Ta Pen now in its tenth school year
In this isolated rural Cambodian village, the school that was built in 2009, with funds raised by Don du Choeur, now has 550 pupils and is in its tenth school year.
Ta Pen village, some 45 kilometres from the temples at Angkor, is home to 150 families who live in dire hardship – no running water, difficult of access, stilt houses with just one room for an average of five children per family.
The project aims to provide quality education to these children, aged from 6 to 20; until their first day at school, they had never even seen a book.
Chamrong LO, a Khmer refugee who spent years in Geneva, supervised the construction of the school and is the Don du Choeur's local project supervisor, working with well-qualified Cambodian teachers.
The school, long requested by the villagers and then built by their own efforts, has become the focal point of the village and responds to the pressing need for schooling in the area.
Location | Objectives | Key stages | How you can help | Top
Ta Pen village is in Siem Reap province, 45 kilometres from the famed Angkor temples and lies at the foot of Phnom Kulem, a sacred Buddhist site.
Context | Objectives | Key stages | How you can help | Top
Don du Choeur’s aim is to give the children of Ta Pen a decent start at school, to encourage their physical development and to teach them about basic health and hygiene – the foundations of an education that will equip them to face the challenges of life.
Context | Location | Key stages | How you can help | Top
May 2009 – September 2010: The Head of the village makes land available and the school is built in 12 months.
October 2010: Start of the first school year, with 250 children enrolled. Children who live furthest away are lent bicycles.
February 2011: Official inauguration of the school by the Secretary of State for Education and the Ambassador of Switzerland.
July 2011: First summer camp, with volunteer teachers from Geneva.
November 2012: Inauguration of the multi-purpose sports ground, in the presence of the Provincial Chairman of Education, Youth and Sports.
December 2013: Creation of the international NGO Don du Choeur Cambodia.
November 2014: The Ta Pen Junior High School opens.
April 2015: Silver medal in basketball in the National Schools Competition.
November 2016: The third school building opens.
August 2017: First generation of Ta Pen Junior High School graduates (26 students).
November 2017: First registration to High School or Professional Training.
November 2018: Admission of our students into Bakong, one of the best high schools of the province.
August 2020: First generation of high school graduates (13 students).
Context | Location | Objectives | How you can help | Top
There are specific needs still to be met at Ta Pen; contact us if you wish to make a donation. Through your gift, you can help us to continue improving the education of these children by supporting a project that is tangible, useful and targeted.
Every donation counts and will be used entirely for the project.
Download our brochure
Context | Location | Objectives | Key stages | Top
