Cambodia is known as “The Kingdom of Wonder” and is steeped in culture and history. Cambodia shares its borders with Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam in South East Asia. Cambodia is home to the UNESCO World Heritage site, Angkor Wat, as well as the largest freshwater lake in SE Asia, the Tonle Sap. Cambodia’s tragic legacy of the Khmer Rouge and the genocide that claimed 1.8 million lives in the late 1970’s still echoes throughout the country. The resilient Khmer people have made significant strides in rebuilding and redefining their identity; yet, the scars of the history remain, and much work remains to be done in healing a moving forward.
FutureSense Foundation’s Cambodia Hub is located in Battambang City, the third largest city in Cambodia after the capital, Phnom Penh. Battambang is home to 150,000 people and before the Khmer Rouge era, Battambang had a long history as the nation’s hub for art and culture. French colonial architecture span the skyline reminiscent of the early 1900’s. Our programmes are focused in the Ek Phnom District, just north of Battambang city. We support 10 rural villages in the district, where a majority of the families live below the poverty line.
Population
GDP
Life Expectancy
Cambodia’s recent and tumultuous history has affected many of their current issues. Largely, major systems such as the economy, health, and education were destroyed and although they have made big strides towards redevelopment, they are still far behind other countries in the region.
In order to drive change and bring impact to our communities, we must acknowledge some of these major challenges that Cambodians are facing on a daily basis. Our long-term development programmes in Cambodia seek to partner with local communities as well as being guided by the UN SDG’s, to provide access to valuable information, education, and skill development to see improvements in education, health and livelihoods. We focus on SDGs 1-6, 10, 13, and 17 to see the Ek Phnom District and the country of Cambodia reach and succeed these goals.
Conversational English
We want all 1,500 children we engage with in our programmes to increase and improve their ability to use the English language. We want to bring native English speaking volunteers to engage our students in interactive and exciting lessons that will not only give the children confidence to speak, but inspire them to continue in their studies and see the successful completion of grade 12 increase.
STE(A)M
We adapted the traditional meaning of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) to include the Arts. use simple everyday resources available to children to promote better understanding of basic principles of physics, structural and mechanical engineering.
Teacher training
In order to allow for the sustainability of our programmes, we believe in providing valuable resources and information sessions to the teachers so they may continue to carry out education initiatives in the classroom. Our teacher training sessions seek to provide our teachers with information about lesson planning, activity and resource development, classroom management, and even gender equality in the classroom.
Due to strict government school curriculum and timetables, many children are not able to learn other valuable skills and access classes that inspire creativity and critical thinking. We want to engage students in sessions that bring out new types of learning and provide opportunities to expand their education outside the “Rote learning” style they are used to. Sessions surrounding STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) provide students the opportunity to problem solve, engage in team or group work and allow for leadership opportunities, especially in young girls, and see critical thinking skills sharpen.
Creative Arts sessions provide even further avenues for creativity by creating a safe space to explore the arts. Students learn topics such as animation, sketching, and performing arts such as drama and dance. These artistic outlets allow the students to bring awareness to important community topics such as plastic use, drugs, domestic violence, and sanitation.
Our health programmes engage children in government schools and our Supplementary Education Class programme as well as the adults in the community to provide information surrounding a number of topics that we believe will impact the children and their families to live healthier and longer lives. We aim to reduce preventable illness such as water born illnesses by leading health workshops based on water and sanitation, food safety, and transmission. We aim to reduce non-communicable diseases by assessing community needs, conducting research, and sharing information on how daily habits impact future health. We also aim to reduce stigma and misinformation around female hygiene and menstruation by creating safe spaces for young women in the community.
In partnership with our Supplementary Education Class programme, we support the Women’s Handicraft and Sewing shop. This shop allows women in the community surrounding our programme to engage in valuable and profitable skills such as sewing, weaving and handicraft design.
Additionally, we offer computer skill classes for local children, providing them with the digital literacy they need to succeed in today’s workforce. These classes enhance their learning opportunities and open doors to better employment prospects in the future, helping to break the cycle of poverty and create lasting change in the community.
Within Cambodia, waste and waste management is a major issue. This includes the rapid growth of plastic waste with no recycling system in place which contributes to the environmental burden.
Our Environmental Programmes go beyond classroom lessons by involving the community in hands-on projects to address environmental issues, helping participants learn whilst making an impact. We also work to raise awareness on Environmental Sustainability through delivering workshops related to recycling, waste management, sustainable lifestyle changes, sustainable food production and consumption.
We aim to bring further environmental awareness to our children through life skills lessons and creating new daily habits through providing areas for plastic waste at the schools.
“Cambodia is a country of remarkable resilience, shaped by a complex history and vibrant communities who continue to rebuild and innovate despite enduring challenges. Issues such as unequal access to education, healthcare, and economic opportunities remain pressing, often exacerbated by rapid development and environmental change. Our programmes aim to address these inequalities, promoting sustainable solutions in education, health, and livelihoods while empowering local communities to take ownership of their own development. By engaging deeply with these challenges, we hope to foster long-term, locally-driven change that supports both people and planet in a meaningful way.”
Cambodia Country Manager
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