Sparks highlighting dreams

FROM A SINGLE GLOBE TO A THOUSAND DREAMS

the ODA story unfolds

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THE VITAL KEY TO IT ALL -  THE HEARTBEAT OF ODA

Ever feel like one person can't make a difference?

The story of ODA is a powerful answer!

In 2003, Leng saw remote Cambodian villages young people struggling with no access to employment related education due to distance and poverty. Also the "No Uniform = No School" rule kept countless children from learning at basic government schools.

Then 2005 ODA Leng and the children built the first simple dwellings where ODA is today.

But Leng had a different vision. Starting with a single school on RHS above (which has now grown into ODA Central boarding school), he refused to accept that distance and hardship should dictate a child's future. And so, ODA's Village Schools were born.

Daily Leng painted in the temples, taking whatever tourists would pay earning tiny sums in order to provide food for that night.  Providing pre loved, uniforms so the kids could attend government school, and a caring environment for these vulnerable children who had no one able to care for them – the fledging beginning of the ODA boarding school. 

Soon, two more village chiefs sought his help, and two small free English village schools emerged.

Then - One of the two first ODA village schools. Conducted under a stilt house sitting and writing in the dirt floor. From a Single globe swinging in the night breeze to a Thousand Student Dreams: 

ow -   Bright futures powered by sponsor kindness: happy students at their new school with solar power, water well, and toilets.

hen -  A rusty corrugated roofed area with 2 also rusted corrugated sides and 148 kids attended just one of the 4 classes here at night and 1 wonderful teacher teaching every kid to write, speak and read English!

Now – Amazing Ting Noy continues teaching with us at this school with huge classes still today, but now housed in a masonry single room school.

Today, thanks to your vital support and Leng's tireless work, ODA has seven thriving Village Schools, along with ODA Central, the home base and boarding school. Now, educating over 1100 students. Imagine the joy of their exam results and certificate presentations last December! It's a journey built on determination, kindness and working to overcome obstacles and financial challenges daily it seems!

Thinking way back: classes under stilt houses, a single globe light (class over if the ancient Battery died – and it did regularly!) Sitting and writing in the dirt. It just shows what one person, with dedication, determination and your help, can achieve. 

Along the way, angels appeared  – a wonderfully kind lady coming from Singapore a couple of times a year, with suitcases overflowing with school supplies, later an American air hostess doing similar and many others who brought knowledge and kind skills over the years to assist Leng to achieve his chosen path for these students.

A couple of local farmers with a level of English, driven by passion and kindness to local children, taught unpaid 6 nights a week in these first schools, using ragged pre loved text books. Such dedication as they had already toiled in their farms from the first early light.

From these humble beginnings, ODA now provides education to over 1100 village kids in our purpose built, solar-powered schools with essential facilities. You play a crucial role in these eight free schools, which now offer primary and secondary English and basic IT skills of Introduction to Word and Excel.  Imagine the amazed and positive reaction when they graduate and apply for jobs with these skills, well learnt and practiced. It opens doors that weren’t even in sight before! 

Thanks to an amazingly kind, generous US family, our teachers are all able to attend university half a day, bringing enhanced skills to their afternoon and evening ODA free classes – a remarkable leap for communities where parents most often had no schooling at all.

In a single generation, Leng's dream, fuelled by kind supporters ongoing assistance, has created a powerful legacy of opportunity and undeniably transforms lives. Knowing that even a small, regular contribution, like $20 a month, can continue to unlock potential for subsistence farming children and uplift their entire communities, highlights the sustained impact of your kindness.

It's a powerful reminder that one person, with a dream

 and 

the support of others like you, can indeed ignite transformative change.

INVEST IN DREAMS HERE

Leng and Sry On with their big ‘ODA Family’ at the boarding school!

The Key to  the Engine Room of Opportunity

The Dreaded but necessary Overheads!

Picture this: a classroom buzzing with young minds, the scratch of pencils on paper, the hopeful murmur of children discovering a world beyond their village. That's the powerful image of education you directly support at ODA. You champion the tangible – the crisp new uniforms that bring dignity and allow government school attendance, the power and life-giving solar panels, the textbooks brimming with possibility. And your generosity ignites the spark of learning.

But what if the engine powering this incredible journey sputtered and stalled? Behind every success story, every bright young graduate breaking the cycle of poverty, lies the essential engine room of ODA – our operational backbone. Think of the tireless journeys our dedicated supervisors, managers and teachers make on trusty (but often temperamental!) motorbikes, braving dusty crater size holes in the roads to reach those eager faces. Imagine the fuel that gets them there, the modest but crucial salaries that keep their students passion burning bright. These "overheads" aren't glamorous, but they are the very lifeblood that allows us to unlock potential, day in and day out.

They are the ‘quiet champions’ ensuring our schools can open their doors, our programs can flourish, and the impact of your kindness can explode across the landscape, transforming lives for generations to come. While a shiny new solar panel is inspiring, consistent support for these vital operational costs is almost transparent but the fuel that powers the entire transformation. 

If you recognize the sheer necessity of keeping this engine roaring, would you consider a special monthly contribution to keep us in top gear? 

And for our friends in Australia, New Zealand, the USA, and the UK, let's talk about how to turn the key and supercharge your support with tax benefits! Ask us for the details – let's keep these futures moving full speed ahead!

Covering overheads assists ODA to deliver free classes.

You're not just educating children; you're shaping future leaders.

Join us in celebrating their remarkable successes.

FUND FUTURES HERE