Following on from the ALMT funding in 2011, this project is providing further funding for Lotus Outreach’s Girls Access to Education (GATE) project in Cambodia. The project supports the education of more than 600 girls in Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, and Banteay Meanchey.

The ALMT is working with Lotus Outreach and the Cambodian Women’s Crisis Centre (CWCC) to provide scholarships to girls who are at-risk or survivors of violence to keep them enrolled in school and advance to further education if possible. These scholarships not only cover the indirect costs of education such as materials, uniforms, and transportation, but also ensure the poorest families have enough rice to eat so the girls will not be taken out of school and put back to work. In addition, some of the girls qualify for residential placement in protective housing. GATE also features a community-based participatory process of building Child Protection Networks. Through engaging community volunteers and building culturally relevant prevention programmes, GATE can further stem the tide of human trafficking, domestic violence and sexual abuse.