Maddox Chivan Children’s Center

Access to HIV/AIDS treatment and support to children infected or affected by HIV

The Maddox Chivan Children’s Center (MCCC) was born from a chance meeting between actress and director Angelina Jolie and CHC co-founder Dr. Anne Goldfeld on a flight to Cambodia in July 2004.

In Phnom Penh, they visited a dilapidated TB ward—where adults dying from AIDS and tuberculosis lay coughing in crowded rooms while their children played on dirty hospital floors. At the time, HIV treatment was largely unavailable, and the children—many grieving the loss of at least one parent—had nowhere else to go.

What began as a moment of shared urgency became a lasting partnership and the seed of a center dedicated to care, dignity, and saving lives of children affected by HIV and AIDS.

Children on the Frontlines of the AIDS Crisis

Whether infected with HIV or not themselves, children from families impacted by HIV/AIDS had missed years of school—either due to their own illness or because they were caring for sick parents. In Cambodia at the time, many had lost their fathers to AIDS and were living with HIV-infected mothers and younger siblings born with the virus who often were quite ill. It was common that a healthy child in the family as young as 7 or 8, was acting as a primary caregiver—begging for food or scavenging garbage to keep their family alive. Every child touched by HIV/AIDS faced deep stigma tied to their own or their family’s HIV status.

A Lifeline for Children Infected or Affected by AIDS

Founded in 2006, the Maddox Chivan Children’s Center (MCCC) was created by CHC in partnership with Angelina Jolie to meet the urgent and often invisible needs of children infected or affected by HIV/AIDS in Cambodia. As one of the country’s first pediatric HIV treatment sites, the MCCC pioneered a child-centered approach—bringing together medical care, nutrition, education, and emotional support in one safe, welcoming place where children could begin to heal and grow. As of June 2025, the MCCC has provided critical support to +2000 children since opening its doors and to countless others who have benefited from its early role in HIV care of children in Cambodia and beyond.

Our Impact: Healing, Nourishing, and Empowering Children

Expanding Access to HIV Drugs and Saving Lives

The MCCC was one of the first sites in Cambodia to provide HIV drugs to children. In parallel, CHC chose to train physicians from the Khmer Soviet Friendship Hospital — the largest public hospital in Cambodia — serving Phnom Penh’s poorest families — in pediatric HIV/AIDS care at the Maddox Center. In 2009, HIV treatment at the MCCC transitioned to the newly established CHC Sullivan Pediatric HIV Center, where MCCC counselors and physicians worked alongside government staff expanding access to HIV treatment while maintaining the MCCC model of counseling and care. An average of 400 children/year living with HIV/AIDS were treated in this outpatient clinic during the worst of the pediatric AIDS epidemic between 2009-2020 in Cambodia.

Pioneering Age-Appropriate Medical Counseling for HIV Treatment

Understanding HIV is essential to living with it. The founding director Marie-Pierre Sanchez-Die developed a trail-blazing age-specific HIV counseling model with the MCCC team (see photos below). Using illustrated counseling cards and child-friendly images and language designed for separate age groups (i.e. under age 5, age 5-12, teen/young adult) counselors help children understand their diagnosis and the importance of daily medication—laying the foundation for lifelong adherence and health, an approach that has become widely emulated.

Fighting Hunger

In its earliest days, nearly all MCCC families faced food insecurity. Nutrition became a cornerstone of care. Children receive a hot lunch and two snacks daily at the MCCC, ensuring they have the strength to grow, learn, and continue treatment. For many, it became a dependable daily meal they could count on.

A Safe Space

For children affected by HIV and AIDS, stigma can be just as painful as illness. At the MCCC, children—both HIV-infected and not—found a safe, welcoming space where they could simply be kids. Surrounded by peers with shared experiences, they were free to play, learn, and heal without fear or shame.

Helping Children Catch Up in School

Because of illness, caregiving responsibilities, or crushing poverty, many children arrived at the Maddox having missed years of school. The center offers supplementary education in the afternoon and morning to complement the student’s ‘regular’ school program. Khmer, math, English, and computer skills are tailored to help each child reach the grade level appropriate for their age. Programs span preschool/nursery through high school, with focus on digital literacy and English for teens preparing for future opportunities.

Supporting Mental Health and Life Transitions

A full-time counselor helps children address behavioral challenges and supports families in moments of crisis. For adolescents living with HIV, targeted guidance and life-skills support is focused on preparing them for adulthood and the responsibility of lifelong treatment.

Creativity, Talent, and Joy: Horses, Music, Dance, Soccer, etc.

The MCCC exposes children to enrichment opportunities to build confidence, to find joy, and to unlock new potential. Khmer dance and music lessons in piano, violin, and recorder are offered weekly. A highlight has been the opportunity to horseback ride with support from the Cambodian Equestrian Association. MCCC kids have become expert equestrians, met the King, become members of the Cambodian Olympic Team, and some have traveled to ASEAN equestrian competitions throughout southeast Asia. One rider became a horse expert, and now as an adult works at a horse club in southern Cambodia.

2000+ children and teens have received direct critical support at the MCCC, with countless others benefiting from HIV treatment and the MCCC age-appropriate medical counseling approaches to HIV.

See the photos below.