The Independent Order of Odd Fellows have long held fast to our mission of extending friendship, love, and truth to those in need. Nowhere is this commitment more evident than in the Odd Fellow Village, nestled within the SOS Children’s Village Battambang, Cambodia, a place where our brotherhood has planted a seed of hope that continues to grow and flourish. This is our story, told with the pride and purpose that define who we are as an organization.

The Vision Takes Root

Our journey to Battambang began in 2003, during the Sovereign Grand Lodge Sessions in Halifax, Nova Scotia. It was there that our incoming Sovereign Grand Master, Henry “Hank” Dupray, presented a bold vision: to build a village that would shelter and nurture children left vulnerable by life’s harshest blows. With unanimous support from our members, we embraced the challenge. Partnering with SOS Children’s Villages International, an organization whose dedication to family-based care mirrors our own values, we dedicated the Odd Fellow Village in April 2007. That moment marked the realization of a dream, a tangible expression of our fraternal spirit.

Designed to house approximately 150 children, many orphaned or affected by AIDS, the village stands as a beacon of stability. With 15 family homes, a social center, a medical facility, and a kindergarten, we created more than a refuge, we built a community where hope could take root.

A Haven Shaped by Our Fellowship

Battambang, known as Cambodia’s “Rice Bowl,” is a land of abundance and resilience, yet it bears the scars of war, poverty, and disease. We saw the need here—the children left adrift by circumstance, and knew we had to act. In each of the village’s 15 homes, an SOS mother, trained and steadfast, raises these children as her own, surrounded by “siblings” who form a new family under our care. This is the Odd Fellow way: to step in where others cannot, to provide not just shelter but belonging.

Our medical facility ensures these children receive the care they need, be it a vaccine or treatment for malnutrition, while our kindergarten opens its doors to both village residents and the wider community. It’s a small but mighty space where young minds begin to dream, a foundation we’re honored to provide.

Building Futures, Strengthening Families

Education has always been a pillar of our mission, and at the Odd Fellow Village, we’ve made it a priority. The children in our care move from the kindergarten to the nearby SOS Hermann Gmeiner School, where they gain the knowledge and skills to forge their own paths. But our work doesn’t stop at the village gates. Since 2008, we’ve supported family strengthening programs that reach into the Battambang community, offering training, resources, and opportunities to parents at risk of losing their children to poverty or despair. By bolstering these families, we prevent the need for our village, a proactive step that embodies our belief in uplifting all.

A Testament to Our Brotherhood

The Odd Fellow Village is a living testament to what we can achieve when we unite in purpose. Our partnership with SOS Children’s Villages has borne fruit in ways we could scarcely imagine when we first broke ground. It’s woven into the fabric of Battambang, a quiet force for good in a region where challenges like poverty and HIV/AIDS loom large. We sustain it through initiatives like our IOOF SOS Village site, where every purchase by our members and supporters sends resources back to keep the village thriving.

Our Heart in Battambang

In a place where over 40% of people survive on less than a dollar a day, the Odd Fellow Village stands as a symbol of what we hold dear: compassion in action. It’s not a monument to be admired from afar but a working, breathing home where children laugh, learn, and grow. We don’t seek fanfare; we seek results. And here, in the steady rhythm of daily life at the village, we see them.

As an organization, we look upon the Odd Fellow Village with deep satisfaction. It’s a piece of our history, a chapter of our story written in the lives of those we’ve helped. From the lodge halls of Halifax to the fields of Battambang, this is the Odd Fellows at work, building, caring, enduring. It’s our pledge to the world, made real one child at a time.

CLICK HERE to read more about Odd Fellow Village and other SOS Children’s Villages

You can also donate through normal everyday purchases by making purchases through this site (IOOF SOS Village) and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the support of our project.