During the school reopening ceremony officiated by Minister of Environment, H.E. Say Samal, Preah Sihanouk Governor, H.E. Kuoch Chamroeun, and Under Secretary of State for the Migrants, Prince Holding Group ("Prince Group"), one of Cambodia's largest and fastest-growing conglomerates, and Plan International Cambodia ("Plan International"), the WASH intervention programme was officially launched at all levels in Preah Sihanouk province. The event took place at Hun Sen Veal Renh High School in Prey Nob district, Preah Sihanouk province, yesterday."I'd like to express my gratitude to Prince Group and Plan International Cambodia for collaborating on this joint project to support safer school settings in connection with the reopening of the school." In Preah Sihanouk, the programme will install 198 pedal-operated handwashing stations across 99 schools. 990 infrared thermometers were also donated by the Prince Foundation," remarked H.E. Say Samal, Minister of Environment, during his statement at the ceremony. According to H.E. Khun Rachana, the WASH initiative will increase handwashing access for nearly 39,000 students in 72 primary schools, 18 lower secondary schools, and 9 high schools in Preah Sihanouk, Prey Nop, Stung Hav, Kampong Seila, and Kaoh Rung by the end of the project. Meanwhile, Preah Sihanouk Governor H.E. Kuoch Chamroeun gave the Samdech Prime Minister's message, stressing that the MoEYS formally permitted the reopening of schools in September 2021 after observing a positive number of vaccinated children aged 5 and up. "We are glad to state that today marked the beginning of a new chapter for Cambodian students, particularly youngsters who had just enrolled in school to begin their education journey under the 'New Normal in Education Sector,' thanks to successful measures." Prince Group has been active in empowering young Cambodians to set them up for a bright future, most notably through the Chen Zhi Scholarship, which will provide full university scholarships, stipends, and internships for 400 Cambodian students, among other initiatives, since the start of the year with its 'Back to School' campaign. “We believe our initiative to ensure safer school reopening is a timely and valuable contribution. It has been a great pleasure to work with and learn from Plan International, which has been supporting child development in Cambodia for the past 20 years,” stated Cliff Koh, Secretary-General of Prince Group Cambodia. “We are also honoured to be invited by the organiser alongside H.E. Say Samal and H.E. Kuoch Chamroeun to jointly introduce the WASH programme with Plan International through our philanthropic arm, Prince Foundation.” Read more here Plan International Cambodia's Acting Country Director, Yi Kimthan, said the organisation would engage with key MoEYS agencies to ensure that two people each school – the school director and a teacher – learn how to install, operate, and maintain the handwashing stations. “The project aims to ensure that 90% of the school children will have increased awareness of good hygiene behaviours as COVID-19 prevention measures,” he added.
