Photo shows the Nokor Thom Digital library in Angkor Thom district in Siem Reap province. Photo by Zul Rorvy
PHNOM PENH – The Charity Foundation for Rural Children (CFRC Fund) has launched two libraries, Runta Ek Digital Library and Nokor Thom Digital Library, to expand educational opportunities for children in rural areas of Siem Reap province.
The Runta Ek Digital Library is in Tani village within the Veal Runta Ek Village School. This school is an educational initiative founded by Sok Vanna, the director of the school and the Supporting Orphans and Indigent People of Cambodia for Development (SOID) organization.
Founded in 2006, SOID has a mission to support orphaned and impoverished children by ensuring they receive care and opportunities to grow up in a supportive environment.
Vanna said SOID began its work in a pagoda and has grown to establish its main school as the Veal Runta Ek Village school organization. There are enough schools for students to study, but this school helps children who drop out. Their parents are busy working and pay less attention to their children’s education.
Vanna said the digital library is a great support for students to read and learn new things as other children can. He needs to learn about digital usage in the library, as do the students.
“It encourages students to read, as children always ask me, when will they be allowed to read in this library? They are excited to learn new digital ways,” he said.
The school supports 80 children, including 24 orphans and 56 children from impoverished families. Vanna said it can provide education and meals thanks to donations from the public and contributions from his salary from other jobs.
He is committed to this mission because he sees the positive outcomes that students can secure jobs and build better futures.
Aide et Action, a global non-profit organization, has also contributed $3,000 in grants, including $1000 for library setup and $2000 for books.
https://cambodianess.com/uploads/news/photo1– Children are enjoying their readings at the Noko Thom digital library. Photo from Aide et Action. jpg_1747017985.jpg
Children are enjoying their readings at the Noko Thom digital library. Photo from Aide et Action.
Convenient places for reading
Yoath Seiyon, the director of Village Home School, said she is excited with the school’s new Nokor Thom Digital Library. The library is a dream because it gives students access to many books.
Village Home School, founded in 2017, focuses on teaching English. The school has 350 students. Although the students love to read, there was never a special place for reading. The new digital library creates a convenient and friendly space that encourages reading.
“The digital library helps not only the school but also the whole community by promoting reading and learning technology skills,” said Seiyon.
Library creates reading habit and digital skills
Sroeng Chor Vorn, the founder of the CFRC Fund, said the fund was created in 2014 when he was at university. Since then, it has raised money for 15 charities.
The CFRC fund provides study materials and builds six libraries (four regular libraries and two digital ones) to support children in rural areas with education and technology.
Chor Vorn said the government recognizes the CFRC Fund as a valuable social contributor. In many communities, parents are pleased that their children spend less time playing games or watching videos on their phones.
“Even in rural areas, smartphones are affordable enough for families to buy, so many children own one,” he said.
The digital library will foster a habit of reading among children in rural areas because technology helps attract their interest in reading. The digital library also encourages children to use technology in more meaningful ways.
“They can use digital tools or apps to watch documentary videos. There are also games in the digital library, but they focus on building knowledge and improving IQ,” said Chor Vorn.
He said digital libraries can allow children to dream and see big pictures of the planets, history and economics, like coming outside the well to the big world.
https://cambodianess.com/uploads/news/photo2– Children are reading on the tablet at the NokorThom digital library. Photo by Zul Rorvy _1747018018.jpeg
Children are reading on the tablet at the NokorThom digital library. Photo by Zul Rorvy
Librarians engage children’s interest in reading
The digital library is managed by volunteers who serve as librarians and follow standard library practices. It is also equipped with tools such as TVs and tablets to enhance knowledge and experience.
The library’s performance will be evaluated based on the number of readers over a three-year period. If use increases, an additional budget will be provided to support more activities.
The budget for the volunteer librarian per month is 70,000 riels. This pays 20,000 riel for phone top-ups to update the library and 50,000 riel for snacks and activities with the children.
The librarian is encouraged to create engaging activities and motivate children who read many books or come up with creative ideas.
Foundation prioritizes community needs
Choosing library locations in rural areas is essential for the CFRC Fund, as it helps ensure the support meets each community’s needs.
“We receive many requests from communities through our social media page,” Chor Vorn said.
“We prioritize some based on the community’s needs and the fund impact. In the future, we are considering our next fund to coastal areas such as Kep or Kampot province.”
He said that although the budget is small, it is of considerable value for the fund that is hard to raise. The CFRC fund gathers budgets for books from private companies and government institutions.
A social media user who donates a small amount is also part of the project to help the community.
The Runta Ek digital library costs over $6100, while the Nokor Thom digital library costs $4100. The regular library is built at a lower cost, with $2000 to $3000 for the community.
There are six libraries, including four regular libraries in Kampong Speu (Samrong Tong district), Koh Kong Krao (Avlatan Primary School), Kampong Speu (Prek Chok Orphanage), and Stung Treng province (Se San).
The digital libraries in Siem Reap are Nokor Thom and Runta Ek.
Chor Vorn said CFRC hopes to develop four regular libraries into digital ones in the future. Now, CFRC wants to create a library for the other community first.
He hopes the public contributes to the fund, as his team will use their time and energy to process the project and foster education for children in rural areas.
source: https://cambodianess.com/article/digital-libraries-to-support-rural-students-in-siem-reap
