About This Project: 
Per Seametrey – “Our school van is 21 years old. It is a shattering 1992 Toyota Previa. Over the years it has bravely shuttled staff and children on numerous occasions, to field trips, to sport activities, to markets, to exhibitions. Recently it has decided to give up and went bust in the middle of traffic. We had it towed to a garage and the verdict came: too old to salvage. It needs a new engine, well, not brand new but a younger one to be able to function again. As there are other priorities, the school van has to wait. So there have been no more outings or the children have to walk to the park to play football. It is not too far but under the punishing sun and amid the horrific traffic in Phnom Penh, it is not very safe for them.

In 2015, the lease at the school will not be renewed. We are going to build new facilities at a site 30km outside Phnom Penh. This incurred frequent site visits to oversee the construction. Without the van, it is a serious handicap. Not only hiring a taxi is expensive but it is time and energy wasting. Having the van in working order will solve the problem.

Buying a second hand mini van would cost a minimum $10,000 and it will be only a temporary solution since in 2015 we will need a school bus, not a van. For $2000 we can have the Previa fixed that will last us two more years until 2015 arrives and we move to the new location. At that time we will need a school bus.”

About This Organization: Riverkids
Per Seametrey – “Seametrey’s founder, Muoy You, was born into a very poor family. In 1975, the Khmer Rouge came to power, and Cambodia went to hell. Approximately 2 million people died from execution, starvation, diseases or land mines, among them Muoy’s own parents and siblings.

Muoy was lucky enough to be in France at that time, on scholarship from the French government. Her late husband and she lived in exile for 31 years. All that time they looked for an opportunity to come back to help rebuild the educational system. In 1998, Muoy founded Seametrey, a Khmer acronym for Freedom, Civilization and Love. Since September 2007 it’s had a burgeoning primary section & recently an English language section for youth. The school’s policy is social integration. Parents pay according to their income. Some parents pay full fees, some pay 50%, others pay what they can, in cash, in kind or in service. The school has now 104 students aged 2 to 22.

Seametrey’s mission is to build human excellence to lift Cambodia out of corruption. Its goal is to make quality education accessible to the less fortunate. It works for a profound, structual change in Cambodia.”