Although schools are not our main mission or focus, when funding permits we are happy to promote education and improve literacy rates in rural Cambodia. Trailblazer Foundation’s initial school project was to build a government primary school in Sras village. The reason we only construct government schools is because that is the only way this project is sustainable. The government is responsible for providing the teaching staff, paying the staff and providing the Cambodian curriculum. Upon completion and inauguration of the school Trailblazer signs the deed over to the appropriate government agency to preserve it as a functioning school. Additionally, because they are government schools, they can qualify for food support through the World Food Program. Learn more about our specific school projects.
Trailblazer’s first school building construction occurred in Sras village, where a four classroom - one multi-use room was built to serve the beginning student population of 67. Prior to construction we were provided with District 5440 Teton Valley Idaho Rotary Club funds to construct a two-stall toilet and drill two pump wells on the school site. In 2006 we built a second four classroom building providing Sras Primary School with enough classrooms to serve all 600 students for years to come through all six primary grades. The funding for these two school buildings construction came from the British Schools Group in Beijing, private donors from America and Trailblazer Foundation. Subsequently, library shelving and playground equipment was provided for by District 5440 Teton Valley Idaho and Jackson Wyoming Supper and Lunch Rotary Club funds.
In 2007 we built our third government school in TaTrav village where the existing wood building was damaged by termite rot and posed a serious safety risk for the 480 students. Two of the best and safest classrooms in the wooden building are currently used to serve the Jr. High level students in the surrounding area until an appropriate building can be procured. Funding for this construction project came from the British Schools Group in Beijing, the Cambodian Land Mine Relief Fund and private donors in Canada.
In 2009 Angkor Thom district officials asked if we would build a three classroom kindergarten school in Phlong village. This school building was a district initiative to support the Women’s Development Center [WDC] across the road. The WDC was a Ministry of Woman Affairs project designed to vocationally train the 2,000 plus women from the surrounding four villages. The kindergarten was complete in 2010 and the beginning 60 students are happily attending. Children matriculating from the kindergarten will be more likely to attend primary school. Upon entering primary school they will be better prepared to learn and their chances of finishing primary school will be higher than for those children who have not attended kindergarten (UNESCO Education for all Global Monitoring Report 2009). The funding for this construction project was supplied by the British Schools Group in Beijing and a private donor in Canada. The two-stall toilet, pump well, kitchen equipment, and playground for these 3 to 5 year olds was provided for by International Rotary Grant funds.
In 2010 the Head of Primary Education for all of Svay Chek commune approached Trailblazer and asked if we would build a two room library for the Primary – Jr. High School complex. We broke ground in February 2011 and construction was complete within three months. The British Schools Group in Beijing provided the necessary funding for this construction project.