Adoption Made Possible in Cambodia

In Cambodia, Children in Families (CIF) exists to place vulnerable children in loving families. When a child cannot legitimately remain with their family of origin, it is vital there are family based alternatives available such as foster and kinship care, to ensure children can still realise their right to be raised in a family. In 2017, CIF supported 95 children in foster families, including 40 children with disabilities through their ABLE program.

In 2017, after years of advocating and eagerly waiting for domestic adoption to be made available to families in Cambodia, CIF finally saw 3 families within their programs legally adopt their long-term foster children. This was a monumental achievement for not only Children in Families, but for the countless children and families across Cambodia that will be impacted by this legislation change.

Chanty has been waiting to have a child to call her own for over 20 years. In early 2018, Chanty and her husband, Sinath, became another CIF family to adopt their foster children. They been fostering Dany and Sambat for the last six years, since the boys were three months old. Chanty and Sinath are the only parents the boys remember and adoption will provide them with a stronger sense of belonging and identity. Adoption also legitimises them as a family in the eyes of the wider community, which is so important in a society built around strong family ties and connections.