Background

BCDO was established on 15 November, 2009 and is based in Botumsakor district, Andong Teuk Commune, Koh Kong province, Kingdom of Cambodia. BCDO started as a private education school to provide education and vocational training for the young generation. Since its founding, BCDO has collected only nominal school fees from attendees. The fees are used to defray the costs of electricity, water and rent. Many of the nearly 300 students are from impoverished circumstances and neither they nor their families are able to afford fees that could sustainably support BCDO. For students without extremely little means, BCDO waved these fees altogether. Six months after its establishment, BCDO halted operations due to insufficient fees, as many students could no longer afford to pay even the nominal fee. The school remained closed for the rest of 2010 due to insufficient funds to cover operating costs. Afterwards BCDO staffed four volunteer teachers and started teaching again with 80-85 students. BCDO is committed to serving these students by revising the model for financing their education, with the aim of waiving school fees. Furthermore, BCDO seeks to create other appropriation programs that foster knowledge sharing and that help prepare students for their future careers.

Mission

Botumsakor Community Development Organization (BCDO) was founded in 2009 as a Non-profit NGO aiming to provide education and job training for the younger generation, with a focus on English language and environmental sustainability. Our current project is a school in Thmor Sor/ Thma Sar, a fishing village across the bay from Sihanoukville in southeastern Cambodia's Koh Kong Province. Thmor Sor is poor, even by Cambodian standards and BCDO's project here is focused on lack of educational access among the poorest villagers and waste management in the community. BCDO is operating a low-cost English language school for the lower village, teaching students from age six to 18.These students pay a nominal monthly fee to cover the school's costs of electricity, water, teaching materials and rent. Many children in the community, particularly in the impoverished upper village, cannot afford even these small fees, and so do not attend school. BCDO's new 'Bottle School' project is for these children. The Bottle School concept is borrowed from a non-profit organization in Guatemala for constructing low-cost buildings that make use of excessive waste in the community. Volunteers, staff and community members are building plastic 'bottle bricks' by stuffing discarded plastic drinking water bottles with plastic waste creating a durable construction material that takes the place of ordinary bricks. To ensure convenient access for the poorest students, the Bottle School campus will be located on BCDO-owned land in the upper village. The grounds will consist of a two-room schoolhouse, a small volunteer quarters and a shared bathroom. The plans also include a vegetable garden and use of alternative cooking devices such as solar cooker to demonstrate methods for improved community sustainability and reduced dependence on costly and limited natural resources. BCDO believes that every child should have the right to an education and that education is the key to creating a better future for Cambodia. Please join us by donating, volunteering or promoting our fundraising campaign on