Run WIth a purpose
What is COSI
COSI stands for Community Outreach Services-Immanuel in Cambodia, an initiative of the Methodist Missions Society (MMS). Cambodia has the second highest poverty level in Asia with a 34.08 % poverty headcount ratio at $1 a day.
The COSI Children's Village was officially opened in May 2002 by Prime Minister Hun Sen. To-date, COSI Children’s Village is home to more than 100 children ages ranging from 7 to 18.
COSI Children's Village aims to give children an opportunity to grow physically, spiritually, emotionally and socially, and to enable them to reach their God-given potential, to the end that they become useful citizens of the Kingdom of Cambodia and of the Kingdom of God. COSI takes in children from ages 6 to 12 and they stay until the age of 18 or until they have finished their basic education and acquired a skill. It also seeks to reach out to the 5 surrounding villages in the Toul Prich commune by way of medical and other social outreach programmes.
What’s in store after COSI?
[Insert COSI angel program video – embed code and URL below]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOJCv4PgnzI
The Post COSI Integration Program seeks to prepare COSI graduates for reentry into their community of origin and society outside of COSI when they leave at the age of 18, or after grade 12 (high school). The main objective is to empower every COSI graduate to become useful citizen in the Kingdom of God as well as in the Kingdom of Cambodia.
One of the key aspects is life skills development for graduating COSI youths. Three broad avenues are envisaged. With a high school certificate, youths who are able to qualify for university education would be encouraged to do so. Those who are more inclined toward vocational skills would be channeled to appropriate vocational programs. Others who have an entrepreneurial flair would be encouraged to set up small business and/or social enterprises.
The COSI Education Fund (COSIEF) is established to put COSI graduates through university and vocational training, giving them a head start in poverty-stricken Cambodia.
The Tertiary Education Landscape in Cambodia
An estimated 500,000 high school students graduate in Cambodia each year. However, the tertiary gross enrollment ratio (enrollment of tertiary students of all ages expressed as a percentage of the tertiary school-age population) for Cambodia in 2004 is 3%. The corresponding ratios for USA and Singapore are 82% and 34% respectively.
H.E. Chhay Than, Minister of Planning said in an address to the Focusing on Poverty Impact of Education Reform roundtable in 2001:
“The representation of the poor in tertiary education is zero while the richest 20 per cent of the population accounts for 57 per cent of tertiary education. This means that public expenditure on upper secondary and tertiary education will benefit better off families in Cambodia, while spending in primary education will relatively benefit the poor. In other words, poverty correlates strongly with less education opportunity.”
Not for Want of Education Opportunities
A recent survey of tertiary educational institutions in Phnom Penh reveals that there are numerous private universities that offer a broad range of training, in addition to the established public university, Royal University of Phnom Penh. Many of these private universities are accredited by the Accreditation Committee of Cambodia. The typical tuition fee amounts to USD400 per year.
Making a Difference
How then, can young Cambodians break the poverty cycle when tertiary education opportunities are severely limited?
How can you make a significant difference in the lives of these youths?
We believe that we can make a difference, one life at a time. The funds we raise will be channeled to COSI graduates, through MMS, for tertiary education and vocational training.
JOIN US today. run4COSI
COSI stands for Community Outreach Services-Immanuel in Cambodia, an initiative of the Methodist Missions Society (MMS). Cambodia has the second highest poverty level in Asia with a 34.08 % poverty headcount ratio at $1 a day.
The COSI Children's Village was officially opened in May 2002 by Prime Minister Hun Sen. To-date, COSI Children’s Village is home to more than 100 children ages ranging from 7 to 18.
COSI Children's Village aims to give children an opportunity to grow physically, spiritually, emotionally and socially, and to enable them to reach their God-given potential, to the end that they become useful citizens of the Kingdom of Cambodia and of the Kingdom of God. COSI takes in children from ages 6 to 12 and they stay until the age of 18 or until they have finished their basic education and acquired a skill. It also seeks to reach out to the 5 surrounding villages in the Toul Prich commune by way of medical and other social outreach programmes.
What’s in store after COSI?
[Insert COSI angel program video – embed code and URL below]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOJCv4PgnzI
The Post COSI Integration Program seeks to prepare COSI graduates for reentry into their community of origin and society outside of COSI when they leave at the age of 18, or after grade 12 (high school). The main objective is to empower every COSI graduate to become useful citizen in the Kingdom of God as well as in the Kingdom of Cambodia.
One of the key aspects is life skills development for graduating COSI youths. Three broad avenues are envisaged. With a high school certificate, youths who are able to qualify for university education would be encouraged to do so. Those who are more inclined toward vocational skills would be channeled to appropriate vocational programs. Others who have an entrepreneurial flair would be encouraged to set up small business and/or social enterprises.
The COSI Education Fund (COSIEF) is established to put COSI graduates through university and vocational training, giving them a head start in poverty-stricken Cambodia.
The Tertiary Education Landscape in Cambodia
An estimated 500,000 high school students graduate in Cambodia each year. However, the tertiary gross enrollment ratio (enrollment of tertiary students of all ages expressed as a percentage of the tertiary school-age population) for Cambodia in 2004 is 3%. The corresponding ratios for USA and Singapore are 82% and 34% respectively.
H.E. Chhay Than, Minister of Planning said in an address to the Focusing on Poverty Impact of Education Reform roundtable in 2001:
“The representation of the poor in tertiary education is zero while the richest 20 per cent of the population accounts for 57 per cent of tertiary education. This means that public expenditure on upper secondary and tertiary education will benefit better off families in Cambodia, while spending in primary education will relatively benefit the poor. In other words, poverty correlates strongly with less education opportunity.”
Not for Want of Education Opportunities
A recent survey of tertiary educational institutions in Phnom Penh reveals that there are numerous private universities that offer a broad range of training, in addition to the established public university, Royal University of Phnom Penh. Many of these private universities are accredited by the Accreditation Committee of Cambodia. The typical tuition fee amounts to USD400 per year.
Making a Difference
How then, can young Cambodians break the poverty cycle when tertiary education opportunities are severely limited?
How can you make a significant difference in the lives of these youths?
We believe that we can make a difference, one life at a time. The funds we raise will be channeled to COSI graduates, through MMS, for tertiary education and vocational training.
JOIN US today. run4COSI
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