Dormitory and Leadership Center for Women in Phnom Penh
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Cambodia is one of the poorest countries in Southeast Asia, still devastated by the civil war and brutal regime of the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s. Among other atrocities, the Khmer Rouge killed almost all of the educated class of Cambodia. Education and visionary leadership are the best hope for the future. In July 2006, working with a Cambodian team, the Harpswell Foundation completed construction of a dormitory for Cambodian women attending college in Phnom Penh, the capital city and seat of most universities in Cambodia. Our facility is one of the first dormitories for university students in Cambodia. It houses 36 women, free of charge, admitted on the basis of their "intelligence, ambition, and leadership potential." The mission of our facility, written in both English and Khmer in a plaque on the front wall, is "To empower a new generation of women leaders in Cambodia."
| Young women living in the Dormitory and Leadership Center, January 2008. To see a list of all current students, CLICK HERE. To see biographies of all current students, CLICK HERE. |  |
In addition to a safe and encouraging place to live, our facility provides its students with a living and food allowance, medical care, tuition scholarships for the poorest students, bicycles, classes in English, classes in computer skills, twice weekly discussions of current national and international events to develop knowledge and critical thinking abilities, and a twice weekly seminar in leadership skills. We believe that the enabling power of our Leadership Center will have a significant impact on the country. We also believe that our facility will serve as a model for future dormitories built both by the Cambodian government and by other NGOs.
The funds for building the Harpswell Foundation Dormitory and Leadership Center for University Women were donated by over 60 individuals. Financial contributions are still needed to fund the ongoing programs of the Leadership Center, about $46,000/year. All contributions are tax deductible. Please help. CLICK HERE!
To see a 6-minute video about the dormitory and leadership center on You Tube, CLICK HERE!
The following sections include an Introduction , Admission Criteria, Activities and Services, special programs including Mentoring Street Children, Internships, Leadership Residencies, Management and Maintenance of the Facility, Site of the Facility, Design and Construction of the Facility and finally Plans Underway for a Second Dormitory and Leadership Center
Introduction
There are several dozen post secondary schools in Cambodia, most of them small. Some of the universities in Phnom Penh include Build Bright, Royal University of Law and Economics, Royal University of Phnom Penh, International University, Panasastra, and the University of Cambodia. Only one to two per cent of Cambodians have completed university, and very few can afford the tuition, about $500 per year. Of the small percentage of people who can get advanced education, only about 30% are females, and 90% of those are girls who live in Phnom Penh. Girls from outside Phnom Penh are blocked from going to college for the simple reason that they have no place to live in Phnom Penh, where most of the colleges are located. Cambodian colleges do not provide housing for their students. Male students can live in the pagodas, the Buddhist temples, but these are forbidden to women. So, even if a young woman from outside Phnom Penh is in the small percentage of people who can afford college, she cannot go to college unless she is lucky enough to have a relative living in the city. Aid organizations, such as the World Bank and the United Nations, have focused on priorities with more immediate impact, such as helping to provide access to water, electricity, and communications; diversifying the economy; improving labor productivity; and connecting to global markets. Our new Harpswell Foundation Dormitory and Leadership Center for University Women is one of the very first student dormitories in Cambodia. It is a long-term project, aimed at enabling a group of Cambodian women to take leadership positions one or more decades from now.
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A class at the Royal University of Phnom Penh. Front row right is Srey Hak. On her right is Raksmey. Between them, second row, is Tevy. |
The facility was completed in July 2006, and the first residents have now finished two years there. Residence is free to poor and middle class young women from the provinces. It is expected that the average residency in the Leadership Center will be three or four years. Thus, in 10 years, over 100 women will have been empowered by the existence of our facility. Already, many of our Harpswell young women are at the top of their classes at their various universities. For example, this past year (2007-2008), the top student in the sophomore class at the Royal University of Law and Economics was Prom Savada, one of our students. The top student in the freshman class at the National University of Management was Heng Savry, one our students. The top student in the sophomore class at the Royal University of Phnom Penh was Khun Chan Tevy, also one of our students. In addition to outstanding academic performance, our students have received excellent summer internships at national and international NGOs and other organizations. (See internships below.) Ing Kantha Pavi, Minister of Women's Affairs, and Kol Pheng, Minister of Education, believe that our Leadership Center, over time, will have a major impact on advancing the economic, social, and intellectual life of Cambodia. For further assessments of our project, see various endorsements and comments.
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A leadership seminar is given by Vanna twice a week |
Admission to the Leadership Center
To select our students, in the Spring of 2006, we made two trips to 25 high schools in 11 provinces of Cambodia, ranging over a wide geographical area. At each high school, we interviewed the top academically ranked girls. Then we collected high-school transcripts from each girl and a written essay, in response to the question "What do you plan to do with your life after you graduate from university." Based on the interviews, transcripts, and essays, we selected our residents. Our criteria for selection were "intelligence, ambition, and leadership potential." The first year, we selected only 32 young women, leaving 4 more places for outstanding young women who have come to our attention. This first group of young women are attending the following universities: The Royal University of Law and Economics, the Royal University of Phnom Penh, International University, National University of Management, Panasastra University, and the University of Cambodia. We have arranged 50% tuition reductions with the major universities in Phnom Penh. For the girls from the poorest families, we pay the other 50% of their tuition fees.
Activities and Services
We provide the young women of the Leadership Center with free room and board, free medical care at Calmette Hospital in Phnom Penh, and bicycles and small motorcycles to attend their university classes. We also give them, in our facility, classes in English, computer skills, and several discussions per week of national and international events based on readings from the English/Khmer newspaper, The Cambodia Daily, which we ask them to read and report on. Each week, Vanna also gives them two leadership seminars, in which she discusses the qualities of leadership and the special challenges and opportunities for women leaders.
| Workers lay foundation for the new Leadership Center, February 2006. |  |
Big Sister Program for Street Children
We have begun a partnership with New Day Cambodia, an NGO that provides food and housing for destitute street children in Phnom Penh. Our Harpswell young women have become "big sisters" and mentors to some of the girls at New Day Cambodia.
