COLT: The Cambodian Organization for Learning & Training

Vision

The Cambodian Organization for Learning & Training - COLT - works to improve the lives of Khmer children by providing shelter, education and vocational training.

About COLT

COLT is an orphanage and education centre that was originally set up in 1999 to take care of a few children who were found living in slums near a railroad track in Phnom Penh. Thanks to careful planning, COLT has grown steadily over the years and in January 2006 the orphanage moved to a new location, where they currently look after 26 children. Besides providing safe shelter and three meals a day, education is the top priority for the
board and workers at COLT. Many of the children who have arrived at the orphanage have had little or no education at all, and so the orphanage conducts informal classes in order to prepare the children for re-integration into the state school system. As well as the basic subjects like Khmer literacy, English and maths, they also seek to improve the
children´s confidence and self-esteem through sports and leisure activities.

COLT is a well known and much loved organization amongst the local community, and offers pre-school classes and vocational training to students from outside the orphanage. These classes are invaluable to the older students, who may have missed out on a formal education, and provides them with a means to earn a better income and standard of living.

Colt has a board of five members, a Foundation based in Holland, and is supported by people from abroad, both financially and through volunteering.

You can find out more about the organization at www.colt-cambodia.org