Education Cambodia Project #14245

University Education for Young Women in Cambodia

by Lotus Outreach

University Education for Young Women in Cambodia

Project Report | Jan 22, 2024
Inspiring the Younger Generation

By Raksmey Var | Country Representative

Marany

The CATALYST project aims to empower young women with the tools to spearhead sustainable change in their communities. We have seen that merely witnessing CATALYST scholars' success stories provides communities with tangible evidence that education can open doors to a better future. Their stories and experiences are a powerful tool to inspire communities to break barriers and challenge stereotypes that may hold them back. These scholars become examples of what is possible for younger generations.

Understanding this, LOCAM has begun facilitating conversations with CATALYST schoalrs and high school students in the GATE (Girls’ Access To Education) program. The young women and girls in these programs often come from challenging family situations with high levels of poverty, and staying in school, even with support is not always a given. By introducing the CATALYST scholars as examples and mentors who have overcome incredible challenges to get to where they are now, we hope that the GATE students may be inspired to stay in school and pursue their dreams as well.

Marany is currently a 4th year student pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Physics at the Royal University of Phnom Penh and is a CATALYST scholar of Lotus Outreach Cambodia (LOCAM). She shared her experience with GATE students and encouraged them to study hard and aim high for their goals.

“Because of the difficulties my family was enduring, I studied very hard and tried to find different scholarship opportunities to help myself [stay in school] and ease my parents’ burdens. As the oldest child in the family, I persevered and studied hard until I was awarded a scholarship from Royal University of Phnom Penh and Lotus Outreach. The support from Lotus Outreach has eased my family’s burdens so much and I was provided with a monthly allowance and funds for my English and computer courses, as well as for accommodation. It wasn’t hard for me to live far away from my family; it has taught me to become stronger and better acquainted with the outside world. Moreover, with the organization’s support, I’ve become a person who is very brave and persistent."

Even when they are enduring many challenges, she told them to remember that every problem always has a solution, and only education can change the livelihood of their family and themselves. She expressed her hope that everyone will succeed in every step of their lives.

Another scholar Lisa, who is currently a 4th year student pursuing a marketing degree at Build Bright University, shared that even though she is from a very low income family who couldn’t support her education, she never once thought about giving up on her dreams. She said she always tries her best to find different opportunities in order to overcome her obstacles.

“Please don’t be disappointed by being born into a poor family and keep working hard to be a deserving student of the program because the organization doesn’t expect anything from you. They only want to see you succeed. Keep working hard to the best of your ability. If I can do it, so can you. Be who you are and be confident!”

We are so happy that the CATALYST scholars are inspired to share and give back in this way. We hope that they will continue to inspire and uplift the younger generations and foster this connection which can provide much needed support for girls to pave their own way. Thank you for supporting this program, and the incredible young people it benefits.

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Sep 26, 2023
Financial Literacy Workshop for CATALYST scholars

By Raksmey Var | Country Representative

The CATALYST project aims to equip our female scholars with the necessary soft skills and knowledge to help them succeed academically, build strong relationships, prepare for future careers, and additionally, achieve financial stability and independence. On September 3 and 17, 2023, Lotus Outreach Cambodia invited Mrs. Pen Bopha to speak on the topic of Financial Education for CATALYST scholars in Siem Reap and Phnom Penh, a total of 61 scholars attended at these two locations.

Mrs. Bopha graduated with a Doctoral degree in Education and she has 18 years of experience as a soft-skills trainer and motivational speaker, specializing in women and youth empowerment. She has received many recognitions such as Outstanding Woman Entrepreneur prize in 2022 from the Cambodia Women Entrepreneurs Association (CWEA), Women in Financial Technology prize in 2022 from the Cambodia Association of Finance & Technology (CAFT), Gold medalist of Young Entrepreneur of Cambodia in 2022 from the Young Entrepreneurs Associations of Cambodia (YEAC), and is a National Leadership Ambassador in Cambodia.

