Congratulations to director Denise Arnold, who has been awarded the Robert Anderson Memorial Award for her work with the Cambodia Charitable Trust. 

The trophy, a wooden art piece in the form of an open book, is awarded annually by Amnesty International Tauranga Moana for outstanding contributions to human rights, peace and social justice. 

Denise formed the Cambodia Charitable Trust 10 years ago to help children in Cambodia brighten their futures through education. 

It now supports 23 primary schools and two teacher training colleges - and an education programme Denise helped to design is about to be rolled out in every primary teacher training college in Cambodia, helping 64,000 children receive a higher-quality education. 

In the next 10 years, the teachers trained under this programme will impact the lives of 3.5 million children. 

“It’s was an honour to receive this award, as the principles it acknowledges cut to the core of what motivates me,” says Denise. 

“Every child has the right to a happy, successful future and through the Trust we are aiming to lift a whole generation of children, in a country that is still recovering from the effects of a brutal war. In the case of Cambodia – children are literally the future.”

Find out more about the Cambodia Charitable Trust at www.cctnz.org.nz.