School Construction
On February 7, 2005 Trailblazer Foundation was deeded the 150 ft. by 300 ft. parcel of land for the construction of a public primary school in Sras Village, Sway Chek Commune, Angkor Thom District, Siem Reap, Cambodia. Relevant land owners and heads of household signed the deed. The deed was done to protect the project and prevent any disagreements or post-construction land costs. Sras Village is very rural and spreads out over several miles of rice fields and forest. There are 240 families consisting of approximately 1,200 residents, of which over 500 are children.
The village residents were willing and committed participants in the project since the planning began in 2004. They excavated and cleared the jungle and termite mounds from the site, maintained the roadsides to allow for construction truck access, and volunteered manual labor on the construction itself. The 4 classroom and one multi-use room construction was complete 9 April 2006.
The Trailblazer Foundation signed the land over to the Angkor Thom District authorities for its management on 3 June 2006 at the inauguration ceremony.
The Deputy Director of Svey Chek Commune Primary Schools visited the village in June. An assessment was conducted between July and August to determine the appropriate placement of students. The Provincial Education Office has provided four teachers for the first year. These teachers arrived October 1st and school began with three classes of grade 1 and one class of grade 2. It is encouraging to see the support the village is receiving from the Department of Education.
On December 2nd 2006, an assessment of the pilot project that began in Sras Village in 2004 was conducted. The school, vocational training, local businesses, agriculture and water projects were reviewed to gauge their success. The assessment gave a better idea of how programs should be implemented in future projects and was the first step in the exit strategy from Sras Village.