News

Posted on 03 Jan 2011 by:

Sovanannsynadath Tem at ITC in First Science Festival in Cambodia on 19-26 March 2010

CAMBODIAN RURAL EDUCATION UPDATES

Since we began the Cambodian Rural Education Fund, we have been changing the lives of village students in Cambodia. Our first graduate from college was Savin Khuon who received her degree in economics in August of 2010. While in school, Savin volunteered with several agencies traveling to remote areas and collecting information on education and hunger. She is now helping to send her brother, Savon, to college. Savon is studying architecture. She is also helping to finance her new husband's degree, and setting up small businesses in her village such as sewing, and machine repairs. This helps the villagers to make a living.

We have a student who is a senior in business and accounting and will graduate in 2011. Sophorurk Lach is also teaching English in the school we built. He had volunteered during his studies with the World Bank to contact remote areas to help with small personal businesses and collect information on health problems in these areas.

Sovannsynadath Tem is studying electrical engineering in Phnom Penh. He will graduate in 2013 with his Master's Degree. This study is very demanding since it is entirely in French.

Sorey Lach is studying tourism in Battangbang College and will work in an industry that will brighten the future of Cambodia since there are many exciting and historical monuments such as the Angkor Wat for people all over the world to come and enjoy.

Sokunthea Yan is in high school and we sent her the funds to take the extra classes necessary to apply for college. These classes include English. Sokunthea is a very gifted student and we hope to be able to fund her education. Her parents are poor but hard working. They are caring for their family and their brother's children which makes them responsible for twelve children. Her mother raises pigs and does the farming. Her father is a carpenter. Many times children are kept home to help with survival, but Sokunthea's parents are very determined that the children receive an education. They certainly deserve our help.

As of this time, our fund is not sufficient to complete the education need of these young people. It costs $1,300 per year to send a student through college. This includes, education costs, books, food and living expenses. An additional one time fee of $600 for a computer (they are expensive there) but it is a necessary need in today's world.

We sincerely hope these young people will complete studies and help to enrich the lives of their fellow countrymen. Education is the key to ending hunger, poverty and war. Thank you for whatever assistance you can offer.

Posted on 10 Aug 2004 by:

A typical school day in the rural villages of Cambodia. These children need a better learning enviroment and adequate school supplies.

INADEQUATE RESOURCES FOR THE RURAL COMMUNITIES

The latest news for these schools is overcrowding, double or triple sessions, no supplies, underpaid and under trained teachers. Having just returned from a trip to Cambodia, my husband, who is Cambodian, and I, visited the school he attended as a boy. We were shocked to witness the conditions. There are 1700 students in a school designed to hold 400. This results in triple sessions. Each child receives two to three hours of class per day. All the students had in the classrooms were a shared desk. There are no pencils, paper, pens, maps, and notebooks, reading books or other tools. The teachers are allowed one piece of chalk per classroom. All lessons are studied by dictation or memory.

The teachers receive $30 per month if the money is available. Even by Cambodian standards this is totally inadequate for a family. There is no extra training and at times the teacher stands because there is no desk. Several teachers and a principle live in the village and told us that some of their schools were even worse off.

Some families live on the flood plain if they cannot own their own land in the village. These children do not attend school at all since it is too far for the little ones to travel. It is not unusual for children to have to help at home. My husband didn’t start school until age ll. In the city just three miles down the road from the village is all the modern technology. Without an educational opportunity, these people will be once again lost in the world of today.