Cambodian Organization for Research,
Development and Education — CORDE

Facilitating Social Transformation

Responding to the devastation of Cambodia after years of war, CORDE (the Cambodian Organization for Research and Development) began in 1994 with the mission to facilitate the transformation of communities through the education of individuals. How do people come back from such a tragic upheaval of their nation and the complete disintegration of the family as an institution where love and trust died under brutal oppression and a whole generation grew up with no understanding of what it means to have a loving family? How do they rebuild their confidence, their lives—their faith in each other? CORDE decided the only way was social transformation through education—to rebuild the foundation of families and community relations on which a nation can be built. And the only way to build up education in the country was to help people learn to do it and sustain it themselves.

Our Site Visit and Plans to Build
Centers of Learning

Mona Foundation helps CORDE train teachers who hold classes in their own villages. The classes usually start in someone's home or out in the open, under a tree. Up to 50 children sit on the ground or on plastic chairs to write out lessons on mini chalkboards. When there are several classes in an area, a “center of learning” is built. These centers of learning are simple buildings with very basic equipment for learning such as plastic chairs, tables and a chalkboard.

During a site visit last fall, Ali Javid and Kristina Gillis filmed and documented this project to assist with further development of our support. This year Mona will support building five additional Centers of Learning for the CORDE Project. Each Center serves 200-300 children and youth and cost $4,000 to build. Operational costs for a Center of Learning are $2,300 per year of which $1,500 goes for books and the remainder is for administration, teaching materials and maintenance.

Hope for the Heart

With $18 per month, a contributor can help a dedicated individual to sustain a class of 20 or more children or junior youths under the Hope for the Heart Program. The $18 per month is expended for candles/oil lamp/batteries for the lighting of the class, chalks or other teaching aid and stationery for classes. Twenty children, who otherwise may not have education, receive two hours of daily classes. Full Story

Centers of Learning

The contribution of $50 a month maintains a Centre of Learning with its various courses for the youths and adults to take simple social actions for development of their communities.

With $4000, a Centre of Learning can be built in memory of a loved one as benefactor to a population in one of the cluster villages. Full Story

Needs for 2007

• $20,000 Build 5 Centers of Learning
• $2,300 Operational cost/year/Center

How You Can Help

Please contact us or send your tax-deductible contributions to:

Mona Foundation
218 Main Street, Suite 404
Kirkland, WA 98033
(425) 743-4550
Email: monafoundation@monafoundation.org
Online: Contribute Online with your Credit Card Here

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