Despite thriving tourism, Cambodia is still one of the poorest and least developed countries in Southeast Asia. Development in the country is uneven and many rural communities remain poor as corruption and self-interest hinder the country's growth.

Srekvav Village is located in Srekvav Municipality, Angkor Chum District, Siem Reap Province, Cambodia. The village currently has a population of 10036 inhabitants from 2018 households. The inhabitants of the village depend exclusively on rice cultivation for their livelihood.

Srekvav High School was established in 2005 and caters to students aged 12-18. The school currently has 451 students (256 girls and 195 boys) and employs 11 teachers (4 women and 7 men). The school consists of two concrete buildings and three zinc sheet rooms, which are distributed on the school premises. The two concrete buildings with a total of eight classrooms are in good condition, but they are increasingly too small for the growing student population.

The church therefore built three sheet zinc classrooms to create more space. However, these rooms get unbearably hot, preventing students from concentrating on their studies.

The school currently offers classes up to the 11th grade but next year they will be accepting pupils into the 12th grade so the overcrowding is only expected to get worse. Students clearly lack a suitable environment in which to concentrate on their learning.

To improve this situation, we will support the village of Srekvav to build a new concrete school building with six fully furnished classrooms. The new school building will increase the importance of education for the village of Srekvav and surrounding communities and provide an incentive for students to complete their upper secondary education. The new building will create a motivating learning environment in which students can reach their full potential.

The project will also include four new toilets that will improve hygiene standards and thus prevent hygiene-related diseases. This brings the total number of toilets to 10.

Implementation:

Srekvav High School is a state registered school. Teacher salaries and training are supported and managed by the government.

Our approach, as always, is to involve the community to instill a sense of pride and ownership of the project. For this project, the villagers will contribute by preparing the land for the excavation and foundation of the new building and organizing the opening ceremony when the construction is completed.

School staff and the community will be responsible for the operation and maintenance of the new school building. We will select a trusted local contractor who will coordinate all phases of construction, purchase materials and organize necessary furniture on site. The foreman is responsible for selecting the construction team and covering all labor costs, transportation costs and building materials.

The contractor will be paid in four installments as construction progresses, with 5% of the total cost being withheld for six months as a guarantee of the quality of the work. Construction is scheduled to start in February 2021 and should be completed by September 2021.