About Chumkriel:
Chumkriel is about 4km from Kampot and consists of four villages of around 1800 people. Most people living in Chumkriel are rice farmers and salt field workers, with some commercial fishing which is in rapid decline due to over fishing. The children in the farthest village walk more than an hour to school. Over 58% of families do not have access to reliable accommodation, sanitation and water, there is limited land tenure and access to reliable protein is a challenge. Approximately 680 students from the Chumkriel area attend the Chumkriel Language School (CLS).
The CLS is a registered Non-Government Community Organisation in Cambodia. The CLS provides support to the state-run primary and high schools to deliver English language lessons, teacher training, and a range of other programs. It also provides community members with access to IT services. The School charges a nominal fee of 7c per class to students and this fee also provides a scholarship class free to about 80 students for those who cannot afford to pay at all. The school opened in October 2005 and runs two one-hour classes per evening, Monday to Friday, and classes as electives to students attending the adjacent state school in subjects not offered through the mainstream education system. CLS fills the gap for students who cannot afford English classes. English is the language of trade and in this case, teaching English to the very poor, allows them to participate in a commercial system that they may otherwise be victims of.
We started in a single classroom teaching English to 100 children. With the support of volunteers and donors over the last 10 years, we now have our own dedicated Learning Centre with an adjoining agricultural garden and sporting field.
Our philosophy is about helping people help themselves by integrating the basic needs of students and the community in which they live with our education program. Today we offer a wide range of assistance and opportunities to the children of this area, including:
· Daily classes in Khmer subjects and basic English for up to 80 primary children. Health and hygiene are also included as the children come from backgrounds where the importance of hygiene is often not appreciated. The Learning Centre collaborates with an adjoining government high school and primary school, sharing facilities and resources to improve educational opportunities for all children.
· A library where children are encouraged to develop and enjoy reading skills.
· Computer classes for secondary school students.
· A sports field for sports and recreation activities.
· Evening classes in English attended by up to 450 students.
· Transport for 35 students from the Chumkriel salt fields to and from school every day.
· A vegetable garden to teach the children and their parents how to grow vegetables, so poor families of this area can develop greater food self-sufficiency.
· A soup kitchen that provides a healthy lunch for up to 40 children from the Salt Fields.
· Scholarships for 80 children to attend the government high school which adjoins our campus, and a further 6 scholarships for selected students to study at university.
The above programs are run on a tight budget of less than US$60,000 per year. We are totally dependent on donations to fund this cost, and thus are constantly seeking donors to cover existing costs and to help us expand our programs.
