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The Director of the Kampot Province Department of Education, H.E. Phu Taikok, (left) points out the work that needs to be done to the school.
U.S. Military to Fund $2.38 Million in Humanitarian Assistance Projects in Cambodia
Kampot High School
September 20, 2007
The U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia, Joseph A. Mussomeli, recently announced that the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), through U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM), has committed $2,380,000 in FY-2007 funding for humanitarian assistance projects in Cambodia. The programs will be managed by the U.S. Embassy's Office of Defense Cooperation and the Army Corps of Engineers, with implementation of construction projects handled by locally contracted companies. The funding for these programs is part of DOD's Overseas Development for Humanitarian Assistance and Civic Actions. While the projects are all fully approved and funded, the projects are still in the contracting and planning stages. Actual construction should begin around December 2007.
The announcement was made during a tour of Kampot High School, one of the sites to benefit from this assistance package. Kampot High School was built by the U.S. government in the late 1950s. Later the Khmer Rouge placed gun turrets on the school's roof and the school sustained damage from shelling. Currently most of the second story is unusable due to severe deterioration. Repairs will be made to the school's masonry roof and upgrades will be made to the stairs, doors, and window frames.
In announcing the project, Ambassador Mussomeli stated, "The U.S. government built this school as a sign of friendship between our two countries more than 50 years, so it is highly symbolic of the renewed relationship between Cambodia and the U.S. that we are now going to repair the school."
The following is a complete list of projects that will be conducted through this assistance package:
1. Kampong Cham Medical Clinic $275,000
This project will build a one-story medical clinic based upon a design approved by the Ministry of Health. The Ministry hopes to make this design standard for all future clinics to ensure they meet basic capabilities and standards. The clinic will be located in Oraing Auv District in Kampong Cham. The structure will be used to provide primary health care and will include a lighting system in its delivery room for safer nighttime baby delivery procedures.
2. Roka Por Phram Primary School $250,000
Currently the primary schools in the Roka Por Phram commune of Kampong Cham province only teach children up to the 3rd grade. This project will build upon USAID's on-going Good Governance and Education programs by allowing poorer children in the commune the opportunity to study at higher grades.
3. Kampot High School $475,000
This project will allow significant structural repairs on Kampot High School, which was built by the U.S. government in the late 1950s. Currently only the ground floor is usable due to the severe deterioration of the second story. Repairs will be made on the masonry roof and upgrades will be made to the stairs, doors, and window frames.
4. Poipet Health Clinic $400,000
This project will construct an additional two-story building at the Poipet I Health Center, which already includes an existing 6-room building with a delivery room and an X-ray machine donated by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC). The U.S. government works closely with the Poipet I Health Center to provide health services to Poipet's growing population of 500,000. CDC funds a clinical laboratory and treatment for tuberculosis and sexually transmitted diseases, while the U.S. Agency for International Development supports additional health programs at the center.
5. Pursat High School $400,000
This project will allow for significant structural repairs to Pursat High School, which was built by the U.S. government in the early 1960s. Currently only the ground floor is usable due to severe deterioration of the second story. Repairs will be made on the masonry roof and upgrades will be made to the stairs, doors, and window frames.
6. Pursat (Sophy) Primary School $200,000
This project will construct an additional six-room schoolhouse at the over-burdened primary school in Dop Bath Village in Pursat Province.
7. Pursat Keosovan Middle School $250,000
This project will build a middle school for approximately 400 students in grades 6 through 8 in Banteay Dey Commune, Kandieng District. This will be the only middle school in the district. The school will include a six-room one-story building, a water storage system for when city water is not available, a water well for backup, four latrines with hand washing facilities, electrical fixtures for future tie-in to city power, a playground, and fencing/wall.
8. Mosquito Nets $130,000
This project is a continuation of PACOM’s ongoing mosquito net distribution program in Cambodia. The funding will allow the purchase of approximately 34,000 insecticide-treated mosquito nets. The nets will be distributed throughout the year in conjunction with other DOD Humanitarian Civic Action projects. Over the past year alone, the U.S. government has donated approximately 30,000 mosquito nets to the National Malaria Center and another 10,000 to various NGOs.
Total: $2,380,000
