Our Projects: Cambodia
SKILLS FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE
Community Connection Cambodia (CCC)Svay Khleang Village, Kampong Cham Province
The cost to establish and run the school its first year is $46,500 and includes:
- Repairing the existing structure donated by the community
- Outfitting 4 classrooms including desks, chairs, whiteboards and fittings
- Purchasing 7 computers, printers and educational supplies
- Providing an Internet connection
- Building and stocking a library
- Constructing bathroom facilities
- Hiring construction workers
- Paying the modest salaries of 5 teachers
We invite the GO Community to help Cham youth fuel sustainable development and transform their community.
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FEATURED BIOS
My name is Min Issan and I am 15 years old in Grade 8 of Kroch Chhmar High School. I am the 7th child of 8 children living with poor parents. Because of the family poverty and many members, I have a lot of difficulties attending school. Both of my parents are farmers, but the farm we have is small, only gives us enough rice for our own need and not enough to sell. I have been working hard with my study because I need knowledge for my future and it is also because I like study. Everyday I walk to school but most of the other students ride their fancy motor scooters or nice bicycles. I don't care about these valuable materials. I think that as long as I can go to school, then I am happy. I will never give up my study. I always get good results from my study and teachers often admire me. This also makes my parents happy.
My name is Hasana Ahmad and I'm 15 years old in Grade 8. My parents split and are too poor to care for me and my four brothers and sisters so we live with our grandmother who is too old to work and she does not give us any riel [Cambodian currency]. Life is very difficult for me. Even though I don't have bicycle, new cloth or school bag, I attend school like the children from rich families. I earn enough monies by helping families in my village after school do this or that. I use these monies to pay for school and my supplies. So, myself and all brothers and sisters have to work as much as we can to handle our own lives. I want to study until university so that I can find a good job and can help support my grandmother.
WHY CAMBODIA
The Cham are among Cambodia's poorest communities. While their dominant occupation has been fish farming, the sharp decline in fish harvests has pushed families to adapt to livestock and poultry farming that demand significantly more of their already scarce resources. As part of the minority Muslim religion, discrimination is frequently suffered by the Cham ethnic group. Advancement in Cambodian society has further been hampered due to their native language of Cham as opposed to Khmer. Most Cham youth lack the proficiency in English of their peers from Phnom Penh and have never been exposed to computers or the Internet.
Osman Ysa, the Executive Director of CCC, explains the education issue, "There is a lack of encouragement from parents and other authorities for Cham children to continue with their secondary education if they complete the primary level. This is due in part to a prevalent assumption that the goal of schooling is only basic literacy. Since many consider there to be no real opportunities for Cham students to continue past high school for university education, students find that they are not supported to continue schooling on to the high school level."
Osman is supporting this growing population of Cham youth to overcome these barriers, have the opportunity to attend university and work in city centers to help their community prosper and advance. The CCC vocational training school is a crucial stepping stone that will prepare these dedicated and driven students to succeed and break the cycle of poverty plaguing their families and the Cham community.
