A few days ago, I was walking out of an auto service station after getting my car’s annual inspection. I was struck by the fact that one year ago, as I was sitting on a bench in front of a gas station near my house, waiting for my car to be ready, I was texting my friend Zee to tell her that we got our first donation. The excitement was so palpable that I literally jumped up and down as I was typing. We had just commited to each other (and to ourselves) that we would raise enough money to be able to build a school in rural Cambodia.
“A girl who gets an education will have fewer children, earn more money, and be able to help her younger siblings. One excellent support program operates in Cambodia, where uneducated girls are at great risk of being trafficked into brothels. For $10 a month, you can keep a girl in school through American Assistance for Cambodia or for $13,000, you can build an entire school that will revolutionize life in a village forever.” (Read more from this article in O Magazine here.)
American Assistance for Cambodia (AAfC) established Rural Schools Project in 1999, with matching funds from the World Bank and Asian Development Bank, to construct over 300 primary and lower secondary schools in rural villages that previously lacked a functional school. Each school is partnered with a donor to provide value-add features, which include: Computers powered by solar panels, Internet / satellite, an AAfC trained English and computer teacher, a school nurse, a vegetable garden, a well or water filter and a bookcase of books. There are over 50 press clippings here if you’d like to read more about others building schools in Cambodia.
We have collected $11,600. We are SO CLOSE!
I really want to make this happen. If you are among the 35 people who have donated to our school, THANK YOU. If you would like to help us get to the finish line, please let me know.
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