Build dreams! Send Cambodian Students to College!

Building Dreams- One student at a time

Mark will arrive in Cambodia  next week and meet with this project  group of 4  prospective college students. A part of his discussion will focus on their own abilities to identify any possible source of tuition funding and also what possible resources they have identified to reduce housing costs , assuming that we can raise the funds for tuition.

When we first posted this project we had  high hopes of raising funds to help send these and other students like them  on to local college. In Cambodia, costs of education in Western terms are very low, with tuition running only in the hundreds of dollars per year per student. Nursing tends to the be highest tuition, running at about $ 800 per year. Although low by western standards, these are astronomical sums for students to raise, and there are few lending sources available.

Let’s look at some of the figures:  a day laborer earns about $ 3.00 per day in Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s capital city. Assuming annual tuition costs of $400 per year, this means that a “ typical” college student would need to work more than 130  man days over 21 weeks to earn the tuition amount.  However,  this  $ 3.00 per day, assuming a 6 day work week,  creates a monthly  income of $ 120  which must also pay for  food and rent. Even in poor countries, slum living can easily cost about $ 100 per month for food, rent, utilities and transportation to a job.   Consequently, even if a student worked full time and could manage to save  $ 20 per month, it would take  nearly  2 years to save basic tuition. The economics of the situation prevent even the most ambitious student from working to earn enough money to  pay tuition and room and board.

To date, we have received 2 donations for our 4 students. Regretably,   we can't commit to helping these students unless we are able to identify and/or raise sources of tuition funding.  We are not giving up, but we are delayed in being able to report actual " student" progress.

Receiving a college degree can help to  propel these students from a life of unstable day labor to a middle class stability.

We currently  have 4 students from our Family Support program , 2011 high school graduates,  in college. Fortunately, we have found sponsors for them.  We have another 6 students on track to graduate from High School  in 2013  as well as these 4 students from our Rural Assistance Program .  Our great hope is that having managed to graduate from High School, we can help facilitate these students achieve their dream of a college education.

This is a brand new project  which has been a long time in the making.  From the beginning, Kasumisou Foundation has emphasized education ( This is a vast understatement !) We have urged the  children in our programs to work hard in school and work toward the ultimate goal: a high school diploma and a  possibility of college.

Now, for a few of the students, the moment  has come. They have managed , against great odds, to graduate from highschool and they dream of college. The challenge: no money. The reality: even with a High School diploma a student from the countryside with few resources has few challenges. Two of our students have taken work ta $ 3.00 per day - hoping to be  manage to live and still able to save something for college!

Let's help these kids.

Do they resign themselves to working for $ 3.00 per day or can we help them go to college and have a real chance at breaking free of the poverty cycle?

We have a unique opportunity to make a difference and build futures. These kids have already done the hardest part- let's help them to succeed!

Thank you,

Barbara & Mark Rosasco