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Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
Bengali - বাংলা | Chinese (Simplified) - 中文（简体）
Chinese (Traditional) - 中文（繁體) | French - Français
German - Deutsch | Gujarati - ગુજરાતી
Hindi - हिन्दी | Indonesian - Bahasa Indonesia
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Portugese - Português | Russian - Русский
Spanish - Espanol | Tagalong / Filipino
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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Mel of Cambodia

The Mel of Cambodia, numbering approximately 3,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a people of Cambodia . They are an Indigenous people, in the Mon-Khmer people cluster of the Southeast Asian Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Buddhism - Folk. They primarily speak Mel-Khaonh.

Mel in Cambodia photo
Photo by Google. (2025). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Mel

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Asian Pacific Rim Peoples
Country: Cambodia
People Cluster: Mon-Khmer
Primary Language(s): Mel-Khaonh (hkn)
Primary Religion(s): Buddhism - Folk
Population: 3,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG047855

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Pray for the Mel of Cambodia

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Buddhism - Folk
Religious Affiliation: Buddhism

%
Buddhism - Folk Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Mel-Khaonh
Language Family: Austroasiatic

%
Mel-Khaonh Speakers

Media Resources in Mel-Khaonh:

Films:

No entries found for: Mel-Khaonh(hkn). Help build some!

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Mel-Khaonh:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Mel-Khaonh bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

Next steps for the Mel

The Mel are Unengaged and Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

Next steps for the Mel

The Mel are Engaged yet Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations but there are sustained efforts at establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Continue prayer and fasting for this group
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Begin training up local leaders to lead and develop strategies to reach their own people

Next steps for the Mel

The Mel are No Longer Unreached, which means there are more than 2% evangelical Christian populations and there are churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. There is still more to be done among them.

Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Mel of Cambodia

Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth.
readPsalm 67:4

Pray that those who are lost in darkness and confusion will come to understand God's ways, submit to His righteous rule, and experience the joy of His salvation.

For my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples.
readLuke 2:30

Pray that the lost will see the salvation of God, and that they will trust in Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord.

For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one.
readHebrews 10:34

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have compassion for those in prison, sympathize with those who are mistreated, and continue to do good and share the gospel with others.

Say among the nations, “The LORD reigns! Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity.”
readPsalm 96:10

Pray for God to put in the hearts of believers to go to the lost and testify about the Lord who reigns.

Mel reported in the following countries (ROP3):

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

Peoplegroups.org relies on updates from the field and other organizations for much of our data, so if you have any updates, please contact us. We use various international naming standards. For a list of these standards and fields, visit our Definitions page.

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