KAPE is an organization that seeks to improve both the quality of and access to basic education for children living in Cambodia. The agency was founded in 1999 by local stakeholders for the stakeholders. In this sense, the agency's establishment represents a unique experiment in stakeholder driven development.
KAPE seeks to assist the Cambodian government to realize recently proposed educational reforms that focus on increased access to education by vulnerable groups. KAPE currently has programs to serve the following groups who are often marginalized in Cambodian schools, particularly at upper levels:
- The Poor
- Girls
- Physically Challenged Children
Our Programs
Currently, KAPE is implementing a number of different projects in Cambodia's Kampong Cham Province. The agency works in 24 districts serving 192 primary schools and 15 secondary schools. Approximately 80,000 children are receiving benefits from various agency interventions. A majority of target schools are located in eastern Kampong Cham where many communities are classified as “food insecure” by the World Food Program.
- Girls’ Education Initiative
- Child Friendly Schools Project
- Inclusive Education Project
- OPTIONS: Combating Child Trafficking through Education
Girls’ Education Initiative: Since the beginning of the 2000-01 academic year, KAPE has designed, with support from The Asia Foundation, 2 special programs that aim to reduce dropout among girls in the basic education cycle. The Initiative is administered by local committees with representation from schools and community.
Activities at upper primary level seek to enhance curricula in order to make it more attractive for families to keep their daughters in school. Curriculum Enhancement or Life skills courses involving prevocational skills training in high dropout areas are provided on an extra-curricular basis. Participation in the program is limited to girls with a history of dropout and absenteeism. Participation, however, is made contingent upon continued enrollment in school.
The Girls 'Lower Secondary School Scholarship Program has so far received a great deal of attention in Cambodia since it was the first program of its kind in the country. An initial cohort of 192 girls inducted into Grade 7 in the 2000-2001 academic year has since been followed by subsequent cohorts comprising over 1,700 beneficiaries. As cohorts complete Grade 9, the program is now also providing scholarship support at upper secondary school level and in vocational centers. In monetary terms, a basic scholarship package amounts to $71 per year per student. The support consists of bicycles, uniforms, “unofficial” teacher fees, stationery supplies, and tutoring. For those girls who live too far from home to commute to school each day, support has been provided for room and board in addition to the basic package. Funding for the program is tenuous and every donor contribution has proven to be highly important.
A sister program, called OPTIONS, that is supported by the US Dept of Labor is closely linked with the Girls' Education Initiative. This program supports supplementary activities at primary level to keep children in school. These include primary school scholarships, life skills, vocational training for out-of-school girls, and remedial support.
Child Friendly Schools Program: This is a relatively new primary school program, which began as a pilot in 2001. The program has now been running for over 3 years and is operating in 10 school clusters with participation from approximately 60 primary schools. With support from UNICEF and in close collaboration with government, this program has been designed to promote educational innovation in Cambodia’s state school system. The program is characterized by a child rights approach and includes activities in 4 major components:
- Gender Sensitive and Inclusive Education
- Psychosocial Learning Environments
- Health and Nutrition
- Parental Engagement
Program activities begin with local planning exercises that include a child sensitization workshop in which children indicate through pictures, skits, and other devices what they would like to see happen in their school. Schools then develop improvement plans based on a menu of activities provided by KAPE to help meet the needs stated by children. Selection of activities is totally voluntary and stakeholder driven. Sample activities include scholarships for poor children, action research relating to gender issues, model classrooms, student associations, hot breakfasts, life skills, creative writing, debate clubs, and others.
Inclusive Education Program: KAPE also supports a generic program to promote “inclusion” in schools not participating in the Child Friendly School Pilot. Once again, activities are administered by local committees who receive capacity building support from KAPE. One of the most important activities under this program is a Primary School Scholarship Program for approximately 2,500 children in selected target areas. The scholarships are provided to cover the direct costs of education such as stationery, uniforms, shoes, writing slates, and other educational materials.
Another important discrete component within this program helps disabled children to attend school. About 350 children have so far received access to physical rehabilitation services provided by collaborating agencies such as Handicap Int’l and IRIS. This assistance covers the provision of braces, corrective surgery for cleft palette, hearing aids, glasses, and other assistance.