SUMMARY: Cambodia is one of the poorest country in Southeast Asia, still devastated by the civil war and brutal regime of the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s. Among other atrocities, the Khmer Rouge killed almost all of the educated class of Cambodia. In July 2006, working with a Cambodian team, the Harpswell Foundation completed construction of a dormitory for Cambodian women attending college in Phnom Penh, the capital city and seat of most universities in Cambodia. Women from the rural provinces (90% of the population) attempting to attend college face the difficult obstacle of not having a place to live while in school.  Universities in Cambodia do not provide housing for their  students. Male students can live in the Buddhist temples, but females cannot. Our facility is one of the first dormitories for university students in Cambodia. It houses 36 women, free of  charge, admitted on the basis of their "intelligence, ambition, and leadership potential." The mission of our facility, written in both English and Khmer in a plaque on the front wall, is "To empower a new generation of women leaders in Cambodia." In addition to a safe and encouraging place to live, the facility provides its students with a living and food allowance, medical care, tuition scholarships for the poorest students, bicycles, classes on English, classes in French, classes in computer skills, twice weekly discussions of current national and international events, and a twice weekly seminar in leadership skills. We believe that the enabling power of our Leadership Center will have a significant impact on the country. We also believe that our facility will serve as a model for future dormitories built both by the Cambodian government and by NGOs.

The funds for building the Harpswell Foundation Dormitory and Leadership Center for University Women were donated by over 60 individuals.

Financial contributions are still needed to fund the ongoing programs of the Leadership Center. All contributions are tax deductible. Please help. CLICK HERE!

INTRODUCTION

There are several dozen post secondary schools in Cambodia, most of them small. Some of the universities in Phnom Penh include Build Bright, Royal University of Law and Economics, Royal University of Phnom Penh, International University, Panasastra, and the University of Cambodia. Only about two per cent of Cambodians have completed university, and very few can afford the tuition, about $500 per year. Of the small percentage of people who can get advanced education, only about 30% are females, and 90% of those are girls who live in Phnom Penh. Girls from outside Phnom Penh are blocked from going to college for the simple reason that they have no place to live in Phnom Penh, where most of the colleges are located. Unlike in the US, Cambodian colleges do not provide housing for their students. Male students can live in the pagodas, the Buddhist temples, but these are forbidden to women. So, even if a young woman from outside Phnom Penh is in the small percentage of people who can afford college, she cannot go to college unless she is lucky enough to  have a relative in P.P. with whom she can live.  Aid organizations, such as the World Bank, have focused on priorities with more immediate impact, such as helping to provide  access to water, electricity, and communications; diversifying the economy; improving labor productivity; and connecting to global markets. Our new Harpswell Foundation Dormitory and Leadership Center for University Women is one of the very first student dormitories in Cambodia. It is a long-term project, aimed at enabling a group of Cambodian women to take leadership positions one or more decades from now.

The facility was completed in July 2006, and the first residents moved in at the end of that month. Residence is free to poor and middle class young women from the provinces. It is expected that the average residency in the Leadership Center will be three or four years. Thus, in 10 years, over 100 women will have been empowered by the existence of the facility. Chea, Peou, Ing Kantha Pavi, Minister of Women's Affairs, and Kol Pheng, Minister of Education, all believe that our Leadership Center, over time, will have a major impact on advancing the economic, social, and intellectual life of Cambodia. 

ADMISSION TO THE LEADERSHIP CENTER

To select our students, we made two trips to 25 high schools in 11 provinces of Cambodia, ranging over a wide geographical area. At each high school, we interviewed the top academically ranked girls. Then we collected high-school transcripts from each girl and a written essay, in response to the question "What do you plan to do with your life after you graduate from university." Based on the interviews, transcripts, and essays, we selected our residents. Our criteria for selection were "intelligence, ambition, and leadership potential." The first year, we selected only 32 young women, leaving 4 more places for outstanding young women who come to our attention in the coming year. This first group of young women are attending the following universities: The Royal University of Law and Economics, the Royal University of Phnom Penh, Build Bright University, The International University, Panasastra University, and the University of Cambodia. In the Spring of 2007, we admitted 3 more women, for a total of 35, reserving one space for our leadership residency. We have arranged 50% tuition reductions with the major universities in Phnom Penh. For the girls from the poorest families, we pay the other 50%.

