The peeling paint and the broken roofs, windows and doors of the empty buildings comprise the classrooms of PrinKoung at Samdech Chea Sim primary schools. A short video clip of two primary schools in miserable condition really caught the audience’s eyes and elicited sounds of pity.

On Saturday May 31^st, students of Cross Cultural Communication led by Professor Say Puthy, together with the Union of Youth Federation of Cambodia led by H.E. Hun Many, organized a charity event called Building Hope of Children Education. The event was held in order to raise funds to support poor children in very remote areas; especially, children in Oral, Kompong Speu province, who are in need of comfortable buildings for study.

Youth and rural community projects are volunteer actions generally practiced by PUC students. Students do not just learn in class, but they also learn by living in, becoming involved in, and serving the community. These activities are also part of education. H.E. Hun Many addressed in his keynote speech that learning to know, to practice, to collaborate, to be responsible, and to be a leader are acts of self-development.

Dr. Kol Pheng, president of PUC also donated 1 million Riel toward the event. In total, almost 4 million Riel was donated.  Although this amount may seem modest, it will make a big difference to these rural students. “Doing something is better than nothing,” said H.E. Hun Many in his closing remarks.