Stellar Child Care Organisation Update 2025
International Service Director Sandra McGuire introduced guest speaker Nakita Kitson, the founder of the Stellar Children’s Trust. Nakita is a high school English teacher. While volunteering in Cambodia in 2011, Nikita saw the needs of the displaced people. She established the trust to develop sustainable education and employment opportunities in Cambodia.
The Trust is dedicated to creating lasting change in Andong, a displaced community near Phnom Penh, through education, providing children and families with the tools to envision brighter futures and the skills necessary to build sustainable careers.
Since 2012, the Trust, which does not receive any government funding, has supported poverty-stricken families with little-to-no access to clean water, sanitation, education or medical care. It focuses on practical projects that provide long-term, sustainable solutions in education, family support and income generation.;
Over the past few years, contributions from Karrinyup Rotary have enabled seven students to complete vocational training. Nakita related the progress of each of these students through their training, describing the successes of each student, several of whom are now fully qualified and working in their chosen careers, thus bringing hope for a better future to Cambodian slum families.
After many years in Andong, working rent-free out of an American building, the Trust has recently opened a Community Centre, where support is available to equip families with the resources they need to achieve long-term independence.