Address
National Road 6 Tapaul Village
Svay Dangkum Commune,
Krong Siem Reap 17259, Cambodia
Panha Sabay develops and produces educational toys for the children of Cambodia. Often these children go to school for only a few hours per day with basic materials being taught in a fast-paced environment during those first few years of school. Panha Sabay offers students an opportunity to practice their elementary school subjects in a fun and playful manner beyond the classroom. Because the toys are self-correcting, children can work independently, at their own pace, and build confidence in their ability to apply what they’ve learned.
Sustainability is very important to us, therefore whenever possible natural or recycled materials are used to create our toys. Beyond the eco-friendly benefits, using these materials also allows the toys to be affordable, making them available to many more Cambodian families!
My name is Ineke and I have been actively volunteering in a few educational projects around the city of Siem Reap, Cambodia, since 2009. During this time I have learned a bit about the public educational system in this country and saw an unfulfilled need I wanted to meet. Many young students struggle to keep up with learning basic skills such as reading, understanding Khmer (the native language of Cambodia), and math due to the fast-paced environment of the traditional classroom. Sometimes this struggle becomes so great that students make the decision to quit school; a decision that has life-impacting consequences. And so an idea was born!
With self-correcting educational toys we can solve more than one problem.
When I thought about where to begin, I soon thought of setting up a social enterprise. My belief is that setting up an actual business is important for creating the best chance of continuity. The goal of this project will never be big profits; however, it is important that we are able to have the ability to invest in new ideas, materials and methods of manufacturing, as well as pay our employees fairly. But there are more ways to reward the people who contribute, like learning English in exchange for their contributions.