TWO NEW GRADUATES !
In late 2022 Ms. SR and Ms. S both completed their requirements for graduation with a Bachelor's degree. Ms.. SR has a degree in English and Ms. S has completed a degree in Inernational Relations. Both of these young women now have dreams of attending graduate school
These very accomplished young women have both had to overcome significant challenges in their lives. Many of our other students, in act, have also ucceeded despite obstacles such as extreme poverty, illness, loss of one or both parents, physical disability and more. Despite these challenges, the students in our program had set their "eyes on the prize" and continued, over the years to move forward, breaking through every sterotype of " disadvantage". Hard work, tenacity and sometime a bit of luck has enabled them to move forward toward a life changing achievement of a college degree.
Cambodia, is ranked neart the bottom of ASEAN countries for higher education among its population.
According to various 2020 articles including materials from The World Bank,it is estimated that in Cambodia
It is estimated that there are approxixmately 45 colleges and college level schools in Cambodia and an estimated annual enrollment that totals between 4,000 - 4,999 students.
Our program, started in 2013 , has remained small .because as a small foundation without an endowment or professional fund raisers on staff, we wanted to be cautious not to begin something long term, like a college program, unless we felt reasonably confident that we could sustain the journey of our students toward completing their degree.
The credit for the hard work that has led to the many achievements of our students , belongs, of course , to the students themselves. The debt of gratitude and our profound thanks for the 494 individual donations that, over a 10 year period raised a total of $49,213.47 on GlobalGiving, goes to you, our generous donors.
Please join us in congratulating our two newest college graduates !
Barbara & Mark
It is hard to believe that our final student is nearing the end of her studies.
As a very young child, Ms. S had lost a parent to AIDS and throughout most of her childhood, she had received support through our AIDS Patients Family Support Program. Now at A24 years old, our Ms. S is about to achieve her dream of a college degree.
Always an eager and hard working student, Ms. S will complete her Bachelor’s degree in International Relations. She plans to continue working part time at Champey Academy while pursuing her next big goal, a Master’s Degree. Her dream is to work for an NGO or international organization in the field of education with a specific goal of helping disadvantaged Cambodian youngsters to complete their educations, where her own journey to success could show students some tangible results of the value of education. Now , Ms. is in the final class of her program and she should complete this in the first quarter of 2023, just a bit later than initially expected.
We are very proud of Ms. S and we are eager to see her achievements as she moves forward.
Ms. S's accomplishment was made possible by your generous support. Your faith in her ability to succeed and your generosity has transformed the life path of Ms. S. and we are deeply grateful.
We hope that you will join with us on Tuesday, Nov 22 , Giving Tuesday at GlobalGiving, where donations will receive a proportional match from a pool of $1.2 million dollars.
Wishing you a joyful Thanksgiving,
Mark & Barbara
It is and has been a considerable challenge to report on the very slow moving process of completing an education. There is not a lot of excitement along the way, but rather the slow rhythm of making progress.
But, this summer we are celebrating! Two truly exceptional young women in our Kasumisou Scholars/Build Dreams program will mark the successful completion of their undergraduate studies and will receive their Bachelor’s degrees from local universities in Phnom Penh.
Both of these young women have been with us since they were toddlers. One of them is now 26 years old and the other is now 23 years old. Both of them lost a parent to AIDS and throughout most of their childhoods their families received support through our AIDS Patients Family Support Program.
One of them will receive her degree in English language and literature and her dream is eventually to be a professor of English. To achieve that dream she will need to complete graduate studies in English and get some experience as a teacher of English. She currently works in the office at our Champey Academy of Arts school of traditional arts in Phnom Penh and, in addition to her regular office duties at our school, she volunteers in her spare time there to teach English to a few students and one of our dance teachers. She plans to continue working full time at Champey Academy before eventually pursuing a Master’s degree in English. The other woman, who also works in the office at Champey Academy, will complete her studies in August for a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations. She plans to continue working part time at Champey Academy while pursuing her Master’s Degree. Her dream is to work for an NGO or international organization in the field of education with a specific goal of helping disadvantaged Cambodian youngsters to complete their educations.
We are very proud of the accomplishment of both of these young women and expect great things from them as they proceed further in their educations and their chosen career fields.
It has been the steadfast support of you, our generous donors who have made the transformation of these two young women possible. Your belief and generosity has forever changed their life path.
We are deeply grateful. On behalf of these young women, please accept our heart felt thanks.
Barbara & Mark
Please mark your calendar: Little by Little Donor Donor Match Campaign April 4-8
In this update, we are so pleased and proud to say that three of our scholars are fast approaching the “ finish line” in pursuit of their goal of a college education. Today we will spotlight two of our three students who work full time at our dance and art school, Champey Academy, handling accounting, reporting and other administrative tasks.
Ms. S.P., now 26 years old, has begun her final term of study in her fourth year of her Bachelor’s degree program in English language and she is on track to graduate in August
After graduation, Ms. S. P. ,who currently works full time while at Champey Academy, will begin to work half time as she seeks a job as an English teacher to gain teaching experience. Her near term goal is to be able to teach half time and work half time. Ms.S.P. is hoping to continue her education and work towards a Masters Degree. During Covid, Ms. S.P, had, on her own initiative , begun to teach English to some of the Champey students.
