History of Global Student Outreach
Global Student Outreach was founded October 5, 2009, formed under the simple principle of people helping people, and was initially a grass roots organization formed in Battambang, Cambodia.
Only a few short weeks after forming the organization we received our first volunteers, and in December 2009 we began working on projects in and around Battambang, Cambodia with fifteen volunteers. The funding received from the volunteer fees alone able to help Global Student Outreach register as a legal Non Government Organization or NGO in the Kingdom Of Cambodia.
In March 2010 Global Student Outreach was incorporated in California as a not-for-profit organization and immediately applied for tax-exempt status. On October 18, 2010 Global Student Outreach received its determination letter from the Internal Revenue Service. For convenience Global Student Outreach now does a majority of business out of Portland, Oregon where Board Members can attend meetings in person with members living abroad participating over the Internet.
At present Global Student Outreach is engaged in providing educational materials and support to families and children in Cambodia. All donations and participant fees are used to provide several hundred children per year assistance. To date we have provided over seventy families with donations of clothing and food. We are also currently in the process of donating one hundred bicycles to elementary school children in our program area. In our first year as a non-profit we were able to provide approximately seven hundred and twenty children with backpacks and school supplies in Battambang province.
We look forward to expanding our service area in 2012, as we will be partnering with additional local elementary schools in Battambang to provide English language lessons, school supplies, assistance with maintenance and repairs of school property and enroll those in need in sponsorship programs to provide donations of food.
Self Funded Initiatives
Global Student Outreach was founded on the basis of making big changes in the lives of the children we work with, we knew that to do this we needed to do something equally as large when working to fund our own projects and programs. In late 2011 with the support of volunteers and donors from around the world we were able to procure heavy equipment which will be meaningfully employed raising money to support our work.
Most local organizations have opened cafes, and gift shops throughout Battambang in an effort to raise support for their projects. We felt that we needed to do something different and set the bar a bit higher while still large enough to ensure we could see our projects through. GSO currently owns its own excavator, tractor and dump trucks which are employed throughout the country building roads, canals and plantations.
Any and all profits received from the equipment we manage is used to directly fund the work in the communities that we serve, providing school supplies, food and clothing to over 78 families in the Battambang area with much more planned as we work to identify and support those in need.
Supplementary School
A Supplementary School will provide four additional hours of school per day, including classes in English, Khmer, History, and Health. The school will be open to students in the village at no charge.
Meals provided in a school setting decrease malnutrition and improve grades, concentration and attendance. The school will serve as a feeding center through provision of school meals. Meals will be cooked on site.
Parental attitudes towards education and involvement in their children's school have been shown to be important determinants affecting the likelihood of rural Cambodian children staying in school (Keng, International Education Journal, 2004). The Supplementary School will host regular family gatherings. Adult education classes will also be offered including improved farming techniques, English and Khmer literacy. Small incentives or meals may be provided for attendance.
