Our goals

We believe school is where to start to help Cambodia lift itself out of poverty.  It is our hope that a strong school will instill in these young children with a culture of education, a sense of perseverance and a drive for excellence.  We believe that changes can be achieved by helping one school and one village at a time.

The Chea Smarn school is a primary and secondary school, located in one of the poorest area in Siemreap, Cambodia.  The first phase of our programs is to address the school library needs of basic multi-media equipment’s (CD/DVD players, TV) and course materials.

 

We welcome any individual or group who would like to join us in providing the students of this school an opportunity to become the productive members of the future Cambodian society.  You can help by making donation in any amount either:

• by check, made payable to CEE Foundation - The Chea Smarn School Program and send to CEE Foundation / Treasurer, 9845 Canal Road, Montgomery Village, MD 20886

• or by using the web site donation in the right column: please check the box for “Chea Smarn School Program”

See our current program:  Library Media Lab 2010
By Dave Khuon ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ), project coordinator, August 9^th, 2010.

School Profile

 SCHOOL INFORMATION (English Translation)

The Chea Smarn Elementary and Junior High School is located in the village of Chea Smarn, Mean Chey commune, Prasat Bakong district, Siemreap province. 

Chea Smarn is a poor farming village which lays in a flood plain near the bank of the Tonle Sap Lake, about 24 km south-east from the provincial town Siemreap.

The school resides on a lot of 4200 square meters (one acre).  It is the only school to provide primary and first year of secondary education to students from the five neighboring villages: Chea Smarn, Bantay Russei, Kampong Tkau, Daun Num, and Soung.

The school was built in 1954, as a single wooden structure with brick tile roof;  it had 3 rooms, and offered grade 1 to grade 4 which were taught by 4 teachers.  The original structure was destroyed during the war years.

In 1979, the people in the five villages pooled together their humble resources, and with financial assistances from the commune, district and provincial governments, to rebuild the school.  It had a wooden structure, brick tile roof, dirt floor and walls made of coconut leaves.  There was no chair, table or desk for students and teachers: both students and teachers sat on the dirt floor during class.

In 1997, the wooden structure gave way to two brick buildings with 10 rooms, of which one serves as the administration office, a second room as the school library.  The remaining 8 rooms are used for teaching elementary students in all the 7 grades, in 13 classes and 2 shifts.

Year 2008-2009 academic performances:

For the year 2009 – 2010, grade 7 (or 1^st year of Junior High) has been added

1. Every year, during the raining season, the court yard is flooded, endangering students and teachers safety.  We need to raise the level of the court yard, and to build a peripheral fence around the school.
2. The administration office, the library, and teaching materials storage are taking up 2 rooms, which could be better used for teaching.  We need a separate building for the administration office, the library and store room, in order to augment the number of classrooms to meet the growth of the student population.
3. The school needs basic student supplies such as writing papers, ball-point pens, pencils to provide to the very poor students: 133 students.
   
   Chea Smarn, November 23^rd, 2009
   School Principal, 
   Signed: Chhoeu Thavin
   

In addition to its immediate needs, the school sorely lacks resources in the following areas:

1. OFFICE: modern equipment to help the school cope with the increase in number of students every year.   Expertise to help tracking student progress.
2. LIBRARY: more seating areas, and more books in Math, Science, Agriculture in Cambodian and English for students and teachers usage, in the library and in the classroom.  Students and teachers cannot afford to purchase books on their own.  Other forms of educational materials such as re-used computers, CD / DVD, and recorded TV programs are needed in the library.
3. ELECTRICITY: from solar panels or windmills.
4. PROGRAMS:
   • Provide poor students with school uniforms: new or 2^nd hand
   • Setup a reward / recognition program to raise student academic level
   • Setup sports activities
   • Connect students and teachers with peers around the country and abroad

 Contact Information

School Director:         Mrs. Chhoeu Thavin
Phone number:          (0) 12 848 163
School address:         Chea Smarn Primary and Junior High School
                                 Chea Smarn village, Mean Chey commune
                                 Prasat Bakong District
                                 Siemreap Province, CAMBODIA

Additional Information

• Copy of the letter from the school principal, dated on November 23^rd, 2009
• More pictures

The Chea Smarn Elementary and Junior High School is located in the village of Chea Smarn, Mean Chey commune, Prasat Bakong district, Siemreap province. 

