Svay Leu District is one of the most remote districts in Siem Reap province, with low levels of development and agriculture. It is now a major focus of BFT’s village programs.
Oroong
Oroong village is about 115 km NE of Siem Reap, in the north of Svay Leu District. This area has very low population densities of about three people per square kilometre. The closest health center is 55 km away; the closest satellite hospital, 90 km away. When BFT started work there, the village had no clean water, no sanitation and no school.
Education in memory of Georgia
Georgia Louise Murray was a young woman with an enviable enthusiasm for life who cared deeply about others. She was born with a complex heart condition but lived a full and active life until complications during her third open-heart operation led to her untimely death aged 19 in November 2010. Steve Murray, Georgia’s father, decided to keep her memory alive by establishing Georgia’s Children of The World, a charity that builds houses, schools and community centers around the world for children in need. In 2014, Georgia’s Children of The World began its most ambitious project so far, Georgia’s House 3, a school in Oroong village built under BFT management.
When Georgia’s House 3 opened, Steve Murray said:
*** So proud and emotional yesterday to open “Georgia’s House 3” in Oroong, a remote village in Cambodia, with our partners Build Your Future Today Center (BFT Center). Incredible to see the look of hope, happiness and the spark of ambition on the children’s faces. All children are born equal, and it is education that is the key to unlock their potential, something we take mostly for granted in the West. But, thanks to YOU, the supporters of Georgia’s Children of The World, and the team at BFT, we have given these children that chance. ***
The school has a well and toilets on site. It currently has 140 students and four local teachers. Georgia’s Children helps finance teacher salaries and ensure that the children get at least one nutritious meal a day.
This project was followed by an additional classroom and, in January 2019, a kindergarten.