The objective of the workshop was to help scholars build a strong financial literacy foundation so that they may have the ability to make informed financial decisions and future plans for themselves. From our observation, we could see students enjoyed the workshop and were excited to learn about financial education, and the ways that they can begin to make small changes in their own lives, to achieve short and long term financial goals. The workshop was very active with group discussion, group presentation, sharing personal experiences about managing budget, and recreational games.

Below are some of the reflections from our students:

“From this workshop, I learned so much about how to divide my money. It also helped me gain a better understanding of financial management, planning my future, and the importance of saving money. The point that I will apply in my life is to spend according to my financial plans and be committed to saving money regularly.

I'm very happy to participate in this workshop, and I had been longing for the organization to teach us this topic. If I had taken this course in my first year of university, I would have had a clear understanding of finances and income management.” -Sreyneang (Year 4, Law, Build Bright University, Siem Reap)

"From this workshop, I learned three very important lessons. First, I now have a better understanding of how to save money and take care of my finances, which I did not think was important in the past, but after I learned about this topic, I now understand and know more about its importance. Second, I learned about how I can make plans for myself in order to start my own business and become successful at managing it. Lastly, it is important to control your spending habits and have a clear list of expenses to avoid overspending.

The most important point from this workshop that I will apply to my life is regarding how to make financial plans for my future. I will also take note of my daily expenses to see how much I spend in a day.” -Lisa (Year 4, Marketing, Build Bright University, Siem Reap)

"Before participating in this workshop, I felt very excited and nervous at the same time. I was so worried that I might not understand anything. However, during this workshop, I understood so much regarding financial management. I started to learn so much about finance and how I could improve my spending habits. It was such an interesting topic for me, and I followed through on every single detail in the lessons. I am very delighted to participate in this workshop. I hope that the organization will have more workshops like this in the future." -Sreypov (Year 3, Mathematics, Royal University of Phnom Penh, Phnom Penh)

At CATALYST we support young women to achieve their goals and go on to lead empowered and successful lives. Thank you for supporting the CATALYST program.

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Aug 17, 2023
Gender Training Workshop for CATALYST Scholars

By Raksmey Var | Country Representative

The CATALYST program works to ensure scholars are equipped with necessary soft skills by the time they graduate university so these young women are ready to seize the competitive job market and will be the voices and agents of change at home and in their communities.

On February 12 and March 26, 2023, Lotus Outreach Cambodia invited Mr. Sopheap Suong, who is currently a Gender Equality and Inclusion Specialist at Save the Children Cambodia, as a trainer for our workshop under the topic “Gender Champions Training” for our CATALYST scholars in Phnom Penh and in Siem Reap, respectively. During our workshop, we saw that many of our students were very interested in this topic and actively participated with our trainer.

This training discussed:

*Gender in daily life

*Family & social expectations & the impact of those expectations

*Sex vs Gender

*Gender identity

*Power relation & Gender at home and in society

*Power relation & decision making

*Gender equality & Gender equity

After the training, students had a much higher understanding of these topics, which led to fruitful and engaging conversations for all participants. We hope that this workshop will help our CATALYST scholars become strong women in their society, eliminate discrimination, and promote women's dignity and power through deeper understanding of gender and how it relates to our scholars experiences.

"After this lesson, I understood more clearly about why women and men should have equal rights and power and why there should never be a division of tasks and responsibilities based on our gender. After this workshop, my perception of gender has now changed because I know now that everyone deserves equal treatment and there should never be any discrimination based on our genders." - Sanoun, Year 3 CATALYST, Physics, Royal University of Phnom Penh

"After this workshop, my mindset has shifted tremendously. I now know that all genders deserve equal rights, whether they are male, female, or gender fluid." - Soklin, Year 3 CATALYST, Mathematics, Royal University of Phnom Penh

We are grateful for your support, with which we can ensure these scholars have access to the highest level of education both academic and extracurricular, so that they may become capable and confident leaders in their communities and society.

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