Construction of the Culture-Cross music building has finished at the Phare school in Cambodia!
Since 2017 Culture-Cross has been supporting the Phare Ponleu Selpak school in Cambodia as they rebuild their music school building, and it has finally finished! The music building now provides the children to have a safe environment to learn and practice both traditional and modern Cambodian music.
About the Phare School
The Phare school is a world-renowned non-profit school in Battambang, Cambodia that works hard to improve the lives of children, young adults, and their families with art schools, educational programs, and social support programs. It was founded during the tumultuous years of the Cambodian Civil war by a French humanitarian worker as a place of refuge, but it has since grown into so much more. Children from the Phare school practice traditional Cambodian arts and go on to make an income in the arts, many by performing throughout Cambodia and the world. This has an immense impact on the children, their families, their communities, and Cambodia. Students from the Phare school have contributed to the advancement of Cambodian culture while providing for their communities.
The Culture-Cross Music Pavilion at Phare
When we visited the Phare school in 2017 we were shown the damaged foundation of the music school building and the work that had to be done to reconstruct it. We started financially supporting Phare in this endeavor, and the construction has finally finished! The painting on the side of the building celebrates great Cambodian musicians as well as Americans musicians that have influenced Cambodia, including Ray Charles who is Georgia, USA, where Culture-Cross is located! The music building recently hosted a celebration of the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the USA and the Kingdom of Cambodia.
Our continuing support of the Phare school
The Covid-19 pandemic has caused immense financial strain on the Phare school. Income from the students performances at tourist destinations in Cambodia supports the school, and tourism became practically non-existent after the global outbreak of Covd-19. Out donations to the Phare school are currently assisting with general operation of the school.
The Culture-Cross mission
Our mission is to make the world a better place by providing for opportunities in under-developed parts of the world. Our support of the Phare school does this by not only providing the children in Cambodia a means to make a living, but also by supporting Cambodian culture which provides opportunity for future Cambodian artists. Culture-Cross also creates opportunities by supporting craftspeople and jewelers around the world. Culture-Cross jewelry represents a diverse collection of jewelry from across South Asia and Southeast Asia, and each of these pieces of jewelry comes from a talented person who is earning a living. So take a look at our collection and learn more about the cultures and communities we support here at Culture-Cross!