In a new corporate social responsibility (CSR) partnership, in-market business advisory expert Aquarii has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Cambodian Children’s Fund (CCF) to help promote its work and provide career opportunities for students.
The roots of this partnership trace back to Aquarii CEO Michael Tan’s tenure as the Singaporean Ambassador, during which he established a deep connection with CCF. Now, with the creation of Aquarii, this relationship is evolving into a new chapter that promises to supercharge both parties’ social impact goals.
Speaking at the signing at CCF's Neeson Cripps Academy high school, the CEO of Aquarii Michael Tan expressed his admiration for CCF’s labor of love for disadvantaged children. “Partnering with CCF is just a small step in what we strongly feel all private enterprises and commercial entities should be doing more of; it pales in comparison to the hard work, sacrifices and dedication that Scott and his team have committed to CCF and their charges.”
“We hope that this MoU, which will see us promoting CCF, supporting career advancement programs and providing internship opportunities, will help encourage, motivate or even challenge others to do what they can to give back to Cambodia’s community, to create a sustainable impact on the lives of young Cambodians. No effort or initiative is too small,” he added.
This partnership is a testament to the power of collaboration between the private sector and NGOs
Scott Neeson, Founder and Executive Director of CCF, added, “This partnership is a testament to the power of collaboration between the private sector and NGOs. Aquarii’s commitment to our mission will help ensure those in the CCF Education Program reach their full potential through internships and job placements. With their support, the students are able to move their own families out of poverty and break the cycle for future generations. We are excited to embark on this journey together."
The partnership outlines three fundamental commitments that will serve as the cornerstone of the collaboration. Firstly, Aquarii has committed to leveraging its network of partners and connections to promote and empower CCF and its work. It would also help to profile CCF to the larger international community through a call to action banner on the Aquarii platform, as well as a dedicated section promoting CCF’s work.
Also in the MoU, Aquarii committed to utilizing its familiarity and knowledge of the Cambodian market to help support and build the career programs at CCF. These programs will help equip CCF graduates with the skills and knowledge necessary to pursue successful careers so that they can in turn help others who need help just as they did.
Finally, the partnership will also see CCF students gain access to internship and learning opportunities with Aquarii and other partner organizations that Aquarii hopes to work with in this endeavor. This initiative will help provide more avenues to CCF beneficiaries with valuable real-world experience and mentorship, with the aim of opening doors to future employment opportunities.
The collaboration between Aquarii and CCF goes beyond traditional corporate social responsibility efforts. It builds on CCF’s successful curriculum and roadmap for their charges and provides an avenue to help empower young Cambodians to build brighter futures. The common desire of CCF and Aquarii is that through this partnership, it will create greater awareness amongst private enterprises and individuals, and more will eventually step forth to help open up additional pathways to the beneficiaries of CCF.
It is the hope of CCF and Aquarii that this collaboration will serve as a model or a catalyst for other organizations to aggregate their resources and efforts to offer help in whatever means and fashion to the most disadvantaged in Cambodia, to uplift their lives. Creating opportunities for them is one of the best enablers for hope.
