To Whom It May Concern:

I recently conducted a six-month research assignment for UNICEF in Cambodia to develop recommendations to make education accessible to rural youngsters.  In the course of this research I visited the Cambodia Corps, Inc. (CCi) program in the province capital of Mondolkiri Province. 

Previously the Ministry of Education operated “boarding schools” in numerous frontier provinces to enable children from rural areas to access secondary education, available only in the province capitals.  Although orphans and impoverished children had priority for admittance, funding constraints only allowed for the accommodation of a small portion of this population.

Most of these government supported boarding schools were closed except for the one in Mondolkiri.  It’s located next to the only upper secondary school in the province.  CCi assumed responsibility for the Mondolkiri boarding school in early 2003, made significant capital improvements, hired a staff, and has greatly improved the morale and health of these mostly ethnic minority children.  The Ministry of Education still provides support in the form of a small food stipend.

CCi provides an extremely important service for the indigenous tribal minorities of Mondolkiri.  Seventy-three percent of these villagers are illiterate.  This is the highest illiteracy rate in the country.

The CCi program is an excellent model for a homeless child shelter and the dormitory function is a good solution in other provinces where distances are great from village to school.  For the children who are not orphans, the CCi staff helps alleviate the fear parents feel for their children’s safety.

Furthermore, CCi funds the college education of their qualified secondary school graduates and plans to employ them and others in a ten-year Village Development Program (VDP).   

I applaud CCi for its successful program and hope they can obtain funds to expand their dormitory operation and finance the VDP.  Currently the dormitory capacity is limited to 180 children which is only a small fraction of those in need.  The government has lower secondary (middle) schools in the four rural district towns of Mondolkiri.  However many villages are remote from schools, therefore a CCi dormitory adjacent to the lower secondary schools in each of these district towns is needed.

My very best personal regards to the dedicated staff of this non profit, which is making a significant difference in the lives of children in a very poor and remote province of the Kingdom of Cambodia.

Yours truly,
 

William Collins, Ph.D.
Consultant Scholarship Expert