Facilitating secondary education for rural youth through the provision of supported accommodation in Pailin, Cambodia.
Pailin is a regional province in the west of Cambodia and is situation approximately 18 kilometres from a Cambodian – Thai boarder crossing. With a population of approximately 70,000 people mostly from a farming background, this region is perhaps most well known as the last stand of the Khmer Rouge who staged guerrilla warfare in the hills of Pailin for a decade (ending in 1991). A lasting impact of this prolonged period of conflict and the targeting of educated adults during the Khmer Rouge rule means that Cambodia has an extremely young population structure with 51% of the nation aged 24 or under as at 2016. It is therefore not surprising that Cambodia has faced many challenges in rebuilding the nation and keeping up with the need for education for a burgeoning portion of the population.
The Marists’ work in Pailin is very important not only because Cambodia is such a young nation, but equally because of the long distances Pailin is from the main centres of Phnom Penh and Battambang. Ultimately, this large distance means that ongoing development of suitable infrastructure in the outer and smaller provinces does not have the same level of developmental priority, compared to the larger urban centres.
Now the Marists’ are building a hostel for children and youth from rural communities in Pailin Province, Cambodia. The Hostel is situated next to the secondary school in Pailin town and will provide residential accommodation for up to 96 students from poor, rural families who are presently deprived of a secondary education because of the remoteness of their village.
The hostel will alleviate the financial burden placed on families and allow these children to complete their full education. 48 girls and 48 boys will be accommodated in the complex as well as two units on the ground floor that will be specifically designed to cater for the unique needs of 10 youth with disabilities.
With the Marist Brothers house now complete, the builders are now constructing the on-site dining hall seen below in the most recent, on site images.
AMS would like to thank those who have contributed generously to this project as well as the Marist Schools Australia community for your fundraising to get the Hostel to this point.