December News
A word from our Chair:
“With the festive season now upon us here in Australia, I’m reminded that there are many around the world who do not enjoy the same wealth and prosperity that we do. This highlights the importance of our work to provide educational opportunities for young women from disadvantaged backgrounds in Prey Veng.
I’m so proud to announce that all eight of this year’s Mekhala House students who passed their year-end exams in August have now gained scholarships to university. And this is thanks to each of you- our loyal supporters. Your ongoing generosity has enabled these incredible girls to pursue their dreams.
Finally, I want to take this opportunity to thank the volunteer board for their ongoing personal commitment over the past twelve months and to warmly welcome our two new Directors, Roslyn Mason and Claire Borman. You can learn more about our dedicated team here.
Wishing each of you the very best for the silly season. We can’t wait to see you in 2020!”
Leakhana and Sivleng commenced at the University in Phnom Penh
A word from our girls: Celebrating success
We are thrilled that all eight of our Year 12 graduates, recently gained scholarships to study a wide range of courses at universities across Prey Veng and Phnom Penh. We have young women pursuing finance, marketing, accounting and IT. One of the young women is even studying to become a biology teacher!
These Mekhala House alumni are on the path to becoming the future leaders of their communities- the change makers who will help break the cycle of poverty for generations to come!
And the exciting news is- you can be part of their story. If you are interested in sponsoring a talented young woman through their university years- please get in touch.
A word from our Volunteers: Bronwyn Covill, Education Director
The young women enjoying learning through Need a Tutor ™
“In late October, my daughter, our incredible volunteer, Ka Ling and I had the pleasure of spending four days at Mekhala House with the 27 girls who now call it home. Ka Ling and I delivered lessons in English, careers, sex education and teaching.
We also launched some groundbreaking online tutoring for the young women at Mekhala House through Need a Tutor ™, an award-winning platform that provides face to face, live tutoring. To date, Need a Tutor™ has been working with remote and isolated individuals in Australia and we’re so excited to have expanded the offering to Prey Veng.
Moving forward, we will continue to connect tutors from Australia with the Year 12 girls at Mekhala House through weekly lessons online. These sessions will enable the girls to continue developing their English language skills thanks to their Australian tutors. We can’t wait to offer this opportunity to more young women next year!”
A busy calendar of events:
Networking Lunch
Key note speaker, Madeleine Grummet
In November, EY hosted an exclusive lunch enabling Cambodian Kids Can to share our mission. Guests heard from entrepreneur, keynote speaker, Founder of Girled World and mum of four girls, Madeleine Grummet who talked about her passion for closing the gender gap and empowering the next generation of change makers.
Cambodian Kids Can Board members and supporters
Madeleine also reminded us that in 2019, 15 million girls will still never set foot in school, creating a dangerous barrier to accessing economic opportunities and financial security for women and girls. These statistics point to the importance of our mission to empower young women through education.
Thanks to everyone that joined us, to EY for hosting and to Madeleine for highlighting why we continue to fight for opportunities for young women in Cambodia
Hank Marvin Market
Over a couple of weekends in November we were lucky enough to have a stall at the Hank
Marvin Market at Elsternwick Primary. It was the perfect opportunity to sell some of our Cambodian cookbooks. With a foreword by Masterchef winner Adam Liaw and over 30 recipes from the Prey Veng community, these cookbooks make the perfect gift for the silly season!
If you missed us at the market, you can still grab one online here.