Today in Cambodia, nearly 40% of the rural population live below the poverty line. Among them are vulnerable women who are uneducated, unskilled and have low-income positions. In 2018, Cambodia was ranked 93rd out of 149 on the United Nations Gender Inequality Index, and these women are also victims of human trafficking.
In 2002, Agir pour le Cambodge, created the Sala Baï Hotel School, in Siem Reap, near the site of Angkor, the country’s most dynamic tourist destination. The school is for young Cambodians that live in extreme poverty, it provides free education for 150 students per year – where 70% are females. The students receive education and training for 11 months at the hotel school, including 4 months of internship specialising in one of the following 5 functions within hospitality: waitering, cooking, receptionist, room service, personal care and beauty.
Also within the framework, 105 young women will be trained in sustainable agriculture. The students will be able to practice agro-ecology, educated by specialist farming teachers from the NGO Cambodia. The project also plans to organise workshops on women’s rights. These workshops will be organised for half a day per week and will be led by partner associations on various themes of sexual and reproductive health, women’s and children’s rights, leadership and self-awareness, and respect for the rights of LGBTQI+ people.
Agir pour le Cambodge is a French NGO created in January 1985, in aid of the humanitarian emergency in Cambodia, for those taking refuge in camps on the Thai border. Since 1995, it has concentrated its efforts on those in poverty and the fight against human trafficking.
