CATALYST (Cambodian Tertiary Education and Leadership Youth Training) provides qualified high school graduates from some of the poorest rural families in Cambodia with university and vocational training scholarships, mentoring, and workshops for personal and professional development. The young women who graduate this program become a part of a community of Cambodian women dedicated to giving back to their families and society.
Cambodia is only beginning to heal from the scars left by the Khmer Rouge in the late 1970s. An entire generation missed out on public education, and only 2% of women in the country have baccalaureate education today. This dearth of professionals is directly linked to ongoing poverty, infant and maternal mortality, poor education quality, and sluggish economic growth.
Scholars become a part of a community of Cambodian women dedicated to giving back to their families and society. The young women who graduate this program not only achieve education, training, and earning potential but grow in confidence, independence, and fulfillment. They become advocates and models of gender equality in their communities, combatting harmful gender norms on a societal level for generations to come.
We believe that when you educate a girl, you transform her community. The young women who graduate from CATALYST are powerful voices at home and in their communities. They are models for gender equality and brighter futures, impacting their sisters, friends and families for generations to come.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
