History

Goutte d’eau: from a dream to 30 years of concrete life-changing impacts

Goutte d’eau – a child support network (GEcsn) was founded in Switzerland in 1996 by young people who decided to raise funds and work in Cambodia after witnessing extreme poverty and unsustainable living conditions among street children.

In 1997, to protect children from abuse and neglect, GEcsn created its first project, a home for vulnerable and marginalized street children in Neak Loeung – southeast of Cambodia – in collaboration with the Cambodian government and UNICEF.

In 1999, after the opening of the border between Cambodia and Thailand, the Cambodian government asked GEcsn to open a similar project for street children in Poipet – a border town northwest of Cambodia. Realizing that many children in its programs were victims of trafficking – many children had been deported from Thailand where they were living illegaly with their families – GEcsn initiated an innovative project with the Cambodian government and other NGOs including IOM and UNICEF to ensure the safety, rehabilitation, and reintegration of these children.

GEcsn soon realized that many of the children in its projects had disabilities, often intellectual which made them more vulnerable to child trafficking. To respond to their specific needs, GEcsn opened in 2003 the 1st project dedicated to children with disabilities in Cambodia. In a little over 20 years, Goutte d’eau projects in the field of disability have grown from a center welcoming children to a multifaceted program including both center-based projects and community outreach activities (care, therapies, awareness raising, trainings).

In 2016 GEcsn created the Kep Farm, the first place to live and work dedicated to young adults with intellectual disabilities in Cambodia. The farm offers a sheltered living, training, and working environment where its beneficiaries can acquire skills and resources to live their adult lives in dignity.

Four years after its creation GEcsn was already employing over 60 staff and was taking care of over 500 children daily. Its pioneer work in Cambodia was encouraging other organisations to step into the fields of vulnerable children and people with disabilities.

Local management of the projects was key to the founders of GEcsn. Therefore a local organisation called Damnok Toek (‘drop of water’ in Khmer) was created in 2001 to take over the projects of the foundation. Today, Damnok Toek cares for 700 children and young adults daily and supports 1’700 children and their families and employs over 110 staff in the following areas:

  • projects for children and young adults with physical and/or intellectual disabilities
  • education and vocational training for children and young adults
  • child protection
  • unsafe migration (fight against trafficking)

Since 2007, GEcsn has also been supporting other local organisations working in the fields of disability, prevention, protection, education and safe migration.