Scott Neeson - Cambodian Children's Fund

In an earlier post I mentioned that I was originally going to Cambodia to spend time at an orphanage in Phnom Pehn. The organization responsible for it is called Cambodian Children's Fund, and it was started by a guy who truly inspires me, Scott Neeson.

I visited CCF for a short time while I was in Cambodia last Fall. I felt a little conflicted making the visit, though. It's a busy place, and someone from there had to take time away from their busy schedule to take me on a tour. Plus there are billboards all over Cambodia discouraging tourists from visiting orphanages. For Cambodians such visits can be exploitative as the tourists visits are like a trip to the zoo, and do nothing to help (in fact may hinder) the work the orphanages are trying to do for the children.

In the end I was glad I went. It is truly an impressive place, and I plan to continue to support CCF financially as one of the best ways to help make a difference for children in Cambodia. CCF is not a typical orphanage; in fact most of the children have parents they live with at the garbage dump - Steung Meanchey. CCF provides the children a place to stay while their parents salvage a living at the dump. While at CCF the children can attend school, learn a trade, and get a proper meal. The young man who showed me around the CCF building I visited had himself been "rescued" by CCF, and ended up going to the local university. He now works at CCF as an accountant.

Cambodian Children's Fund Website

Below is the biography of Scott Neeson stolen directly from the Cambodian Children's Fund website.

Scott was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. At age 5, he emigrated with his family to Australia.

Scott grew up in Adelaide, South Australia and started what was to be a long, successful career in the film business when he joined a company that operated local and rural drive-in theatres. He moved to Sydney in 1983 to further his film career by joining the Greater Union cinema chain. Soon thereafter, he was chosen to head Hoyts Theatres film programming and purchasing, and then became General Manager of a joint venture in film releasing between 20th Century Fox, Columbia/TriStar and Hoyt's local film productions.

By 1993, he had relocated to Los Angeles to join 20th Century Fox as head of international marketing. In 2000, Scott became President of 20th Century Fox International, overseeing the release and marketing of several of the top films of all time – including 'Braveheart,' 'Titanic,' 'Star Wars' and 'X-men' – and managing gross revenues in excess of $1.5 billion dollars. In 2003, Scott left Fox to head Sony Pictures International's marketing operations.

In the five weeks between new positions, he took a mini-sabbatical through Asia, but a two-day stop-over in Phnom Penh became a four week mission that started him on the path to establishing the Cambodian Children's Fund.

Several early attempts at assisting the most impoverished children failed. Parents often removed their children from the schools where Scott had placed them, preferring that they be earning money instead. The gifts of clothing, shoes and books that he left them were usually sold within days.

Scott left Cambodia in September of 2003 to start his new role at Sony Pictures, but the impact of his experiences in Cambodia stayed with him, and it became increasingly apparent that incorporating a senior film industry position with his philanthropic mission was not an option. In the following year, as he laid the first tenuous plans for a permanent facility in Cambodia, he made the commute from Los Angeles to Phnom Penh eleven times.

While still maintaining personal ties with respected media industry leaders like Rupert Murdoch and Sumner M. Redstone, in 2004 Scott resigned from his 26-year film career and began the process of the long-term move to Cambodia, selling his home, car, boat and other assets. All initial costs for the establishment and operation of the CCF1 facility were covered by Scott, who now acts as the organization's full-time Executive Director.

In 2007, Scott was awarded the inaugural Harvard School of Public Health "Q Prize" in recognition of his extraordinary leadership in advocacy for children. In the same year, the CCF received the Rex Foundation Bill Graham award for creating a safe haven for Cambodian children to thrive, learn and grow.

Today, Scott divides his time between the CCF administrative offices and field work in Steung Meanchey and the rural provinces of Cambodia. He knows all 700 children in his care, their names, histories, personalities and aspirations. Having successfully established CCF1 – CCF6, as well as the CCF Community Centre and Daycare Program, Scott's future goals include the expansion of the CCF External Education Program.