Educational Programs
English Language Program
The foundational program for both schools was the English language skills. Both schools teach students of all ages the ability to speak a second language in a region that relies heavily on tourism, thereby enhancing their employment opportunities. This program is open to all village children and is provided free of charge.
We use established international curricula as well as teachers from the village and volunteers from around the world. This program often provides teachers with their first opportunity to develop their skills after completing their basic educational training. One adjunct to this program is also a “teach the teachers” program to enhance their conversational English capability.
Sewing Program
In 2021 One Degree Forward started the initiative to expand its education projects to include a sewing program within the Samrong school.
Course development, construction of the facility along with equipment set up and materials has allowed for student enrollment in February 2022.
In 2025 with the sucess of the pilot program we created a new dedicated space, and the program has now tripled in size.
Agriculture Program
In 2024, the decision was made to develop agricultural capacity at both schools. Samrong is focused on garden crops and supplying village needs as well as developing skills in agriculture. The program now supports both the food program at the school and other Cambodian schools in the surrounding region. They now have the capability of producing upwards of four crops a year and are continuing to expand the program in 2025.
The Krov school land and terrain were more suited for tree growth. In 2024, we undertook a project recontouring the land, which both improved drainage and set the stage for the creation of a significant orchard of local fruits right on the property. This will significantly supplement the extensive food program at the school as well as support food supplies for some of the villagers.
VISION CARE
In February 2025 with the support FYI Doctors and Canadian Vision Care, a program was undertaken to screen village elders, staff, students, and other members of the community for vision-related issues. The team saw 1047 patients, distributed over 700 pairs of reading, prescription, and sunglasses, plus identified patients that required specialty prescriptions and had those glasses made.
Serious health issues were forwarded directly to the provincial health authority. Twenty patients were identified as good candidates for cataract operations. An NGO has been identified that will handle the logistics of the operations, and we are fundraising to help support the completion of this program. We anticipate repeating this with villagers in 2028.
COMPUTING TECHNOLOGY
Coming in 2026.
