Help build public libraries in rural Cambodia

Sokngim Kim, a former student of The Harpswell Foundation in Cambodia where I volunteered in 2013, is starting an ambitious and much-needed project – to build public libraries in rural villages across Cambodia! She already has a location for the first – her former primary school! Pouthiprek Public Library must be renovated and supplied with books, furniture, and more.

See her words below:

My friend Kompheakneary Keo and I visited our primary school last Saturday and talked to the school principal about the existing library at our school. The existing library is old, the space is small, and it doesn’t have many books for students to read.

We plan to create a new public library for anyone who wants to read and learn and for small kids to do any learning activities like drawing or painting/coloring. We want kids to have the opportunity to read books.

The school principal allowed us to use a spare room next to the existing library for the new library.

The items we need for the public library are:

1. lean concrete

2. floor tiles

3. painting (inside)

4. whiteboard with stand

5. markers

6. erasers

7. bookshelves

8. tables

9. fans

10. shoe racks

11. backpack shelves

12. front door floor mat

13. new windows

14. books

Pouthiprek Public Library is located in Kandalkroum village, Banteaydek commune, Kiensvay district, Kandal province, Cambodia.

ALL funds will go directly to Sokngim via a secure Western Union transfer. Any additional funds raised will launch the next library. Thank you for supporting this vital project to bring the transformational power of reading to more people!