Earlier this summer I had the opportunity to visit a program called The Global Child (TGC) in Siem Reap, Cambodia, which was established to educate Cambodian street children and to provide a model for other programs designed to provide poor children an education, food, healthcare, and a new perspective that will allow them to have an active role in their communities and the world. Begun in Phnon Penh, the program moved to Siem Reap in 2008 where now 25 students, pretty evenly divided between boys and girls, are gaining a broad education that supplements basic education with computer training, sports, music, art, and field trips, all designed to allow the students to "shape their own futures, as well as their country."
Housed in a lovely older home that has been adapted to provide classrooms, creative activities, and administrative offices, the students come together with teachers and volunteers for enrichment education and activities. They earn a stipend for continuing their education, a subsidy of a dollar a day for every day they attend school. This money, which is kept in individual student accounts, is then available and shared with their parents to offset the income the children would otherwise be earning from begging or selling items on the street. These accounts can be very valuable to parents, allowing them to even start small businesses to support their families.
TGC is supported by a number of outstanding businesses in Siem Reap, a very busy tourist destination, including a cafe and a delightful boutique where beautiful hand-crafted items are sold for very reasonable prices (needless to say, I did a good share of my Christmas shopping there!).
The director and administrative staff as well as volunteers of The Global Child are doing an excellent job with the resources available. A connection to Union College in Schenectady provides fellowships to recent graduates who spend time teaching and developing programs for the students. Now that our new semester has begun at the School of Public Health, it is my intention to get our Graduate Student Organization (GSO) involved in fund-raising activities to help purchase some items that are on TGC's wish list including white boards and other items for the classrooms as well as items for creative and fieldtrip activities. It is programs like this that the Center for Global Health can readily and passionately support!
