Dormitory and Leadership Centers for Women in Phnom Penh
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Cambodia is one of the poorest countries 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. Education and visionary leadership are the best hope for the future. 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. This first facility is located at Boeng Trabaek. In December 2009, we completed a second facility in the Teuk Thla area of Phnom Penh. Our two facilities are among the first dormitories for university students in Cambodia. The facility at Boeng Trabaek houses 36 women, the facility in Teuk Thla, 48. Our students are chosen from around the country on the basis of their "intelligence, ambition, and leadership potential." Most of them Come from poor farming families in rural communities. The mission of our facilities, written in both English and Khmer on plaques near their respective offices, is "To empower a new generation of women leaders in Cambodia."
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In addition to a safe and encouraging place to live, our facilities provide their students with a living and food allowance, kitchens and cooking facilities, medical care, tuition scholarships for the poorest students, bicycles and motorcycles, classes in English, classes in computer skills, twice weekly discussions of current national and international events to develop knowledge and critical thinking abilities, and a twice weekly seminar in leadership skills. We believe that the enabling power of our two Leadership Centers will have a significant impact on the country. We also believe that our facilities will serve as a model for future dormitories built both by the Cambodian government and by other NGOs.
The funds for building the two Harpswell Foundation Dormitory and Leadership Centers for University Women were donated by over 100 individuals. Financial contributions are still needed to fund the ongoing programs of the two facilities, about $115,000/year. (The total cost per student per year is $1300. This cost includes salaries of staff, all utilities, food, medical care, university tuitions, 24-hour security, and teachers. In the U.S., it would be 50 times larger.) All contributions are tax deductible. Please help. CLICK HERE!
To see a 6-minute video about the first dormitory and leadership center on You Tube, CLICK HERE!
The following sections include an Introduction , Admission Criteria, Activities and Services, special programs including Mentoring Street Children, Internships, Post-Graduate Scholarships and Jobs, Leadership Residencies, Management and Maintenance, Design and Construction, Hall of Great Women , and finally Inauguration Photos and Excerpts
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, Pannasastra, and the University of Cambodia. Only one to 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. 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 living in the city. Aid organizations, such as the World Bank and the United Nations, 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 Harpswell Foundation Dormitory and Leadership Centers for University Women are among the very first student dormitories in Cambodia. They represent a long-term project, aimed at enabling a group of Cambodian women to take leadership positions one or more decades from now.
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A class at the Royal University of Phnom Penh. Front row right is Srey Hak. On her right is Raksmey. Between them, second row, is Tevy. |
The first facility, at Boeng Trabaek, was completed in July 2006, and the first residents are now enrolled in their fourth (final) year. The second facility, at Teuk Thla, was completed in December 2009. The two facilities together house more than 80 young women. Thus, on average, we will graduate 20 students per year. In 10 years, over 200 women will have been empowered by the existence of our facilities. Already, many of our Harpswell young women are at the top of their classes at their various universities. For example, in the academic year 2007-2008, the top student in the sophomore class at the Royal University of Law and Economics was Prom Savada, one of our students. The top student in the freshman class at the National University of Management was Heng Savry, one our students. The top student in the sophomore class at the Royal University of Phnom Penh was Khun Chan Tevy, also one of our students. In addition to outstanding academic performance, our students have received excellent summer internships at national and international NGOs and other organizations. (See internships below.) Ing Kantha Phavi, Minister of Women's Affairs, and Kol Pheng, former Minister of Education, believe that our Leadership Centers, over time, will have a major impact on advancing the economic, social, and intellectual life of Cambodia. For further assessments of our project, see various endorsements and comments.
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Leadership seminars are given by Marady and Chakrya in their respective facilities each week. Twice a month, all students from both facilities gather together for a joint leadership seminar |
Admission to the Leadership Centers
To select our students, we make visits to over 30 high schools in 12 provinces of Cambodia, ranging over a wide geographical area. At each high school, we interview the top academically ranked girls. Then we collect high-school transcripts from each girl, her grade on the national high school examination, 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 choose our residents. Our criteria for selection are "intelligence, ambition, and leadership potential." Although family income is not a factor in our admission criteria, almost all of our students come form poor farming families in rural areas. When spaces become available, we accept new students on a rolling basis, subject to our criteria.
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Activities and Services
We provide the young women of the Leadership Centers with free room and board, free medical care at Calmette Hospital in Phnom Penh, and bicycles and small motorcycles to attend their university classes. We also give them, in our facility, classes in English, 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, Chakrya and the leadership residents also give leadership seminars, in which they discusses the qualities of leadership and the special challenges and opportunities for women leaders.
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Big Sister Program for Street Children
We have begun a partnership with New Day Cambodia, an NGO that provides food and housing for destitute street children in Phnom Penh. Our Harpswell young women have become "big sisters" and mentors to some of the girls at New Day Cambodia.
Internships
In the summer of 2008, after two years of operation, we instituted an internship program, obtaining summer internships for our students at various NGOs and other organizations in Cambodia. Our students received summer internships at the United Nations Development Project, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, the World Bank, the Urban Poor Women's Development, the Cambodia Defender's Project (legal assistance), the Cambodia Daily newspaper, Voice of Democracy radio, Schools for Cambodia Children, the Community Legal Education Center, Habitat, and the private Parrot Computer company. Since, then our students have received internships with New Day Cambodia (provides mentoring to street children, the law firm Gordon Associates, the Commune Council Support Project, the Somaly Mam Foundation (provides mentoring to former sex slaves), and other organizations. It is our hope that with the experience and contacts of these internships, our students will hit the ground running when they graduate from university.
