THE TARA WINKLER STORY

On a holiday to Southeast Asia in 2004, Tara was deeply moved by the suffering of children she encountered at a run-down orphanage in Battambang, Cambodia.

She began fundraising and made several trips back to Cambodia. In 2007, Tara returned to Battambang to discover that the orphanage director was using the children as a commodity to embezzle donated funds. The orphans were left with so little care that they were forced to catch mice and pest fish from the rice fields to cook and eat. They were also being subjected to physical, emotional and sexual abuse. Despite building a promising film career in Sydney, Tara Winkler, at just 21, dropped everything to open an orphanage. Tara worked with a team of caring locals and established the Cambodian Children's Trust to provide these children with a new safe home. She now lives in Battambang and works full time with the children. Although she has faced some grueling challenges, Tara feels they have easily been outweighed by the rewards. Now fluent in the Khmer language, Tara has been able to forge strong relationships with the children and is committed to providing them with the emotional security and opportunities they need to break the cycle of poverty. She has observed with pride, and more than a little amazement, how well the children have adapted to life at the Trust; each child now excels at school, with the majority being in the top three of their large classes. In the security of their new environment, such qualities as playfulness, confidence, trust and compassion have blossomed.