Smart and Sipar partner to develop reading habits in Cambodia through Mobile Libraries
Sipar and Smart today announced a partnership to promote education through reading activities in the communities. The telecom leader will support the operation of 2 mobile libraries which will penetrate areas surrounding Phnom Penh and nearby provinces.
Mr. Hok Sothik, Director of Sipar said: “Reading is a key factor for education and human development. The partnership with Smart allows Sipar to extend the reach of our activities and to fight illiteracy in new communities as well as promoting volunteerism among young Cambodians.”
Through this initially 1 year partnership, the 2 mobile libraries supported by Smart will circulate around 18 target sites every day, offering local communities the access to more than 3,000 different books and educational games. Asides from reading and education related activities, children and villagers will be able to experience a perfect combination of advanced tablets and high speed Internet offered by Smart. Leading by example, Smart’s team will play a role as volunteers assisting the mobile library sessions and contribute their skills to the community development from time to time. Moreover, thanks to Smart, the most active engaged communities will also receive 100 books each to sustain children’s reading motivation when the mobile library is not around.
The minivans will be run by a well-trained mobile librarian and an assistant to organize reading-related activities such as: story-telling, free reading, educational games, puppet sequences as well as will offer book lending service to participants and their families. Every week, the mobile library will undertake activities in 9 target communities (visiting 2 sites per day) and each site will be visited once a week to develop real reading habits. The project has the ambition to reach an average of nearly 1,000 people in 18 sites per day.
Mr. Thomas Hundt, CEO of Smart Axiata said: “Our partnership with Sipar to deploy these 2 mobile libraries is a seamless continuation of Smart’s activities to fight illiteracy and to elevate education in Cambodia. Smart’s success in the market is based on the talented people working for Smart. Their talent is a result of education combined with passion and drive for our overarching aim of connecting people. Unfortunately many Cambodians do not have the means for high qualitative education yet, many have no access to libraries even. With our partnership announced today we will enable thousands of people, children, teenagers as well as grownups to read books which in return creates the basis for education and therewith for a better life. ”