New community learning center helping people learn how to read and write

Tin Sokhavuth



The launch of a new community learning center took place on February 9 in Ta An Commune, Kralanh District, Siem Reap Province with the presence of Mr. Matsumoto Izumi, Second Secretary in charge of economic and development cooperation of the Embassy of Japan to Cambodia, and with the presence of many Cambodian government officials from the provincial department of education.

According to the embassy, the center was built by the Japanese Shanti Volunteer Association (SVA), and funded by the government of Japan under the umbrella of "the Grant Assistance for Japanese NGO Projects."

In his speech at the launching ceremony, Mr. Matsumoto said that overall, the government of Japan would like to give funding to SVA to build, in three years, six community learning centers in three provinces - Siem Reap, Kampong Thom and Banteay Mean Chey. Each province will have two community learning centers.

Mr. Matsumoto added that Ta An Commune was very special due to the fact that more than half of the villagers living in the commune don't know how read and write. As a result, the construction of community learning centers is very important for them to learn how to read and write.

"I was informed that more than half of people living in this commune don't know how to read and write yet. This fact could make their life difficult - they cannot read papers issued by local authority, or they cannot read prescription from doctors etc," said Mr. Matsumoto.

SVA is an NGO from Japan whose work is to help different countries around the world to promote education and preserve their culture. SVA started to work in Cambodia since 1991.

Japan has been involved in the development of Cambodia since the signing of Paris Peace Agreement in 1991, when it dispatched its first Peace Keeping Operation Mission to Cambodia.

The development assistance in Cambodia is part of the Official Development Assistance (ODA) policy of the Japanese government that aims to help Cambodia and the whole Mekong Region countries in order to narrow the development gap between ASEAN member countries.