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Post-Graduate Scholarships and Jobs
Six of the 23 students in our first graduating class, the class of 2010, have received scholarships to do post-graduate study in the United States. Channsophea But and Dany So will go to Agnes Scott College in Atlanta, Raksmey Suon and Prom Savada will go to Bard College in upper state New York, Vanya Run will go to Northeastern University in Boston, and Chantevy Khourn will enroll in a masters program at the East-West Center of the University of Hawaii.. The majority of our remaining graduating seniors have already been offered jobs in the Peace Corps, at the law firm Gordon Associates in Phnom Penh, at Amret Microfinance, at the Daughters of Cambodia, and other firms and organizations. Four years ago, most of these students were living in poor, rural farming communities with no hope for the future aside from working in the rice fields or the garment industry.
Leadership Residencies
In May 2007, we instituted a leadership residency. This position is awarded to non-Cambodian young women in their mid twenties and older who have had broad international and cultural experiences that they can share with our students. The "leadership residents" should be strong women who can serve as role models. They will typically come and live in the Leadership Center for periods ranging from one to three months, engaging the students in some project. Opportunities exist for teaching English, teaching other special skills, giving leadership seminars, organizing conferences and programs, helping develop our library, and helping to form contacts with other organizations in and outside Cambodia that might provide jobs and other opportunities for our students. Leadership Residents play a major role in helping to shape our students, who in turn will shape their country. Women interested in a leadership residency should contact our foundation.
To see a list of our past and present Leadership Residents, CLICK HERE.
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Management and Maintenance of the Facility
Marady, the intern manager of the Dormitory and Leadership Center at Boeng Trabaek, and Chakrya, the manager of the larger leadership center at Teuk Thla, run the day-to-day operations of the facitilies, ensure that the girls follow the rules and regulations, and care for the well-being of the girls. Neary and Chakrya also help the girls develop life skills, computer skills, English language skills, and, most importantly, leadership skills. The two managers report almost daily to the Harpswell Foundation via e-mail and telephone. We have hired MPA, a reputable security service, to provide 24 hour security for each facility. The directorship of the HF makes at least two trips each year to Cambodia.
| Front courtyard of the Boeng Trabaek dormitory looking through the front gate. |  |
Design and Construction
Both facilities were built by Dy Chhunhok (Hok) and his company Hok Associates. The facility at Boeng Trabaek 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 new facility at Teuk Thla is three times the size of the facility at Teuk Thla. Its grounds include curving gardens, lily ponds, and a mandala in front of the office. The facility has three kitchens, a large library, an IT room, and a large conference room on its top (fourth) floor called the "Hall of Great Women."
The striking front facade of each 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.
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Hok and Vanna discuss plans for the second dormitory and leadership center at Teuk Thla, December 2008 |
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Hall of Great Women
The top floor of the new facility at Teuk Thla is a large conference room called the Hall of Great Women, able to seat 200 people. On its walls are poster-sized photographs of 25 outstanding women from around the world, from the arts, sciences, politics, and social activism. Accompanying each photograph is a biography, in English and Khmer. Here we plan to hold workshops and conferences on the subject of women's empowerment and leadership. To see a list and biographies of our 25 great women, CLICK HERE.
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Inauguration of the Teuk Thla Facility, January 16, 2010 (photos by Jodi Hilton)
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"We cannot choose the country where we are born. But we can, and should, recognize that we are all part of one human family.
When we help women achieve higher education, we are helping not only those individual women. We are helping the entire society. As studies by the World Bank and several other international organizations have shown, educating and empowering women is the single most effective way to help developing countries. Women are not the problem; women are the solution --- to worldwide poverty, to hunger, to lack of health care, to slavery and sex trafficking, to suppression of freedom and dignity. Women have been marginalized in almost every culture in every century of human history. But women are the most powerful force for positive change in the world today.
The mission of the Harpswell Foundation, which you can read on the wall near the office, is "to empower a new generation of women leaders in Cambodia."
To choose our students, we go to high schools all over the country. We try to find young women with intelligence, ambition, and leadership potential. We have a rigorous selection process consisting of interviews and essays, as well as transcripts and grades. We are looking for future leaders.
In our dormitory and leadership center, we give our students free room and board and medical care. Those things are all necessary for the body. But we also give them food for the mind and the spirit. We give our students weekly leadership seminars, where we discuss what makes a great leader. We give them English lessons and computer lessons. Three times a week, we hold discussions of national and international events to sharpen their critical thinking skills, to teach them the problems and challenges of Cambodia today, and to show them how Cambodia fits into the world community. After our first two years of operation, our students were first in their class at the Royal University of Phnom Penh, the Royal University of Law and Economics, and the National University of Management.
We call this conference room the Hall of Great Women. In the future we plan to hold workshops and conferences in this room on the subject of education, leadership, and women's empowerment. I hope you will have a chance to look at the walls. We have chosen as role models 25 great women from around the world, in the arts, in the sciences, in politics, in social activism and human rights - all women who have pushed the world forward. It is my hope, and belief, that someday, our students will be on these walls."
-- Alan Lighman, excerpt from remarks at the inauguration, Hall of Great Women
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More photos can be seen by clicking here.