Painted out of a corner

The beach has been raked, the sea sparkles in the morning sun, recliners and tables are laid out on the sand. It is another day on Serendipity Beach, in the Cambodian resort town of Sihanoukville. But look closer. Two foreign men in their 50s walk past the sun worshippers, showing no interest in their surroundings. They have more sinister intentions: gripped tightly by the hand, their beach consorts are young boys.

Paedophiles are an unfortunate fact of life in Sihanoukville's sea, sand and anything goes environment. But one man has made a stand, coming between them and their innocent victims. Roger Dixon, an English artist then 61 years old, set out five years ago to rescue the waifs and strays and give them hope for the future.

'I was painting on the beach, and some kids came up to me and said they wanted to do the same,' he says. 'They had been peddling stuff on the beach for a few riel, which they took home to their families, often begging for a handful of rice or leftovers from a tourist's table.'

Many of the children had come from violent and abusive homes, he says, and none had attended school. Dixon also saw signs of malnutrition and poor diet among the children, and decided to set about raising funds to ensure that every child had healthy teeth and gums, and at least one good meal a day.

He set up the Cambodian Children's Painting Project (CCPP), teaching the children to paint with the aim of selling the pictures to tourists to raise funds for their care. Tourists loved the primitive art, canvases were quickly snapped up and more children joined the scheme. The project quickly outgrew its beach location, so Dixon negotiated a deal to rent hanging and studio space at the Serendip bar. Within a year he had applied for and received full NGO status.

Recognising the potential for his idea, but lacking the time and energy to continue developing it, Dixon approached Felix Brooks-Church to replace him. It was the perfect choice.