A mobile tailoring school was opened in Cambodia 2002. This program moves to a different rural area once the demand for training decreases. The school has moved 8 times since it was established.

Location

The tailoring programs in Cambodia operate as mobile operations. Simply Help Inc. Cambodia meets with former students, the village chief, and the district chief to determine how many students would benefit from certain vocational classes and where the schools should be located.

Project Statistics

The following figures are an example of typical statistics and are taken from current projects:

Number of students per class:
40

Number of Classes Offered
2 classes per day, 6 days per week

Program Duration
6 months

Cost Of Tution
FREE

Number Of Graduates from All Tailoring Programs to Date
1686

This Project in Action

Short Term Results
Focus: Tailoring Program, Picharoth Village
In 2010, SimplyHelp began teaching sewing classes in Picharoth, Cambodia, and within a few months 80 students completed training and have opened at least ten small businesses. With little more than a sewing machine and some fabric, these vocational classes have helped Cambodians in need earn a stable and sustainable income.

Long Term Impact
In villages where SimplyHelp schools have been located, many tailoring shops have been established by the school’s graduates. This gives locals a chance to earn a steady, reliable income through tailoring, rather than having to rely on the more physically intensive and unpredictable trades of rice farming or cow herding.

The tailoring shops have existed for several years and continue to be run by proud shop owners and loyal apprentices.

The tailoring school economy in the rural areas has been very active:

• The Cambodian government, in cooperation with a Japanese NGO, offers 3-month training courses. Students pay to attend these classes.

• In contrast, Simply Help Cambodia offers 6month training courses for free.

• Our graduate tailors take on apprentices. An apprentice is willing to pay $150 to our tailors because they offer superior training that the government tailoring schools cannot match. In exchange for the $150, apprentices can stay with a tailor until they have learned and mastered everything the tailor has to offer.

Social Impact

According to Vuthi Seng, Executive Director of Simply Help Inc. Cambodia,  the social status of women increases once they graduate from one of SimplyHelp’s tailoring schools. This is because newly-married women earning an income have a more equal relationship with their husbands, and have resources to support their families.

Economic Impact

All students at the Simply Help Tailoring School come from farming and cow herding backgrounds with an average income of $1 to $2 perday.

Graduates that start their own small tailoring businesses may earn an average income of $3 to $7 per day.

Tailors may use this extra income to improve the structure of their homes, receive better health care, send a son or daughter to university schooling, and/or improve their own businesses.

2012-08-17 Update Information
Due to the insufficient fund for this project on 2012, we feel very sorry and have to put this process on hold. All the remaining fund will be moved to support computer class in Cambodia.