Internships
In the summer of 2008, after two years of operation, we instituted an internship program, obtaining summer internships for our students at various NGOs and other organizations in Cambodia. Our students received summer internships at the United Nations Development Project, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, the World Bank, the Urban Poor Women's Development, the Cambodia Defender's Project (legal assistance), the Cambodia Daily newspaper, Voice of Democracy radio, Schools for Cambodia Children, the Community Legal Education Center, Habitat, and the private Parrot Computer company. For a list of all the young women and their particular internships, CLICK HERE. and look at the last column in the chart. It is our hope that with the experience and contacts of these internships, our students will hit the ground running when they graduate from university.
Leadership Residencies
In May 2007, we instituted a leadership residency. This position is awarded to non-Cambodian young women in their mid twenties and older who have had broad international and cultural experiences that they can share with the residents of the Leadership Center. The "leadership residents" should be strong women who can serve as role models for our girls. They will typically come and live in the Leadership Center for periods ranging from two weeks to three months, engaging the young women in some project. Women interested in a leadership residency should contact our foundation.
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Trip to Angkor Wat, May 2008. |
Our first leadership resident was Clara Peron (May - July 2007), a graduate of McGill University in 2002 and the Kennedy School of Government of Harvard University in 2008, with a Masters in Public Policy. Among other things, Clara produced a Khmer cookbook with the dormitory residents, featuring local cuisines from their various provinces. In October and November, 2007, Robyn Faye Weinstein was our leadership resident. Robyn graduated from Brown Unversity in 2002 and is a filmmaker based in New York. Robyn is working on a documentary about the Leadership Center. In December and January 2008, our leadership resident was Anne Elizabeth Moore, based in Chicago, who received a BFA in photography at the University of Wisconsin in 1992. Anne, a specialist in comic books as well as photography, is the author of several books challenging establishment propaganda and methods of publication and marketing. Anne taught the young women about desk-top publishing, produced small comic books with them, and another book titled "New Girl Law." In May and June, 2008, our leadership resident was Kristiana De Leon, a senior at the University of British Columbia majoring in international relations. Kristiana taught English classes at the dormitory and leadership center. In September and October 2008 was Christine DePedro from New York City. Christine received a BFA in graphic design from the Swain School of Design and an MA in Asian Pacific Studies from the University of San Francisco. Christine is editing a book of biographies of the young women, including family backgrounds and personal perspectives on life in Cambodia. In December 2008 and part of January 2009, our leadership resident was Ann Harper Campbell, who has a B.A. in International studies and Studio Art and also a nursing degree from Binghamton University (SUNY). Ann is the founder of Perspectives International and conducted a full-day workshop with 8 students from Binghamton University joining the young women of the Harpswell facility.
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Management and Maintenance of the Facility
Vanna Peou, the full-time manager of the Dormitory and Leadership Center, and her assistant Phally run the day-to-day operations of the facility, ensure that the girls follow the rules and regulations, and care for the well-being of the girls. Vanna also helps the girls develop life skills, computer skills, English language skills, and, most importantly, leadership skills. Vanna reports almost daily to the Harpswell Foundation via e-mail and telephone. We have hired MPA, a reputable security service, to provide 24 hour security for the facility. The directorship of the HF will make at least two trips each year to Cambodia.
Site of the Facility
In April, 2005, the Harpswell Foundation purchased the land for the Leadership Center, a small lot approximately 30 feet by 100 feet, located in a residential area off Street 508 in south Phnom Penh. The building is about half a mile from the Royal School of Law and Economics and within a twenty-minute bike ride of many of the universities and colleges in Phnom Penh, except those in the far north of the city.
| Front courtyard, looking through the front gate. |  |
Design and Construction
The facility was built by Dy Chhunhok (Hok) and his company Hok Associates. It is a three-floor structure, with each floor approximately 20 feet by 80 feet. A rectangular courtyard/garden of approximately 10 feet by 80 feet occupies the portion of the lot not covered by the building. Each floor of the building has 3 bedrooms (13 feet by 13 feet), a study room, a kitchen, and several toilets and showers. Each bedroom has two bunk beds (each sleeping two people), four desks, and a clothes wardrobe. Thus, each bedroom houses 4 women, with 12 women on each floor, and 36 women in total. Each study room has a television and two computers hooked to the internet.
The striking front facade of the building has a circular window on each of the three floors. Each of these unusual windows, designed by the Russian/Alaskan designer Sasha Sagan, features a Cambodian dancing girl called an Apsara. The Apsara is a symbol of Cambodian art and strong women.
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Hok and Vanna discuss plans for the proposed second dormitory and leadership center |
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His Excellency Kol Pheng visits the Leadership Center on December 24, 2006. |
| Lunch in the side courtyard, May 2007. There is a kitchen on each of the three floors. |  |
New Dormitory and Leadership Center
Thanks to a financial commitment by Daniel and Karen Pritzker and the Jay Pritzker Foundation to match all donations up to $1 million, we are now building a second dormitory and leadership center, located in northwest Phnom Penh about 3 kilometers from the Royal University of Phnom Penh. Construction began in mid February 2009 and will be completed in December 2009. The new facility will house 48 young women and will be 3 times the size of the current facility. A large conference room on the top floor will be available for joint meetings of young women from both facilities, for lectures, for cultural events, and for international conferences.
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