I want to rebuild the educational facilities of an orphanage in Cambodia that were demolished due to aging (Cambodia Orphanage Kurafan Project, released on 2023/08/01) – Crowdfunding READYFOR

Thank you for visiting. My name is Miura Rino, a third-year university student. The project aims to rebuild educational facilities that have been demolished due to disrepair, in order to provide education to Cambodian orphans I met before.

Cambodia has attracted much attention as a developing country for its high economic growth rate, but the gap between the rich and the poor is actually widening. Especially in primary schools, the enrollment rate is as high as 95%, while the graduation rate drops to 61%⁽1⁾. The main reasons for this situation are the shortage of domestic labor force and the imperfect education environment. Tragic events of the past have affected poverty and lack of education in Cambodia.

Cambodia has a tragic history of genocide and control by Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot nearly 40 years ago. Pol Pot massacred both teachers and students indiscriminately, believing that intellectuals were a political hindrance. An estimated 75% of teachers are lost as a result, including those who have fled the country⁽²⁾. The Pol Pot regime ended in 1979, but its influence lasted for a long time, and poverty and lack of an educational environment became serious problems.

-Lack of education leads to widespread poverty-

In this situation (lack of educational environment), children who cannot receive a satisfactory education, cannot find a decent job when they grow up, and will fall into poverty. In addition, a vicious cycle of poverty ensues due to the inability to send children to school. To stop this chain, the educational environment needs to be prepared. In this project, we aimed to rebuild the demolished educational facility as a first step.

This dilapidated educational facility is located in an orphanage called Branch Center in Cambodia, and all the students are children of the center.

The branch center is both an orphanage and an educational place. Children are sent to public schools according to age, and four teachers provide special guidance for the future in a central facility. After completing 12 years of education, the children are on a mission to give back to the community.

The following pictures are educational facilitiesLooks like demolition is about to start.You can see it is aging. Of course, special education for children has ceased, and this is a situation that needs to be dealt with immediately.

The monthly expenses of the center are US$5,960 (approximately 860,000 yen), most of which are used for food expenses of approximately US$4,710 (approximately 700,000 yen). Early childhood nutrition is critical for children to grow, develop and reach their full potential, so food is our number one priority.

There are currently 147 children in the orphanage, 17 more than when I visited six months ago. In view of the rapid increase in the birth rate and orphanage admission rate in Cambodia, it is expected that the operating cost will increase further in the future. In the past, support from Europe and the United States was generous enough to cover expenses other than food costs, but due to the impact of the coronavirus and Cambodia’s political relationship with China, support has stopped. Therefore, the operation of the orphanage is all about food expenses.

In this project we will rebuild educational facilities that were demolished due to deterioration and unsafe conditions. We plan to rebuild one of the most needed classrooms first and then the entire facility. The facility is planned to have three classrooms, a conference room, a first aid room, a study room, a library and a counseling room.yes.

In the rebuilt school, we will start Japanese language education based on the existing education, which is a new initiative of Rafter. Japanese teachers have been recruited and plan to teach twice a week. We hope to expand employment opportunities for orphans through basic education and Japanese language education. In addition, we aim to expand the scale of teachers to promote future Japanese language education. We plan to cooperate with Japanese students and retired teachers who want to teach Japanese.

We need a lot of help to make this project a reality. Through crowdfunding, we will raise awareness of the current situation in Cambodia and raise funds for the reconstruction of educational facilities.

1) Construction fee

The cost of rebuilding a classroom

200,000 yen

2) Return production

return production cost

・Sticker making

・Calendar making

・Back to design production

・Business and administrative expenses for sending returns, etc.

·other fee

60,400 yen

3) Fees

The cost of using Readyfor

39,600 yen

* Rebuilding a classroom is the primary goal. The next goal is to rebuild the entire educational facility.

*If we do not meet our ultimate goal of rebuilding the entire educational facility, we will use our own funds to make up the difference.

Due to a project called “Raftel”, I decided to visit the branch center in Cambodia. Raftel is a project initiated by Mr. Takamitsu Arakawa, which connects Japan and Cambodia and provides job opportunities for Cambodian students. In addition, Rafter is implementing a program to provide Japanese language education to orphans whose future possibilities are closed. I decided to visit the branch center because I wanted to meet the local orphans in person and see how their future ended.

On January 12, 2023, I visited the branch center and spent some free time with the children. Even the orphans, who were nervous at first, smiled at my broken English. Despite the language barrier, we shared great moments through their bright and innocent expressions and movements.

One month after returning to China, I learned that the branch school was going to be demolished. This news made me feel a sense of loss. I felt that not only Rafter’s Japanese education, but also the individual education of the orphans would be taken away, and my future possibilities would be limited. So I decided to rebuild the school to amplify the smiles and future possibilities of orphaned children.

Can you lend me your strength?A better future for orphansThank you for your cooperation.

I’m late to the party, but I’d like to introduce the members of the project. Our members come from different backgrounds, but we all hope to create an environment where orphans in the sub-centre can learn with a smile, allowing them to expand their future possibilities.

Arakawa highlights

I’m Takamitsu Arakawa from Laugh Tale Cambodia Co., Ltd. (Raftel). Raftel operates a Japanese language school and a vocational training center in the capital, Phnom Penh. Based on the belief that education makes people and education enriches life, we provide educational support to Cambodian youth. This project will develop human support by creating a classroom in the orphanage where our lecturers will provide free Japanese language education. As its basis, this will be an indispensable project, so I would like to ask for your cooperation.

Mineno Aiko

We operate a Japanese language school and vocational training center in Cambodia, and operate a job recruitment agency for foreigners in Toyohashi City, Aichi Prefecture. I am involved in this project because I want to create a world where everyone can feel richer and happier throughout their lives, and I want to create a society where everyone can be happy. We appreciate your cooperation.

Yabuuchi Ryusuke (23 years old)

While living in Toyohashi City, Aichi Prefecture, he established Lirem Co., Ltd. as a student entrepreneur and is developing various programs such as overseas training programs and student entrepreneur support programs, hoping to create a society where young people can Where the challenge is accepted. I joined this project because I wanted to create a society where people with ideas from all over the world could take on the challenge.

Hatake Sota

I am studying mechanical engineering at Toyohashi Institute of Technology, and I went to Silicon Valley in the United States in March this year. Therefore, I came up with the idea of ​​”expanding the possibilities of the younger generation and increasing the number of people who continue to pursue their dreams”. I joined this program because I wanted to support orphans who have potential in the future.

Rino Miura

While staying at Global House, I was studying electrical, electronic and information engineering at Toyohashi Institute of Technology. At the same time, I am doing an internship at Lirem Ltd. Through college life, while deepening exchanges with international students who are keen on learning, I became interested in the world’s educational environment and initiated this project.

We have permission from sub-centers to donate and be listed.

references

(1) https://opac.tenri-u.ac.jp/opac/repository/metadata/3747/AGR001201.pdf

(2) https://www.kobegakuin.ac.jp/files/facility/tec/journal/journal_201603_02.pdf