Build dreams! Send Cambodian Students to College!

Reminder:  Tuesday, December 1 is Giving Tuesday where GlobalGiving will offer a proportional match on  donations  up to  $ 2500 . This year GlobalGiving will have $ 1 million in Matching Funds !  

A Kasumisou Scholar gives back to others ! 

Earlier this year we  had reported that  in response to the Covid-19 threat, the Cambodian  government shut down much of the economy including  all of  the  schools and universities for the month of April.  In recent months, some things in Cambodia , such as the schools, have  returned to normal.  The government re-opened the schools and universities in August and our  five Kasumisou Scholars have all returned to classroom learning.  However, the economic impact of COVID  on the country has been severe, gravely impacting the two biggest drivers of the  "new" Cambodian  economy, the garment industry and  tourism, both of which remain in a severe recession.

This month we would like to  put a spotlight  on one student, Ms. S, currently age 24.  

Ms. S  is studying English language education and she aspires  one day, to  become an English professor.  She is hopeful that she will be able to complete her Bachelor’s degree program at  the beginning of 2022.  

Ms. S supports herself by working  full time  in the office at Champey  Academy. Juggling studies with work,  Ms. S continues to work hard toward her degree, hoping that upon completion, she will be able to go on to graduate school in pursuit of her dream of becoming a professor.  Ms. S. continues, as she has done for years , to work  extremely hard to  improve her own  life.

Giving back ! 

We are excited to report that recognizing  the opportunities that education can offer to kids from disadvantaged backgrounds like so many of the young students at our Champey Academ of Arts, Ms. S has recently decided to “ give back” and  to help others by volunteering to teach English to a roster of about 10 students from our art and dance school during her lunch hour.

Your generous support of our program has given  Ms. S and our other students  an opportunity  to transform their lives, giving them a real chance to break the cycle of inherited poverty.

We are so very grateful to you all for your support.

Wishing a joyful holiday season.

Barbara & Mark

In response to the Covid-19 threat, the Cambodian  government shut down nearly the entire economy for one month in April. This included all of  the schools and universities.  The COVID virus itself has, to date at least, not seriously impacted Cambodia and many  things are largely back to normal, but  the tourism industry and schools continue to be severely affected.  Recently the government has discussed a phased re-opening of private schools and the complete re-opening of all public schools by November.

Currently, the universities that are attended by our five Kasumisou Scholars students offer only on-line study and  they have not yet given any clear indication as to  when they will resume classroom learning. 

Ms. S  is 22 years old.  She is in the second year of her four year Bachelor’s degree program in International Relations.  All of her classes are conducted in English.  For the time being, all study is online on-line only.  After completing her Bachelor’s degree program she hopes to pursue a graduate degree with the ultimate goal of working in a government ministry.

Ms. S  is  24 years old. She is studying English language education with the ultimate goal of being an English language teacher.  She expects to complete her Bachelor’s degree program by the beginning of 2022.   Currently all of her study is being done on-line and her university has given no clear indication of when they expect to resume classroom teaching. 

Ms. C is 19 years old and she is studying in the first year of a Bachelor’s degree in business. Her school is currently only offering online instruction and like many students in Cambodia and indeed in the US,  she is finding  that  it is too difficult to manage, so she will pause and  take a gap time until in-classroom study resumes. 

Ms. O is 20 years old.  She is currently in the final month of her first year of study at a university specializing in business and government related courses.  She will start her second year of study in October. Currently, all classes at her university are offered only online.  All classes at her university are offered only in Khmer (the Cambodian language) and Ouksa does not speak any English.  Her family has received  support from our AIDS Patient Support program for many years. 

Vichet ( first name)   is 26 year old.  We have  followed the progress of Vichet for a long time. Orphaned by AIDS at a very young age, Vichet has lived with his grandmother and his high school age female cousin. This fragile family has received support from our AIDS Patient Family Support program for approximately 18 years. Vichet worked full time loading trucks ,to help support his family, while studying and  eventually, passing,  the national high school exam at age 24, a prerequisite for attending college. Vichet started college in fall of 2019, continuing to work full time as a delivery truck driver for a company distributing household cleaning and hygiene products in the Phnom Penh area. 

Currently, Vichet’s school offers only online instruction and Vichet  finds it extremely  difficult to keep up.  Under the format used by his school, students  cannot ask questions and students become lost  when there is something which requires further explanation. Vichet will temporarily stop his studies until his school resumes to its original format of in-class instruction.

Your support is important !

The COVID 19 virus  has caused significant challenges for students and  universities around the world,  interrupting the studies of dedicated,  purpose-filled students. Some students are more able  to adapt to the new world  of  on line instruction ,  while other, equally capable students find that online classes do not fully meet their needs. We are hopeful that each one of our students will be able to continue their courses of studies.

All of our students have faced and overcome remarkable challenges to get to this point. Your continued support , believing in their ability to succeed, is important as they continue to work through  today’s challenges, toward their goals.

We are deeply grateful.

Barbara  & Mark Rosasco