David Hayes, Rotary Melbourne. Program Director EYC, Synoeun Nov. Managing Director EYC, Delphine Vann
Members at last weeks Rotary Melbourne meeting were impressed by the presentations made by Empowering Youth Cambodia (EYC) Program Director, Synoeun Nov and Managing Director, Delphine Vann.
Please click here to view the recording of the online meeting held on Wednesday 19 January 2022.
Presentation by Empowering Youth Cambodia (EYC) Program Director Synoeun Nov and Managing Director, Delphine Vann. Possibly Rotary Club of Melbourne’s most hands on direct involvement project supporting EYC to provide education to disadvantaged children from four slum districts in Phnom Penh.
Managing Director Delphine Vann, who replaced the founder in 2016, leads EYC. Her father was Cambodian, and as a young girl, her family left Cambodia to escape the Khmer Rouge finding refuge in Switzerland, her mother's home country.
Her early experience in Cambodia inspired Delphine to build a career as a humanitarian professional working in war-torn areas, including Bosnia, Rwanda, and Colombia.
In 2001, after 15 years working for numerous NGO's, the urge to return to Cambodia became too strong; she was convinced that Cambodia's future development lay in the hands of its youth.
Delphine is committed to providing education and development opportunities to very marginalized yet deserving youth.
Taking Flight is the amazing YouTube story of EYC student Synoeun Nov, and her journey from factory worker to university student in the US to becoming the Program Director of EYC.
Due to an income offset scholarship from EYC, Synoeun was able to leave work at a garment factory at 16 and return to school.
In 2015, thanks to scholarships from EYC and Pannasastra University of Cambodia, she spent a year studying at Bridgewater State University in the US before returning to Cambodia to resume work at EYC.
Since 2007 Synoeun has made numerous contributions to EYC as a student, volunteer, and staff member. Her experience and trajectory represent the change EYC is creating in the communities it serves.
WE NEED YOUR HELP
Living in four slum districts of Phnom Penh Cambodia, 57 student children without our help will not be able to attend high school in 2022. Empowering Youth Cambodia assists students who live on the thin edge of poverty - with illnesses, family job loss, or eviction which forces them to drop out of school. Covid-19 has only magnified these challenges. We can change this!
We have received pledges of approx. 72% of the cost of the student scholarships but need at least another $21,428 in order to help these 57 children obtain high school scholarship education.
If you and your colleagues would like to support this program, and have a social media account such as Facebook or LinkedIn, please help to draw the awareness of this project by sharing this link https://chuffed.org/project/empowering-youth-in-slum-districts-through-education-cambodia with your contacts.
