Cambodia & Solidarity : Three Decades of PSE, A Gala Dinner to Fund What Comes Next
NGO Pour un Sourire d'Enfant is holding a Gala Dinner on 22 October at Sofitel Phnom Penh Phokeethra, marking thirty years of education and vocational training programmes in Cambodia.
Thirty years of work
Since it was founded, Pour un Sourire d'Enfant (PSE) has worked with children and young people from disadvantaged backgrounds in Cambodia. Over three decades, the organisation counts 15,000 children and youth who have gone through its programmes; 7,000 are currently enrolled, across education and vocational training.
The programme runs across several stages: kindergartens in some of the country's poorest communities, for 300 young children; schooling for 4,000 students in the public system and 1,000 at PSE's own remedial school; then vocational training across 18 trades, with 1,500 students, 90% of whom find work right after graduating. PSE also runs a nutrition programme — at least one guaranteed meal a day per child, 7,000 meals served daily — alongside social and medical support: 600 students in boarding or foster care, and healthcare that extends to the whole family.
The dinner, on 22 October
The Gala Dinner runs on Thursday 22 October, from 6:30 to 9:30pm, at Sofitel Phnom Penh Phokeethra. The evening includes a welcome cocktail, a seated dinner, testimonials from PSE alumni now working at the hotel, and a lucky draw. A table of ten costs $850, an individual seat $95; guests can also add a donation to their booking, starting at $10.
What a table pays for
PSE offers one way to measure the gesture: a table of ten guests, the organisation says, represents roughly 100 days of vocational training. Beyond the dinner itself, PSE offers companies several ways to stay involved — hosting student interns, taking part in mock interviews at its schools, joining its annual career fair, organising company visits, running workshops or masterclasses on campus, or setting up a fundraising or donation drive.
Two corporate partners
Sofitel Phnom Penh Phokeethra has worked with PSE since 2010, through internships and apprenticeships: 212 PSE students have been hired at the hotel since then, and 40 alumni currently work there. BRED Bank Cambodia has been a partner since 2022, through internships, knowledge-sharing sessions, company visits and in-kind donations; nine PSE alumni are currently employed at the bank.
Booking a table
Reservations can be made by scanning the QR code on PSE's materials or by email, at contact-kh@pse.ngo.
Comments