ACTIVITIES AND SERVICES

We provide the young women of the Leadership Center with free room and board, free medical care at the Chenda Polyclinic in Phnom Penh, and bicycles to attend their university classes. We also give them, in our facility, classes in English, French, computer skills, and several discussions per week of national and international events based on readings from the English/Khmer newspaper, The Cambodia Daily, which we ask them to read and report on. Each week, Vanna also gives them two leadership seminars, in which she discusses the qualities of leadership and the special challenges and opportunities for women leaders.

COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT PROGRAM

Several times a year, the young women residents of our Leadership Center return to their home communities. During these periods, we have encouraged our young women to discuss with their villages and communities the importance of education and to share what they have learned about important social issues in Cambodia, such as poverty and gender inequality. After each such visit, we "debrief" our young women and evaluate their experiences.

LEADERSHIP RESIDENCY

[Photo at Left] Trip to Angkor Wat, May 2008

Our first leadership resident was Clara Peron (May - July 2007), a graduate of McGill University in 2002 and the Kennedy School of Government of Harvard University in 2008, with a Masters in Public Policy. From 2002 to 2006, Ms. Peron served as a Foreign Service Officer for Canada and worked in Kenya, Djibouti, Ethiopia, and India. Among other things, Clara produced a Khmer cookbook with the dormitory residents, featuring local cuisines from their various provinces. In October and November, 2007, Robyn Faye Weinstein was our leadership resident. Robyn graduated from Brown Unversity in 2002 and is a filmmaker based in New York. She has traveled to India and the Middle East and is the director and producer of the film "Both Ends of the World." Robyn is working on a documentary about the Leadership Center. In December and January 2008, our leadership resident was Anne Elizabeth Moore, based in Chicago, who received a BFA in photography at the University of Wisconsin in 1992. Anne, a specialist in comic books as well as photography, is the author of several books challenging establishment propaganda and methods of publication and marketing. Her most recent book is "Unmarketable: Brandalism, Copyfighting Mocketing, and the Erosion of Integrity" (New Press, 2007). Anne taught the young women about desk-top publishing and produced small comic books with them.

MANAGEMENT AND MAINTENANCE OF THE FACILITY

Vanna Peou, the full-time manager of the Leadership Center, and her assistant Phally run the day-to-day operations of the facility, ensure that the girls follow the rules and regulations, and care for the well-being of the girls. Vanna also helps the girls develop life skills, computer skills, English language skills, and, most importantly, leadership skills. Vanna reports almost daily to the Harpswell Foundation via e-mail and telephone. We have hired MPA, a highly reputable security service, to provide 24 hour security for the facility. The directorship of the HF will make at least two trips each year to Cambodia to assess the Leadership Center.

SITE OF THE FACILITY

In April, 2005, the Harpswell Foundation purchased the land for the Leadership Center, a small lot approximately 30 feet by 100 feet, located in a quiet residential area off Street 508 in south Phnom Penh. The building is about half a mile from the Royal School of Law and Economics and not much further from Build Bright University. The facility is within a twenty-minute bike ride of most of the universities and colleges in Phnom Penh. 

DESIGN OF THE LEADERSHIP CENTER

The facility was built by Dy Chhunhok and his company Hok Associates. It is a three-floor structure, with each floor approximately 20 feet by 80 feet.  A rectangular courtyard/garden of approximately 10 feet by 80 feet occupies the portion of the lot not covered by the building.  Each floor of the building has 3 bedrooms (13 feet by 13 feet), a study room, a kitchen, and several toilets and showers. Each bedroom has two bunk beds (each sleeping two people), four desks, and a clothes wardrobe.  Thus, each bedroom houses 4 women, with 12 women on each floor, and 36 women in total. Each study room has a television and two computers hooked to the internet.

The striking front facade of the building has a circular window on each of the three floors. Each of these unusual windows, designed by the Russian/Alaskan designer Sasha Sagan, features a Cambodian dancing girl called an Apsara. The Apsara is a symbol of Cambodian art and strong women.

INAUGURATION

The new Harpswell Foundation Leadership Center for University Women was inaugurated in a ceremony on December 23, 2006. Attending the inauguration were Her Excellency Ing Kantha Phavi, Minister of Women's Affairs; You Ay, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Women's Affairs; Bou Chum Serei, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sports; Youk Gnoy, Rector of the Royal University of Law and Economics; Eva Mysliwiec, director of Youth Star Cambodia; and Margaret McKean, Chief of the Office of Economic and Political Affairs of the U.S. Embassy. The following day, His Excellency Kol Pheng, Senior Minister and Minister of Education, Youth, and Sports, visited the Leadership Center and gave his personal support.