Partner Project
Creating a Childcare Center
The Women’s Resource Center (WRC) provides critical institutional support services for women who require assistance due to issues of sexual and gender-based violence, gender discrimination, and restricted access to education. WECO partnered with the WRC in 2018 to build the Krousar Sammaki Childcare Center to enable the WRC to expand their services and reach more families, as well as prepare the next generation through an early education childcare program.
Currently the center supports 180 children and is used for family programing, early childhood education, and positive parenting workshops that provide knowledge and skills on parenting roles, effective communication, and positive discipline within households. Equipped with the center, the WRC is also able to offer more in-house workshops and counseling to women in the area.
Partner Project
Building Educational Pathways
In Cambodia, less than 5% of the rural population graduates high school. The Ponheary Ly Foundation (PLF) provides a comprehensive education program that supports students in remote areas by providing greater access to primary, secondary, and university schooling.
WECO has been supporting the PLF since 2018, on educational programing for students living in remote areas, including the development of an alumni, mentorship, and career initiative as part of their program to provide holistic support for students. Currently 270 students are enrolled or have graduated from the PLF’s university cohort—65% of whom are girls. In addition, during the COVID-19 pandemic, WECO worked with the PLF on food security and emergency relief projects.
Partner Project
Enhancing Education in Pong Ro
WECO has been supporting a community-led project in the rural village of Pong Ro since 2020 with the help of local community partners Samuth Muon and Saven Ny. What began as a center to address the lack of educational and medical facilities available for people living in extremely remote areas, the space is now primarily used as an after school program for 150 children. The program supplements their public school studies to help them pass exams and also provides job placement support for the older students after they graduate.
Since 2023, WECO has provided funding for two annual teacher salaries in addition to ad hoc project support, including the construction of a front gate and installing new benches and tables so the students have more space to learn.
During COVID-19, WECO pivoted this project to focus on providing emergency food relief to families in Pong Ro and Ro Kayea villages. Following the 2025 border conflict, we have once again reinstated regular food drops as rural communities face ongoing food insecurity.
The Path to Gender Equality
Violence against women and girls is perpetuated by harmful gender norms that enforce a woman’s importance as primarily mother and wife. A woman’s reputation and protection takes precedence over her access to education or employment, which means her mobility is highly restricted – especially in rural areas – due to both a fear of abuse and the lack of available support. Social services and support to survivors of sexual assault or domestic violence are not systematically provided, available, or accessible.
Gender stereotypes prevent women from expanding their opportunities and present long-term barriers for women who seek better lives. Available work is mainly concentrated in a few informal sectors with less social and economic value. Women and girls perform the majority of essential but unpaid domestic labor in households and communities, which prevents them from obtaining levels of education that would result in higher paid employment. Without educational and support services, Cambodian women will have severely limited life options as well as lower potential for economic autonomy.
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