University Education for Young Women in Cambodia

CATALYST not only offers assistance to ensure scholars have support to complete their tertiary studies, but also encourages these young women to take full advantage of their education by providing access to seminars and mentoring with an emphasis on leadership, professional development and self-development. Extracurricular opportunities and workshops position these young women to be voices and agents of change at home and in their communities. 

 Even as schools have remained closed due to Covid, students continue to have access to online trainings and other opportunities virtually. This year, scholars were given 30 training and volunteer opportunities. As a result, four students applied and were accepted to be volunteers with different organizations. For these students, it was an exciting opportunity to further personal interests in a supportive environment.

Manavy is a year-one student majoring in English Literature. She's been an active participant in several training/volunteer programs with Transparency International Cambodia and Youth Council of Cambodia. She shared this reflection on a month long program with a focus on democratic governance: "During this course, I had a chance to do group research with people from different provinces, so I've gained a lot of new experiences.” 

Sina, a third year student in Marketing who has always been interested in finding a way to help farmers improve their farming technique, has passed a competitive application to join an 8-month training Eco- Ambassador program. She is interested in the program because it gives her the opportunity to find ways to address social issues and to compete for a small grant funding environmentally conscious business ideas. Sina explains, "Garbage is one of the main issues in my community and in Siem Reap town. People just throw away trash everywhere and it pollutes the water and impacts the environment. I want to clean up and repurpose this trash. Making compost from leftover produce from the kitchen and turning bottles/cans into useful products is a start. 

With the opportunity to participate in such programs and the support to pursue extra curricular interests, scholars also make connections in various fields and improve their leadership skills. We are so impressed by these young women who are truly striving to be the change and create positive change in their societies.

Thank you for your support! Together we create sustainable change.