Let’s Make It Happen Child Sponsorship Program

Khmer Children's Education Organization Online

“The Cambodian government schools can only teach for a small part of the day with a limited curriculum. It is common that 7th graders cannot read in Khmer at even the most basic level. Parents and students recognize the need for better education. K.C.E.O. provides additional vocational opportunities with life skills by supplementing the government’s curriculum with intensive lessons in Khmer, English, Mathematics, computer skills, and life skills training .” Marin Him

The Khmer Children’s Education Organization (K.C.E.O.) aims to provide youth with opportunities to learn employable skills and improve their chances of pursuing higher education and a career. K.C.E.O. strives to educate children and young adults, regardless of financial ability, in the following subjects: English language, mathematics, Khmer language, computer skills, health, and hygiene. Located in Ang, a rural village, K.C.E.O. is dedicated to maintaining close communication with its community and developing deeper relationships with other organizations with similar or complementary objectives.

Recognizing the financial realities of children their families, and K.C.E.O. Marin Him and his staff have created a child sponsorship program. The goal is to help the children and their families afford the time for the children to attend school and assist K.C.E.O. with administrative expenses to keep the school operational.

We ask people to contribute $120 over the next twelve months. 50% of the funds will help the families by increasing their income with baby animals, seedlings, etc., and, as needed, purchasing a bicycle for transportation to and from school, clothes, and supplies for attending school.

The other 50% of sponsorship funds will assist K.C.E.O. with staff salaries, government ministry fees, electricity, and internet costs.

Families with resources are contributing to operational costs. However, many families cannot afford to donate funds and often cannot afford the time for their children to be away from home attending school, let alone the school supplies and expenses. Giving half the sponsorship funds to the families will assist them in permitting the children to be in school. K.C.E.O. provides programming opportunities to help families increase their income.

Please consider pledging to support one or more children at $120 a year, the equivalent of less than purchasing one cup of coffee a week or $10 per month. The payment can be made at one time or spread throughout the year. K.C.E.O.’s goal is to find 100 sponsorships per year within a few years.

Stories and updates from K.C.E.O. will be shared with the sponsors. However, you would not be paired with particular students or their families to honor their privacy. It is still possible, if desired, for sponsors to build a relationship with the K.C.E.O. community by sharing communications.

Donations can be sent here.

KCEO publishes new video, “A Look into the Khmer Children’s Education Association”

We are very happy to include a new video focusing on the school and, furthermore, hope that the poignancy of its voice and production may be well-communicated in illuminating the sense of basic necessity that we know to be present there.

This video was created in Cambodia by, and thus paints a picture of, the KCEO children’s school: its educators, the students who depend on them, their friends and community members. The subtitles were provided by Cambodian English-learners, in association with World Vision International. It represents a unique opportunity to see what grass-roots educational efforts look like in rural, economically disadvantaged villages in Cambodia.

The KCEO represents a unique undertaking started by one man, Him Marin, and his family, to bring education to their local youth communities, of which many students do not have the option to attend primary school. Some do so as a supplement. It is a pay-what-you-can-afford organization, with many young students thus paying nothing at all. The friends of KCEO comprised of students, faculty, friends and alumni at Marlboro College are doing our best to make their voices, and requests for help, heard.

Here on the website, you’ll find many more resources from which to learn about the cause, its challenges, and how you can become involved in the school’s effort to make the global accessibility of education a reality, beginning with commitment to hope and positive change at the community level.

Welcome to KCEO Online!

Welcome to the Khmer Children’s Educational Organization English language website. We’ve built this site specifically to share the good work that our friends in the rural Cambodian village of Ang are doing. Our intention is to help provide children with educational opportunities. As such, we ask that you please consider the value that a small bit of assistance can provide by making a modest donation and/or sharing this site with others.

The work of KCEO is invaluable to the children and families that it serves. We hope that together, with the help of exposure to the world wide web and beyond, we can bring attention and aid to this inspirational effort of community and knowledge in action.

Have a look around the website, feel free to contact us via the “Get in Touch” tab, and check back for future content!