language that isn't their mother tongue.
But the current buildings are old, damp, and no longer fit for purpose. Our new project will build a safe, functional home where thirty girls can live, study, and thrive.
For a girl from a rural farming family, a place like this can be the difference between finishing school and dropping out.

A pandemic. A military coup. Economic collapse. And still, they kept learning.Between 2018 and 2025, Myanmar endured som...
09/07/2026

A pandemic. A military coup. Economic collapse. And still, they kept learning.

Between 2018 and 2025, Myanmar endured some of the most turbulent years in its recent history. We studied the journeys of around 2,000 sponsored students to understand what difference sponsorship really made.

The findings are clear. Sponsored students stayed in school when economic pressure would otherwise have forced them out. More than 40% completed their studies despite the crisis, and around two-thirds of graduates found work soon after finishing.

Behind every number is a young person who refused to give up. Sponsorship gave them the stability to keep going when everything around them was breaking down.

Every year, some of our brightest students are forced to give up.In Thailand, families often expect 16 to 18 year olds t...
07/07/2026

Every year, some of our brightest students are forced to give up.

In Thailand, families often expect 16 to 18 year olds to leave school and start earning. For sponsored children who dream of university or vocational training, that pressure can end their education just as it's about to change their lives.

This project helps them keep going. Through study grants and top-up support, we make sure young people can complete their higher education or training without dropping out. In 2026, it will support more than 140 students across Thailand.

A young person who finishes their studies doesn't just transform their own future. They lift up their whole family.

Child labour remains a reality for millions of children around the world.Vy is 12 years old and lives in Ho Chi Minh Cit...
02/07/2026

Child labour remains a reality for millions of children around the world.

Vy is 12 years old and lives in Ho Chi Minh City with her aunt, who takes care of her. Each day, she helps by selling fruit at the market before putting on her school uniform and heading to class 📚

Like Vy, many children must balance work and school, caught between the need to support their families and the hope of building a better future through education.

📷 Our photo exhibition, The Schoolbag or the Street, tells this often-overlooked reality. It highlights the difficult choice faced by many children living in poverty: work on one side, school on the other, and with it the promise of a brighter future.

For more than a year, the exhibition has been travelling around the world, through our local delegations, schools, universities, businesses and partner organisations.

👉 Find out more about the exhibition and where to see it on our website.

Every year since 1989, students and young professionals have chosen to serve underprivileged children across Asia.Today,...
01/07/2026

Every year since 1989, students and young professionals have chosen to serve underprivileged children across Asia.

Today, around sixty Bamboo Volunteers are entrusted with a one-year mission. They act as a vital link between the young people supported by Children of the Mekong and their sponsors, as well as between development programmes and the association’s financial partners.

Committed, generous and adventurous, the Bamboo Volunteers respond to local needs by putting their energy, professional skills and human qualities at the service of education in Asia.

Address

Hammersmith
London
W6

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Children of the Mekong posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Featured

Share

Category