This program will develop the community in which Human and Hope Association operates by providing 150 Cambodian youth with English and Living Values classes for one year. Taught entirely by local staff, these programs have been proven to increase the confidence of our students, encourage their parents to keep/enroll them in public school and equip them with a love of learning.
The causes of poverty in our communes are quite simply, a lack of education and training. When the villagers are not educated, their job opportunities are limited, hence they end up working as builders, rice farmers, begging, etc. There are many underlying issues associated with a lack of education, including hygiene issues, domestic violence, poor nutrition and bad behavior. Our English classes (held Monday - Thursday) and Living Values classes (held on Fridays) attempt to address these issues.
Our English program equips our students with a language required in most well paid jobs and if they go on to study at university. Our Living Values program empowers our students with knowledge on topics such as hygiene, child abuse and the rights of the child. As many families can't pass on ethics and morals to their children due to being uneducated, our living values program achieves this. Our students' behavior increases dramatically once they start studying in this program.
"Studying English can help me a lot because I can read and write. Knowledge makes my future better. I want to become a good student and citizen in my society." - English student, aged 11. By providing English and Living Values programs, we are investing in the future of our students. The short-term impact will be increased knowledge and improvements in their behaviour. The long-term impact will result in our students having the knowledge necessary to gain employment, reducing poverty.