We congratulate the eleven (11) awardees of the Sombath Somphone Memorial Fund that received up to 3,000 USD in funds to support their projects in Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. The competition for funds was high with 61 proposals received from 5 countries in the Mekong Sub-Region, and 82% were submitted by applicants from Myanmar. Proposals were submitted by non-profit organizations, small groups and individuals, which expanded the possibility for more applicants to receive funds.
The awardee’s projects represent unique ways to address community needs which are based on educational approaches. These projects ranged from developing new educational materials for children; offering education opportunities to internally displaced children, orphans, out of school youth, and children in monastic schools; producing media content about land mines; in addition to supporting food security for indigenous people.
The awardee’s projects reflect the objectives of the Sombath Somphone Memorial Fund:
- Education – To provide full or partial scholarships, especially to marginalized children and young people seeking to complete their education.
- Community projects – To provide small grants to active young adults (up to 35 years of age) to initiate start-up work or activities for youth in community education or development.
- To support organizations providing education or humanitarian relief to at risk children and families.
We look forward to learning about the projects outcomes which will be presented at an event in December 2023.
Donations to the Sombath Somphone Memorial Fund for the projects to be awarded in 2024 can be made through INEB’s website and indicate that they are for the Sombath Somphone Memorial Fund at https://inebnetwork.org/donation/
