I am the founder of CEHO which is located about 40 kms from the city of Siem Reap but I do not live and work there as I am a freelance tour guide.
However I dedicate most of my free time to work for CEHO. In this I connect and communicate with foreign helpers, visiting citizens and also projects in the village, administration and any matters that need to be followed up, also principle concepts for the projects, reports to the government and any benefactors and donors. My job allows me to connect with local people and foreigners who are interested in helping CEHO.
CEHO works cooperatively and comprehensively with the community committee. There are key people in the villages who actively participate with many CEHO projects to help in the education of the children and people in the community.
Special thanks go to all our benefactors and donors. Also we would like to thank the volunteers for making all this greatly needed work possible. Please continue to look into all our work and what we stand for. In addition visit the other pages where we have information, photos and most importantly easy ways for you to join our team with each project that we do. We try to work with the whole community to help those that are most in need of an education.
We have invested in building classrooms, educating kids and supporting the daily needs of kids
Our History
During the Khmer Rouge repression, which lasted until 1979, books and schools were burned and millions of Cambodians were forced to leave the cities and move to the countryside.
More than two million people died or were killed, including the bulk of the country’s educated middle class.
Today the Cambodian government is trying to overcome this loss, but Cambodia remains one of the poorest countries in the world and help is needed.
CEHO was conceived in the summer of 2013 and, through the financial sponsorship of Jan en Melda from Netherland, CEHO was officially registered in the Cambodian Ministry of Interior as NGO #5971 on 18-August 2016.
Our activities initially centered around Kampongko I village in Kean Sangke Commune located around 42 km east of Siem Reap City.
In this commune, there are 11 villages which have nearly 2000 families and more than 10,000 people.
Mission Statement
CEHO Mission statement.
CEHO is a non-profit NGO. We are working to provide free English language and Computer skills classes, along with pens, pencils, books and workbooks to children in Cambodian villages. This will significantly help them improve their chances of gainful employment in the future.
CEHO Director
Read Virak Kao founder of CEHO story
During the Khmer Rouge Regime, Cambodia was totally thrown into chaos and depression. Over two million people were executed or died from overwork and with no food. The schools, hospitals and monasteries were not allowed so they were closed. All that was left was fear, poverty, starvation and sadness. After the Khmer Rouge regime was defeated and the people gained their freedom, there was still a struggle to recover from total poverty and starvation after the years of war. Many people were starving and my family was one of those struggling to survive daily. The Khmer Rouge continued to have an influence along the border areas between Cambodia and Thailand until 1998. During the time, up to 1998, I firmly believed that there was hope for my family and all Cambodians, that one day the conditions would improve. I hoped that education could lead to improvement for Cambodians especially the children. I grew up in a small village in the Cambodia countryside where I attended primary and secondary school. I then completed High School in 1998 in the city where I had to pay for my own room and board. After my graduation i returned to my village but unfortunately there were no jobs or prospects available to me so I had to start working on a farm again. The local village people witnessed this and decided that education was unimportant as in my case it hadn’t led to a better, more sustainable and secure future. The villagers didn’t think it was necessary to send their children to school. In 1992, United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia ( UNTAC) came to set up elections for Cambodia I heard English being spoken for the first time by the UN soldiers. When a military gentleman started to run free English classes for the local children I decided to attend. It was the start of a better outlook and improved prospects for me. In 2002, I moved to Siem Reap to look for a better job and tried to improve my life and prospects. The local villages couldn’t offer good jobs or improve my prospects. I learned English through the free classes, and then I was able to find a job in a National Silk Farm Centre. It started to improve my life and career prospects. In 2006, I was very fortunate to be a tour guide for Paul and Debbie Kavanaugh from United State and this couple decided to sponsor for my studies in University, their charity allowed me to gain a better job to support my family and myself. Because of my experiences I decided to open a school for the local village children and provide free education. So in 2013 I opened a one room school house donated by Murray and Lyn McDonald from Australia to teach English to local rural children to improve the outlook for their future. I have expanded this school so that the local children are taught English language and Computer skills for free. We provide books, pens, pencils and notebooks to the children. We even help the children to get second hand bikes if they have a long distance to travel. We were able to open the school with the financial sponsorship and help of Jan and Melda Wals – Dekker from Netherland and another couple Desmond McKee and Amanda McKee from Canada. Our school was officially registered in the Cambodian Ministry of Interior as NGO, under the name Cambodian Education of Hope Organization (CEHO), #5971 on the 18th August 2016. We have grown in these few short years, improved our teaching quality and have tried to support and help the children as much as possible. There is always more that needs to be done to improve the lot of the Cambodians and their families but this is a start. We hope that we can continue to show them how to help themselves through education.