THE HAPPY CHANDARA SCHOOL
THE SCHOOL
Today the school, situated 12km from the Cambodia capital of Phnom Penh, welcomes more than 1,300 students. 100 new girls are registered each year. They will be accompanied by Toutes à l’école throughout their entire education and their university or professional training, up until their first job.
From its beginnings as a simple primary school, Happy Chandara has become a campus with a primary school, secondary school, college, boarding school, and medical and social facilities. In September 2018, a hostel was opened in Phnom Penh to welcome the first graduates who are now pursuing higher education.
A school of permaculture has also opened to educate locals about healthy practices in order to limit the use of pesticides.
Due to the site becoming to small, and that students were far from their universities, Happy Chandara has opened 2 hostels in Phnom Penh (in 2018 and 2020) for the students in higher education.
The school
Today the school, situated 12km from the Cambodia capital of Phnom Penh, welcomes more than 1,300 students. 100 new girls are registered each year. They will be accompanied by Toutes à l’école throughout their entire education and their university or professional training, up until their first job.
From its beginnings as a simple primary school, Happy Chandara has become a campus with a primary school, secondary school, college, boarding school, and medical and social facilities. In September 2018, a hostel was opened in Phnom Penh to welcome the first graduates who are now pursuing higher education.
A school of permaculture has also opened to educate locals about healthy practices in order to limit the use of pesticides.
Due to the site becoming to small, and that students were far from their universities, Happy Chandara has opened 2 hostels in Phnom Penh (in 2018 and 2020) for the students in higher education.
SELECTION CRITERIA
Selection criteria
Every year, in the month of May, the registration of prospective students occurs, and the selection criteria is very precise.
The girls with the poorest families are prioritised, where their monthly income is less than $150. Their remoteness, living conditions, access to water and electricity etc. also play a role in the decision.
For each child the team of social workers visit the family and assess the individual situation before making a decision.
The Happy Chandara School is situated in a rural location and therefore for the practical reasons of access and transport, students must live within a 15km radius of the school.
Health
One of the key axes of Toutes à l’école’s health program is vaccination, an essential in Cambodia where one in eight children die before the age of 5.
Each year when children return to school, the school pediatrician creates a medical record for the students then puts in place, with the agreement of the local authority and parents, a vaccination campaign. All students receive the vaccine against hepatitis B – a prevalent virus in Cambodia – but also against tetanus and polio. Eye tests are also administered.
Health
One of the key axes of Toutes à l’école’s health program is vaccination, an essential in Cambodia where one in eight children die before the age of 5.
Each year when children return to school, the school pediatrician creates a medical record for the students then puts in place, with the agreement of the local authority and parents, a vaccination campaign. All students receive the vaccine against hepatitis B – a prevalent virus in Cambodia – but also against tetanus and polio. Eye tests are also administered.
Due to the often precarious situation of their families, many of our students begin their first year suffering from malnutrition or intestinal parasites. This is therefore one of Toutes à l’école’s main focuses, and attention is particularly focused on nutrition.
The school distributes snacks for both the morning and afternoon breaks, and prepares balanced meals with fresh ingredients. The girls have a good appetite and the cooks are pleased!
The school has its own garden, and the fruits and vegetables from this permaculture contribute to a healthy and balanced diet.
THE HAPPY CHANDARA TEAM
GILBERT PALAORO
DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS
SEREIVOUTH TIENG
DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION
HELP FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS
HELP FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Happy Chandara doesn’t want to alienate its students from their background, therefore the school also supports public schools.
These public schools operate part-time with staffing problems in difficult learning conditions and with a critical shortage of materials.
The help that Toutes à l’école brings is of a mostly material nature: school supplies, bicycle helmets, installation of toilets and renovation of libraries and classrooms are offered to surrounding schools according to their needs.
Additionally, with Toutes à l’école’s goal for the students to participate actively in the reconstruction of the country, some of them regularly go to neighboring schools to read to other students.
HELP FOR BOYS
While Toutes à l’école focuses on the education of girls, the charity does not want to abandon the boys, and rather wants to ensure equal opportunities for siblings in terms of learning and academic success.
190 boys from the village have therefore been taking support courses in Khmer and maths for several years, as well as computer courses on Wednesdays and Saturdays on the Happy Chandara campus.