"Educate to Elevate" for the Children of Siem Reap

Hello all, let me introduce myself my name is Edward (Eamon) Conway from Ireland, I go quite often to this school in Siem Reap, Cambodia both as a volunteer and to donate various items. This appeal is for extra classrooms, the reason for this appeal is a very simple one, the village children in the Siem Reap area, see the progress of the “New Dream of Cambodian Children Organisation” School and now want also to be a part of the school journey.

Education is critically important to Cambodia's development. The country's development strategy focuses on its young, dynamic and mobile population as a major contributor to sustainable development and economic growth.

Young girls now have the opportunity to learn when these young girls get an education, they learn to read, write and think, which gives them the tools to speak up and talk about injustice and to ask for equal treatment.

These girls can help reduce poverty and contribute to growth, but the change needs to start from parents, who must send their children to school.

This school is lucky in so many so many students wish to enrol so to give them a start in life, either in the hospitality sector or go on for further education in Cambodia or overseas.

It has to be noted Siem Reap has many tourist attractions, such as the world heritage site of Angkor Wat, Kulen Elephant Park and Apopo Rat Training programme. Many of these children wish to work here in the tourism sector.

The school is situated in rural Siem Reap, it has already over 200 children enrolled and these children are doing extremely at this school in Siem Reap.

You ask why more classrooms this is due to pressure on the present school which has an ever-increasing waiting list for students, therefore the board of NDCCO, are undertaking an ambitious project that is to build up to eight new “bungalow style” classrooms which will be on land owned by Mr Kim (school principal)

This is due to an urgent need to enrol a further 200 local village children into the school education programs, hopefully, this will be achievable soon.

Each new classroom will be 5m x 4m (bungalow style) in size, accommodating 25 NEW students in each classroom this is a great achievement for a rural school.

NDCCO currently has many children in the surrounding villages who are very keen to enrol and get a good education at this NGO school. The School have had to refuse placements to many village children within the last year, we just didn't have any room for the children.

The current school administration cannot afford to build the same type of solid with brick & cement classrooms, such as the 3 classrooms that we already have in operation now. The plan for these new type bungalow style classrooms, which Kim the principal has built before, and each classroom will cost around $2,000 to build plus a further $1,000 for desks, chairs, stationery etc.

With these new bungalow-style classrooms there will still be plenty of space for the school children to play sports and to grow some fruit trees for their vegetable garden, providing homegrown fresh food for all the students to take home to their families.