History of Aziza’s Place

In 2006, Amjad and Fauzia Ghori visited Cambodia to oversee the filming of a documentary about an orphanage in the Tonle Bassac region of Phnom Penh. Here they first witnessed the magnitude of struggle for underprivileged children in Cambodia and wanted to help. At this orphanage they met Nader Ebrahimi, a volunteer. Their meeting led to a dialogue and friendship that culminated in the vision of opening a grassroots children’s center.

Amjad, Fauzia, and Nader set their sights on making a sustainable and meaningful change in the lives of Cambodia’s neediest children. Nader took on the direction of this project for the Aziza Ghori Charitable Foundation. Beginning in July of 2006, Nader began to look for a suitable location (with priority given to proximity to a Khmer public school) and to find potential residents. When the appropriate site for the center was located, extensive construction work was assumed in order to ensure that the collective vision for Aziza’s Place could take shape. Nader’s background as a professional artist resulted in the design and color having a dominant place in the physical infrastructure of the future home of Aziza’s Place.

Our beloved Nader unexpectedly passed away on March 2, 2009, a few short weeks after celebrating the two-year anniversary of the opening of Aziza’s Place. This sudden loss left us with a tremendous void. We focused on the children and their well-being and helping them deal with their grief. Nader’s passing bound all of us in a unique way and has ultimately made us all stronger to continue our task of ensuring that his vision endures. One look at our amazing, resilient children is all that is needed to see that Nader is ever-present and his impact and influence will always be felt at Aziza’s Place.

Daniel Haney and Ali Robbins were honored to take over the directorial responsibilities at Aziza’s Place in 2009. Having been deeply engaged in the development of AP since 2007, they left former lives in the U.S. to return to Phnom Penh. Their focus is to make Aziza’s Place as sustainable and community focused as possible. They have guided AP to work not only for the children it serves, but to be a resource to their families as well.

Now, twenty-one children are growing and striving at Aziza’s Place. Each of their stories are unique, but mirrors the larger obstacles impoverished children face in Cambodia. Their destitute life on the dumpsite, parents with HIV/AIDS, and even a life of servitude do not hold back the will of these children to learn and succeed.