Life & Hope Association

Siem Reap, Cambodia
Bringing hope into life through education

Life and Hope Association (LHA) is an education-focused organization run by the monks of Wat Damnak in Siem Reap, Cambodia. It is committed to breaking the cycle of poverty by providing loving support and access to education to the poorest and most vulnerable in Cambodia — especially children and young women.They believe that at the root of all suffering is ignorance, and that loving care and a good education can provide a way out of poverty.

Reflecting this philosophy, at the core of all LHA’s programs is a commitment to compassionate care and continuing education. In less than five years, LHA has grown from a single project offering families food in exchange for sending their children to school, to six well developed and professionally delivered programs that bring hope to the lives of hundreds of poor children, young women, and families.LHA is currently running 6 projects:

Hotel de la Paix/LHA Sewing School. It provides a 10-month vocational training to the girls from underprivileged backgrounds. After graduation, each of them is provided with a new sewing machine. So far, 130 students have completed the course. Some of them found jobs and others started providing tailoring services in their local communities. At the end of 2010, Hotel de la Paix and LHA started the construction of a new sewing school building, which should be completed in April.
Children’s Development Village (orphanage). It provides shelter and education for 40 Cambodian children. One child was successfully integrated into a family.
Angkor Thom Junior High School. It provides education to 213 students from grade 7 to grade 10.
Program Advancing Girls’ Education (PAGE). It is a boarding house for underprivileged girls. LHA pays for their public and private school, English classes, food and school materials. There are 11 girls currently living at PAGE. Four girls, who completed PAGE program, have been provided with scholarships to study at university.
Foreign Language School. It has 12 classes teaching English. Last year, it had 126 students.
Food for Education. It provides rice, uniforms and school materials to poor families, which otherwise would not be able to afford public education for their children. Last year, there were as many as 160 families supported by this program.

Through its projects, LHA aims to meet the direct needs of the individuals and communities they work with. LHA believes that it is their responsibility to ensure that the beneficiaries of our projects have access to the information which can guide them into a future of awareness – from health and lifestyle to social responsibilities and rights.

For further information please visit http://www.lifeandhopeangkor.org/index.html