Why Cambodia?

Cambodia and its people are still recovering from the devastation of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge.

A large segment of its population lives in rural areas and works in the agricultural sector. Decades of conflict, beginning in the 1970s and continuing until nearly 25 years later, have left Cambodia’s agricultural sector lagging behind those of neighboring Vietnam and Thailand. Widespread poverty has led to destructive and illegal logging in Cambodia’s rainforests.

Other major income-generating options – factory work, migrating to regions with more jobs, and illegal logging of local rainforests – do not offer sustainable ways for farmers to pull themselves out of poverty. Factory jobs are harsh, competition for jobs in other regions is fierce, and logging will only last as long as rainforests still exist near the villages.

HELP CAMBODIA GROW

BB2C, a U.S. 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, founded in 2007, grew out of our efforts to assist one family in Cambodia. Founder Paula Shirk adopted her son Rudi from Cambodia in 2003. She later found out that his birth family was homeless, had no food, and living against a factory fence. She felt she had to help them.

“I didn‘t want Rudi at 18 to say to me, ‘you knew the despair my family lived in and you did nothing?!’ ”

Believing that the support of entrepreneurship can spur positive, sustainable change, she helped Rudi’s family start a small business in the local market. With the same goal of promoting entrepreneurship, BB2C has expanded to provide innovative tools to struggling Cambodian farmers.

BB2C’s mission is to empower and enable Cambodian farmers, many of whom are women, to become more independent, enhance their living standards, and increase opportunities for themselves and their children.

Help us build a truly sustainable pathway out of poverty for one family by making a donation here.