TosFUND

OIC launches local crowdfunding campaign

April 10, 2016OIC Cambodia, an organisation aiming to provide speeccambodih therapy to over 600,000 Cambodians in need of disability services, has launched a campaign on newly-created crowdfunding site TosFUND hoping to raise enough money to train 180 teachers in Battambang, Pursat, Prey Veng, Kandal, Siem Reap and Phnom Penh provinces.The organisation has pegged its monetary goal at $5,000 dollars, which will help them team up with existing NGOs and government partners to educate teachers on how to create more inclusive classrooms where students suffering from speech disabilities will be able to not only contribute to classes but thrive within them.The training is designed to help teachers “identify and support” children with communication disabilities so that they are able to attend school and interact with their fellow classmates. Many children with communication disabilities are forced out of schools, either because teachers are unable to give them the time they need or because parents are unsure of how the children will fit into a school environment.“Our goal is to work with teachers who already have a background in this kind of work, and eventually have this training be included within the larger framework of how classrooms are run,” said Weh Yeoh, managing director of OIC.“Imagine if you are a parent whose child needs speech therapy but you are unable to access any of these services,” he added. “It would be incredibly isolating. This campaign gives parents hopes for their children that they can get them into schools like other children in the country.”First Published in Khmer Times.