French and Cambodians Cycle for Schools
- By Teng Yalirozy
- and Rin Ousa
- November 13, 2023 2:05 PM
PHNOM PENH – Members of the French community are cycling for a week across five provinces to raise funds to help the education sector and encourage out-of-school children to return to classes.
The campaign, called Bike for Education/Edubike, is a 425km public awareness campaign promoting child protection and education. It runs from Nov. 13 to 20, aiming to encourage students to prepare for the new school year.
Anais Gallo-Bragatto, organiser, project manager and member of ADTJK NGO board of directors, said riders would start in Phnom Penh and end at the town of Sisophorn in Banteay Meanchey province.
She said some staff from the NGOs who co-organize the campaign and about 25 others who are interested will join the journey to raise funds so that work to improve the education sector could be carried on.
“With this, we really want to focus on the work we have been doing for 25 years,” she said. “We want everyone to see us, to know us, to raise funds for our program.”
Non-profit organisations Aide et Action, Foyer Lataste and other partners launched the campaign with more than school students joining the campaign by cycling to designated schools along the route.
Patricia Labourier, president of AEC-Foyer Lataste , a French NGO based in Sisophorn city, said she had been in Cambodia for 25 years, working on education and children's protection.
She hoped that funds could be raised so that she could work on more projects. Besides education and children's protection, Foyer Lataste is also working on an eco-farm project to promote local organic produce.
“We have children aged from five to twenty-five,” Labourier said. “We currently have 600 children within our care. We want to help them to have a good future, have a job and help their country and community.
“Many children do not have a family while some come from a very poor household.”
The Edubike team left from Rabbit School in Toul Kork and made their initial stop at Ta Ches commune in Kampong Tralach district, Kampong Chhnang province.
Over thirty students at the distinct will take part in a discussion on social accountability in Health and Education, while Aide et Action donated notebooks and reading books to promote literacy among the students.
Aide et Action will join Edubike to donate over a thousand books to targeted schools in three provinces and one greenhouse to Sampor Primary School in Stoung district.
