Jodie Le Marrec, whose family live in St Ouen, set up EmbraceAbility after working in disabled centres for non-governmental organisations across South-East Asia.
She started volunteer work overseas in India aged 22 and began to raise awareness of issues facing disabled people in Cambodia through an online blog, which led to her launching the charity.
EmbraceAbility was registered in England this July and is due to set up a Jersey branch soon.
The centre will be opened in the town of Russey Keo near Phnom Penh and will start training the country’s first occupational therapist, who will help the children and their families learn how to live better with their disabilities.
Miss Le Marrec said: ‘Cambodia has one of the highest disability rates in the developing world. Poverty and disability are inextricably linked.
‘As my knowledge grew, I was repeatedly shocked and astonished that international development agencies had not included people with disabilities in developmental programmes.
‘When I saw the realities of life for disabled children and their families, I just felt I had to do something about it myself.’
She added that she believed that the Cambodians’ belief in Buddhist Karma [that people may be punished or rewarded for their actions in previous lives] may have restricted the development of support for disabled people in the country over the years.
Miss Le Marrec said that workshops on preventing disability will be run, as many physical impairments in Cambodia were caused by malnutrition, road accidents and unsafe environments.
Miss Le Marrec, who is one of two directors, runs the charity from its base in Brighton but will soon relocate to Cambodia to manage the NGO on the ground.
She spends the vast majority of her time both fundraising and co-ordinating the efforts to make the project sustainable for the long term.
EmbraceAbility needs to raise about £4,000 a month. The charity are looking for volunteers to join them, either remotely or in Cambodia. For further information email jodielemarrec@embraceability.org.uk.