Ms. SM., now 23 years old, is also in her fourth and final year of her Bachelor’s degree program for International Relations. She now expects to complete the program of formal study in August , after which she will be required to complete a six month internship before receiving her degree. Ms. SM, too, is hoping to pursue a Masters Degree in support of her long term career goal, to work for an organization which supports education for disadvantaged children in Cambodia.
Our third student, Ms. SW is now 21 and she is in the final year of her three year Associates program in nursing and she is on track to finish her program in November of this year, after which she hopes to eventually pursue a Bachelors degree in nursing abroad.
It is worth mentioning that these three students have managed to keep on track despite classes being switched back and forth from remote learning during COVID, as well as unexpected schedule changes and other challenges. With eyes on the prize, these three remarkable young women are shining examples of the impact that education can have in breaking the cycle of inherited poverty. These lives are being forever changed after receiving the opportunity to explore and develop their potential.
Despite the personal tragedy and hardship that each of these young women experienced during childhood, they have remained in school, excelled in their studies and they are now on the very edge of realizing their life long dream of achieving a college education and the ability to step into a new life.
Your support makes this possible.
None of this would have been possible without the support of you, our generous donors, for which we are deeply thankful. Not only did your donations help us to support these three young women during perilous times of great hardship during their childhood, but your support now has empowered these three young women to break the cycle of inherited poverty by seeing the possibility of a different world and working, bit by bit towards their goals.
We hope you will join our celebration by participating in GlobalGivings Little by Little Campaign Apriol 4 - April 8
GlobalGiving will host its “ Little by Little” matching fund event from April 4 through April 8, offering a 50% match ( $25) on donations up to $ 50 per each individual, unique donor. We are hopeful that you will continue to support the efforts of Kasumisou Foundation in this or one of our other programs as a way of expressing your appreciation and celebrating the achievements of these remarkable young women.
We are deeply thankful!
Barbara & Mark Rosasco
GIVING TUESDAY IS TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 30 and every donation will receive a boost!
Despite the challenges posed by the government’s Covid restrictions and, specifically, the requirement for schools to change to remote learning, our three Kasumisou scholars have continued to make steady progress toward their academic goals. As things in Cambodia continue to open up, we are expecting the government to soon announce reopening of the schools for in-classroom learning.
We are pleased to provide this update on the achievements of three students !
At the end of this month Ms. Sm., now 23 years old, will start her fourth and final year of her Bachelor’s degree program. She expects to complete the program of formal study at the end of November 2022 after which she will be required to complete a six month internship before receiving her degree. After that she is hoping to pursue a Masters degree and, ideally, she would like to do so in a foreign country, possibly in Thailand, for example. Her long term career goal is to work for an organization which supports education for disadvantaged children in Cambodia.
Ms. S.P., now 26 years old, is about to begin the fourth and final year of her Bachelor’s degree program in English language. In order to complete her degree she needs one more term of study to be followed by one term of practical experience for which she expects to teach English. Each academic term lasts 16 weeks so she is expecting to complete all requirements for her degree in around July 2022. After receiving her degree she will consider pursuing graduate study but has not yet made a final decision about that.
Ms. Sw., now 21 years old, is about to start the final year of her three year Associates program in nursing. She expects to complete the program at the end of November 2022 and, after doing so, she would like to pursue a Bachelor’s degree abroad.
Overcoming nearly impossilble challenges
It is worth noting these three fine young women have each had to overcome seemingly impossible circumstances . In Cambodia, it is estimated that only 21% of students complete upper grades in high school, our young students are truly remarkable.
Ms. Sm and Ms Sw are sisters whose mother was an early participant in our Family Support program . The mother was terminally ill and passed away 19 years ago. At that time, the mother and the two sisters were blessed with the extraordinary kindness of their mother’s childhood friend , who not only took the family in, but who continued to care for and support the children for these past 19 years. The family, of very modest means ,lives in a small flat. Despite this personal tragedy and hardship, these two sisters have remained in school, excelling in their studies and they are now on the very edge of realizing their life long dream of achieving a college education and the ability to step into a new life.
Ms. Sp and her family , joined our Family Support Program in 2001. Her father passed away in 2002, and after we conthe passed away, we continued to support the family while the 3 children were in school. Now, the children are grown, and all, like Ms. Sp, are self supporting, as is their mother. We have continued to sponsor and support Ms. Sp’s education goals and we are so proud of her accomplishments, as she too, is on the verge of completing her dream of a college degree and entering a new life.
Your support made all the difference!
None of this would have been possible without the support of you, our generous donors, for which we are eternally thankful. Not only did your support help us to support these three young women during the very perilous time of great hardship during their childhood, but your support enabled these three young women to break the cycle of inherited poverty by seeing a possibility of a different world and working towards their considerable achievements.
Now, as we approach the Thanksgiving holiday and the annual Giving Tuesday fundraising event on November 30, we are hopeful that you will continue to support the efforts of Kasumisou Foundation in this and our other programs.as a way of expressing your thanks for these remarkable young women and their achievements.
Thank you very much , we are deeply thankful to you for your generous support.
Barbara & Mark
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