Chea Smarn School was built in 1954 in Chea Smarn which is a poor farming village in a flood plain near the bank of the Tonle Sap Lake.  The school provides primary and first year of secondary education to students from the five neighboring villages: Chea Smarn, Banteay Russei, Kampong Tkau, Daun Num, and Soung.     

Click the links below to learn more about this school:

• Chea Smarn Programs
• School Library
• School Supply in 2009
•  School Supply in 2010

1. School Library and Well at Phoum Svay, Banteay Mean Chey Province. Read more...

The CEE Foundation is looking for ways to expand our programs to cover more areas of need of young Cambodians. Here are a couple of programs under consideration by the CEE Foundation Program Committee:

Pre-College Financial Assistant Program
The purpose of this program is to help very poor families that are unable to send their kids to high school. With a strong financial assistance of some supporters, the CEE Foundation Program Committee is encouraged to study the possibility of creating this program.  A report will be submitted to the Board of Directors by the end of 2009. Upon approval, the program will be implemented in 2010.

Full Scholarship Program
Our current scholarship program does not grant a full scholarship that supports all expenses for a student’s needs during his or her college career.  As a supplemental program, this may fill the needs of some students, but leave many others unable to afford the college education.  The CEE Foundation Program Committee is exploring a possibility to grant a full financial support to exceptional students with severe financial hardship.  A report will be prepared for the Board of Directors; the program will be planned for 2010.

If you would like to help either or both of the above programs, please contact CEE Foundation.

Pilot Project: Computer Laboratory in Rural Areas - Wat Po Meanchey School, Siem Reap

Computer literacy is second nature for students in many parts of the world. However, it is not so in Cambodia. Most Cambodian students in rural areas have never seen a computer. Students have very little knowledge of the outside world without computers. The Wat Po Bantaey Chey’s Computer Laboratory attempts to bring to the students in this rural area the outside world, to keep the students engaged in the endless imagination through the power of education.

Computer skills are essential tools for further education. Through the computer, we bring interactive educational games and English language lessons into the classroom. Therefore this computer laboratory in essence is an interactive library. Furthermore, the lab will be the first of its kind to be eco-friendly. It runs on solar panels and all the equipments have been thoroughly selected by our supporting team to have the least energy consumption. This is our very first “Pilot Project”.

The completion date of this Computer Lab project is estimated to be December 2009. Please come back to visit us in the future.

KCD and 3SG are in need of computers, educational software, audio, video and other training materials. We believe the evening English School Program enhances students' future and will reduce a burden to the society. Equipped with English skill, they have a better chance to be admitted to an university and/or to find a job.

The evening English School will keep children busy at school to learn. In Cambodia, young children engage in an unimaginable acts as seen in this video clip link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/7372503.stm.
Together, we can reduce and eventually eliminate these problems. If you want to sponsor students, or want to help port similar program to somewhere else in Cambodia, please contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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To improve the quality of English learning experiences, KCD creates a Students Support Student Group called 3SG. The mission of 3SG is not only to support English School Program, but also to assist and courage students to study hard and to stay in school until at least graduated from high school.

In cooperation with State Schools, Local Authorities, and Office of Education Youth and Sports in Ek Phnom District, 3SG provides counseling, physical and emotional supports to families and students who may drop out from school. The students may join 3SG as volunteers to learn job experiences and other skills.

All 3SG members, most of them are member of CEE Foundation, have to save money in 3SG Truth Box. This money will be draw when 3SG volunteer find a suitable poor student who is really in need of money.

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Lacking of qualified teachers is one of the major problems facing KCD. Low salary (US $15 to US $30 per month) causes qualified teachers to leave KCD as they can earn more elsewhere. To make current teaching staff happy and to encourage them to stay, KCD implement a Teacher Capacity Building Program, that is, teaching the teachers. Click here to view teacher's photo gallery.

Periodically, KCD hires professional from Teaching School in Battambang to come and train its teachers various teaching skills, at a cost of around US$250 per training session. Teachers must sign a contract promising to stay teaching at KCD for at least three years. CEE Foundation is a proud sponsor of this program as well.

KCD connects its program to foreigners who speak English and works in or is visiting Cambodia. They come to the center and interact with students and teachers and give them an opportunity to sharpen their English language skill.

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The English School at KCD is open Monday through Saturday and starts from 5 PM to 6 PM at Ek Phnom High School. Currently, there are 707 students enrolled in the program. There are 18 classes. Twenty English teachers, one secretary, one supervisor, and one administrator are currently working for KCD.

