Hello to all our generous supporters and friends.
Due to Covid 19 this communication is in the form of a brief report on our tertiary scholarship program.rather than our usual half yearly newsletter. I haven’t been able to travel to Cambodia and our students are still not able to return to university and school. I speak regularly to our General Manager and to our students.
Over the last 18 months our focus has been on enabling students from very poor rural villages to go to high school and university or tertiary vocational training..
I thought I would let you know how this exciting program is going. Of course I haven’t been able to travel to Cambodia but I am in weekly contact with our General Manager and our students.
Comparatively few rural students have the opportunity to go to high school and tertiary education. So we have set up our Tertiary Scholarship Fund and developed a support program to enable our scholarship students to live safely in the city, and to go to university or college.
Our Education Centre in Siem Reap provides a safe home and a strong support base.
Some of our students have been with us since primary school. Others have joined us through our Tertiary Scholarship program.
All of our students are young people from very poor families who live in traditional rural districts. So it has been a really big adjustment for them to live and study in the city. They have all made the transition very well and we are really proud of them. They are studying a wide range of courses – teaching, law, nursing, accounting, engineering, hospitality, international relations, finance and banking. Our students have worked hard and all have passed their annual exams.
Given their backgrounds we recognise that these young people need a lot of support in the first couple of years of study, and we aim to provide that support through a program of extra curricula activities, and mentoring.
Extra curricula activities include life skills workshops, leadership training, extra English coaching, and our household management program at our Centre where students learn to shop, cook, handle a weekly budget etc.
A very important and successful initiative is our part-time work program. The students have part-time jobs, for example in hospitality, in NGOs, as a teacher’s aid, assistant to a social worker etc.
They are really enjoying the experience and learning so much – about communication, time management, team work, and their English is improving greatly.
Students enjoy an English class with our American volunteer teacher.
Unfortunately the Corona virus has led to the closure of schools and universities, and most of the employment the students have had, so it has been rather frustrating for them. However we expect university and schools to open again later this month.
It is impossible to know the true state of the virus in Cambodia – we cannot rely on any of the figures published, but staff and students have completed training on how to look after themselves and each other in this difficult time, and so far so good. Unfortunately Corona does mean that I cannot make my usual visits to our project in Cambodia.
Thank you again for your interest in and support of Opportunity Cambodia.
Carolyn Fletcher
Founder and Director
Please consider donating to our successful Tertiary Scholarship Fund. DONATE
