Malaysian media acclaims SOLS 24/7 success in Cambodia.
April 4th 2006 - 17 Magazine, The Star News and NSTP praises SOLS 24/7, a youth run life skills training institution founded by 3 Malaysians, Mr M. Singh and his two sons, Dhinu Dhanveer Singh and Raj Ridvan Singh.
Instead of choosing the easier option of working in Malaysia, they chose to give meaning to the lives of underprivileged youths in Cambodia. Cambodia was one of the least developed countries in South East Asia where many youths could not afford education. The institute was set up with the purpose to give holistic education so that youths can get out of the vicious cycle of poverty and not fall prey to the different social problems in Cambodia. Furthermore, the institute would like to train youths who will effect long-term positive changes to their society and country.
Even though they had to face many challenges, the rewards were tremendous. Work was tough in the beginning. Classes started in the morning, lunch was a simple affair of rice and water green (kangkong) and worked continued till late at night. There was no official funding initially and there were times when they had to sell their television, cars and motorcycles to support the running of the school. However, they were determined and committed to develop the lives of as many Cambodian youths as possible.
The taste of passion is indeed sweet as their hard work paid off. Many of their students were able to attain employment that paid much more than the average wage of a Cambodian worker. In addition, they were able to develop themselves to become more confident and positive. Some have even improved and developed themselves to become leaders and managers of the school. The greatest happiness is when the students say,
“Teacher, I just want to be like you.”
SOLS 24/7 is expanding its training institution to East Timor and Laos. They have recently received a USD$ 15,000 funding from Youth Social Enterprise Initiative (YSEI) and more recognition in the international development work scene.
As for future goals, SOLS 24/7 envisions a Social Empire of not only social services but businesses as well. The dream is big but with the right attitude, definitely achievable.
To read the articles written, you can visit http://www.sols247.org/cms/media/representations/