Meet Ponheary – 2016 Education Honoree
Meet Ponheary – 2016 World of Children Education Honoree. Ponheary grew up in a family that emphasized the importance of education. When the Khmer Rouge took power in Cambodia they abolished education and killed many of the intellectuals and educators in Cambodia, including Ponheary’s father and thirteen of her family members. In the aftermath of the regime, Ponheary and her surviving family members worked hard to rebuild their lives. With only a 7th grade education, Ponheary became a teacher. It is during her teaching years that she began supporting students and extra programs at the schools where she worked.
Ponheary eventually formalized her support for children’s education through the Ponheary Ly Foundation, which is dedicated to holistically providing for children’s education and continuing to help the country rebuild and move past the long shadow still cast by the Khmer Rouge. She plans to use World of Children funding to provide access to primary school to thousands of children who live in remote Cambodian villages where there is no government support for education.
Help fund Ponheary’s efforts by donating to her Crowdrise campaign by the end of the day on October 21, 2016 and we’ll DOUBLE MATCH your donation!