Currently, each student pays US $1 tuition per month. The tuition will increase in 2009 and beyond. However, students from poor families are always admitted to study for free, if they have a certification from commune leaders stating their socio-economic status.

Click here to view student's photo gallery.

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The evening English School Program has been in existence since June 2002 and run by a young, energetic man, Vann Vanroth. Prior to 2002, the school was run by a businessman. Vanroth was one of his employees. In 2007, due to lacking of fund, the English school faced closure. Vanroth, now a Director of KCD, did not want to see this happen to his community. The closure would have dramatically affected many young kids' lives. He used his own money saving to salvage the school and founded KCD.

Vanroth got his Bachelor Degree of Marketing from the University of Management and Economics (UME) in Battambang in 2004. Currently pursue an MBA program at this university. He works for POFO (Positive Outcome For Orphans) in Homeland funded by National Institute of Health (NIH) of America and Duke University.

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The English School program is an evening, after-class program in Ek Phnom, Battambang Province. Click this link for CNN News coverage:

English language will improve young people's life in many ways. They will be able to enjoy reading and understand books and literatures as well as internet contents that are abundantly published in English. In a simple word, English enable young Cambodian to expand their knowledge in all areas, and to better prepare themselves for higher education.

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The school library at Phum Svay in Banteay Meachey Province is dedicated to our young children in the countryside to have an equal access to opportunities facility for learning and growing. The library is cooperatively funded by CEE Foundation and the Khmer Buddhist Association (KBA), an NGO in Cambodia.

Here is an environment that affords our Cambodian Children the best possible education for tomorrow and beyond. CEE Foundation will strive to make each student's day a positive and memorable experience by increasing his or her reading abilities.

The window of opportunity closes early for most kids. If a child can't read well by the end of the third grade, odds are that he or she will never catch up. And the effects of falling behind and feeling like a failure can be devastating.

Education is simply the soul of society as it passes from one generation to the next.

The window of opportunity closes early for most kids. If a child can't read well by the end of the third grade, odds are that he or she will never catch up. And the effects of falling behind and feeling like a failure can be devastating Education is simply the soul of society as it passes from one generation to the next.

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2009-2010 School Year

Be certain that you are submitting the correct application form (Rev 4 – Apr 09). Incorrect forms will be rejected.

Application deadline: to be announced

We will announce the scholarship awards by November 30, 2009. The award ceremony is tentatively scheduled for December 15, 2009, place and time to be determined.

Students are expected to fill out the application form in its entirety. Please follow the instructions carefully. All required documents listed in the instruction must be submitted along with the application. CEE Foundation reserves the right not to process any incomplete applications. When we receive the application package, we will notify the applicant whether the package is complete or additional documents are needed. The Applicant must, in good faith, provide them to CEE Foundation no later than October 31, 2009.

Application Instructions: Please click here to see application instruction
Application Form: Pleae click here to see application form
Contact Information: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

General Scholarship Fund

Fund that is used to award to students who pursue higher education in any area of study will be categorized as a general fund. The fund is raised from the public at large. The donors do not specify how the fund is used.

Special Scholarship Fund

Fund that is used to award to students who pursue higher education in any specific area of study as specified by the donors. The funds are raised from individuals or organizations. It can be used for that purpose only. Donors who wish to sponsor students of their choice may do so through the special scholarship fund.

Education Development Fund

Fund that is awarded for the development of educational institutions, including facilities, services, and programs (new school, library, dormitory, school supply, computer literacy program, vocational training, etc.). The fund is raised from individuals and/or organizations who specify how the fund is used.

The CEE Foundation has expanded its educational development program into an after-hour English school where English is taught. This program is currently a one-year pilot program at Ek Phnom, Battambang province and it will be funded for year 2009-2010. The pilot program is an assistant to and partnership with Khmer Center for Development (KCD).

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To be able to eligible for a scholarship fund, a student:

• Must be a Cambodian citizen  

• Have achieved academic excellence  

• Is from impoverished background

• Is not relating to a CEE Foundation Selecting Committee member

• Have not received substantial support from other individuals or organizations

• Have shown the following qualities:

  • Trustworthiness  
  • Responsibility  
  • Respect  
• Citizenship 

• Will attend a Cambodian educational institution full time  

• Will maintain academic excellence 

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