Where One Chapter Ends, Another Begins
On April 25, the closing ceremony for the Amity Torch Program, and the implementation ceremony for projects under Amity’s Living Water Campaign was held at the Preythom Primary School in the Bavel district of Battambang, Cambodia.
The ceremony was attended by representatives from Amity’s local partner Life with Dignity, local education and sports officials, and 440 students and teachers from Preythom Primary School. Representatives from Amity Foundation headquarters, Amity HK and more than 20 students and teachers from Bishop Hall Jubilee School and Fanling Kau Yan College in Hong Kong also attended the ceremony virtually via Zoom.
During the ceremony, project officers reflected on the history of Amity’s work in Cambodia, the progress of implementing the new facilities and shared insights on the situation of the students who will benefit from them. The 435 students were presented with gifts of school uniforms, cups and notebooks.
Mr. Sopheap Suon, Executive Director of Life with Dignity, gave an overview of Amity’s Torch Program and the various sanitation facilities constructed under the initiative. A total of 310 students from disadvantaged families received financial support from Amity, allowing them to continue their studies. Facilities such as clean water systems and toilets will benefit 509 students across 3 villages. Mr. Suon thanked the Alibaba Charity Platform, the Amity Foundation, and all the donors for their support in the development of Cambodia’s education system. He added that the partnership of Amity and LWD has deepened the friendship between China and Cambodia.
In a heartfelt letter, student representative Sou Lihong also expressed his thanks to the kindness of Amity Foundation and the donors from all walks of life, noting how the new facilities help create a stable and healthy learning environment for himself and his peers.
Since 2019, Amity has partnered with Cambodian organisations on many projects on local education development, benefitting approximately 2100 students. Building projects under Amity’s Living Water Campaign have installed water and sanitation facilities in 5 schools, improving access to clean drinking water. Other improvements to infrastructure included the paving of roads and installation of solar power systems. Volunteers from the Amity Overseas Volunteer Program have also been dispatched to village schools to teach specialty subjects such as Chinese language, photography and communication skills.
As part of Amity’s “going global” initiative, the Amity Torch Program includes projects such as international educational development, and green campus projects. To date, the program has provided scholarship support, teaching support, community development, and solar power facilities to poverty-stricken countries in Asia and Africa including Nepal, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Philippines, Thailand, Kenya, Ethiopia and Uganda.
