Child Helpline Cambodia.

Yes. We have fewer phone counselors working between 9pm and 7am, however you can still phone us and the phone counsellors will answer your call and offer you the same emotional support and level of information that is provided during the day. If all of the phone counselors are busy on other calls, you will hear the busy sound. In this case, wait and try again later.

Child Helpline Cambodia is a private and safe place for you to talk. The only time we may tell someone about your situation is if you ask us to, if we believe you or someone else’s life is in danger, if we think that a crime has been committed, or if you are being hurt by someone who has a position of trust and access to other children such as a teacher or policeman. We want to keep you safe. However, we also understand the sort of situations you might be in. If we do need to tell somebody, we’ll try and give you as much control over what happens as possible. The last thing we want is to make things worse for you. You can read more about confidentiality here.

You don’t have to tell us everything – what you choose to tell us is up to you. We might ask you some questions to try and understand how you are feeling or to help you talk about it. You don’t have to answer them if you don’t want to. Tell us if you are finding it difficult to talk about what’s wrong. You can call back at anytime, even if you didn’t talk the first time you called. When you call us, you are in control. You can end the call at any time. If you want to call back later, that’s fine, we are here for you 24 hours every day. The more you talk about what’s happening and how it makes you feel, the more we can understand and help you but you are always in control of what you tell us.

You can say whatever you want – what you choose to tell us is up to you. We know that it can be hard to talk if you are upset or feeling sad and you might not know where to start, but that’s ok. Your Child Helpline Cambodia phone counsellor will give you time and help you as much as possible to talk about what’s wrong so that they can support you.

There are a few things that you can do before you call, which might make talking easier:

• Try to make the call from somewhere safe where you won’t be interrupted.
• If you are using a public phone or making the call outside, try and stay somewhere quiet without too much noise. This will help your phone counselor hear you properly.
• You can call at any time, but it might help if you have a think about what you want to say before you call.

You will speak with trained phone counsellors or volunteers who will have experience listening and talking to children and young people. They are someone who will listen to you and understand that you might be afraid or nervous to contact us. They will be aware of the sorts of problems you might be worried about and won’t judge you. You can trust them and be honest. The counsellors are people just like you – they have a mother and a father, they ride motorbikes, and like eating and seeing movies with their friends. They are real people who care and want to listen and support you. The focus will always be you and because of this, counselors do not talk about themselves or answer personal questions.

Every call to Child Helpline Cambodia is focused on you. To make sure of this, the phone counselors don’t share their personal details with you. However, the phone counsellor will give you their name if this will help you to feel more comfortable talking to them and if it’s important to you. If you want to know the name of the phone counsellor you’re talking to, please ask them.

Child Helpline Cambodia works hard to make sure that we are here to help you when you need us. But sometimes it can be busy and there might be a lot of people calling 1280 at the same time. If all of the phone counselors are busy on other calls, you will hear the busy sound. In this case, wait and try again later.

We understand that it can be difficult to have to wait when you need to contact us but please be patient. We care about everyone contacting us and someone will talk to you as soon as possible. You are very important to us and we want to listen to you.

You can phone Child Helpline Cambodia for free on 1280 from any mobile phone or land phone anywhere in Cambodia. Your can also call us when you have zero credit on your mobile phone. You can call any day and at any time because we are open 24 hours every day. This includes special holidays like Khmer New Year and Pchum Ben.

You can also ask a counsellor a question here on the website or send us a SMS to 017 985 810 (standard SMS costs apply) and a counsellor will reply as soon as possible, normally in between one to three days.

If you’re having a problem, it can be very helpful to talk to someone about it. Receiving emotional support and information may help you solve the problem or make you feel better about your situation. No matter how big or small the problem is, you don’t have to be alone. We also want to help you stay safe.

Phone counselling is talking about your problems or asking questions to a phone counsellor that will listen to you and give you their full attention. A phone counsellor has received special training on how to talk to someone like you about problems. They can provide you with information and emotional support which is listening to you and talking about your problems.

Child Helpline Cambodia provides phone counselling for children and young people up to the age of 25 years old. Adults can also call us if they are concerned for a child or young person. We have a team of adult phone counsellors based in Phnom Penh who can talk with you no matter what your problem is and where you are located. Everything you say will be kept confidential within our organisation unless you want us to tell someone, we think you or someone else could be hurt or we think that a crime has been committed. You can learn more about our guidelines for confidentiality here.

The Child Helpline Cambodia counsellor will listen to you and help you think about your options so you can make an informed decision. The counselor might also suggest you call again once or even several times to talk more about your problem and see how you are feeling. You can also call back if you a have a new problem or another question.