Sala Bai, Siem Reap, Cambodia

Today, in Siem Reap, where I shot images for the Asia Foundation. Their partner organization, Sala Bai, a French NGO helps youth in Cambodia to learn skills that will change their lives.  I’m working alongside Brent Jones, a freelance writer from New York.  Brent gathered information and interviews with staff and students of Sala Bai and will be writing up the story for the Asia Foundation.  Today was an uplifting and inspiring opportunity to see, first hand, the amazing work that is being done here, helping those who need and deserve  it most; hard working, determined Cambodian youth.

Created in 2002 by the French NGO Agir Pour Le Cambodge, Sala Baï is a free hotel school based in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Each year, the school, trains 100 young disadvantaged Cambodians to the four main professions of the hospitality industry: restaurant waiter/waitress, cook, receptionist & housekeeping attendants.
During the 12-month training, the school covers all the training fees (lessons, school supplies, books, uniforms), and daily expenses (accommodations, food, bicycle, insurance and medical expenses) for the students.

The training lasts 11 months from September to July.  The 12th month, August, is dedicated to assist the students to find their first employment.

Origin of the project
In 2002, Agir Pour Le Cambodge set up Sala Baï program, due to the following reasons:
Very low school attendance rate in a country where 60% of the population is under 20 (54% for girls and 68% for boys). Many young people leave school to contribute to the family income, thus obtaining precarious and seasonal jobs with no future.

 Few vocational training programs exist in the country, even less for those who have not reached grade 9.
Mainly girls, drop out of school younger than boys(at the time of school droppage), to help at home, work or get married.

Very few vocational training opportunities are offered to young women, even less when they have a low education level.

At the same time, the number of hotels in Siem Reap, town of Angkor temples, is increasing very fast and requires more and more qualified trained workforce.

The profits from the tourism development in the area are badly distributed, especially among the poorest  (35% of the population live under the poverty level with less than one U.S. dollar per day).

Sala Bai’s goals:
Contribute to reduce poverty in Cambodia through social and professional insertion of young under-privileged Cambodians.

 Each year 100 young are trained and employed in the hospitality industry which is the fastest growing economic sector of the country (in 2009 tourism accounted for 16% of GNP with 2.1 million visitors).

 Priority is given to girls (70%), due to the fact that they are more vulnerable and have less training opportunities.

To provide work skills development & capacity building to the local team for a future autonomization of the program.

Last but not least, to contribute to the development of responsible tourism and the setting up and development of vocational training in Cambodia.

8 years: 8 intakes…
704 trained and graduate students:
219 restaurant waiters and waitresses
221 cooks
188 housekeepers
76 receptionists
65% are girls, when counting the 8 intakes. But for the last 4 years, the initial goal of 70% has been reached.

 They all found employment after graduation, enabling them to achieve economic independence and improving the living conditions of their families. Thanks to these young trainees and the direct impact on their families, approximately 3500 people benefited from Sala Baï.

 

Text above, courtesy of Sala Bai.  For more information check out Sala Bai’s website http://www.salabai.com