The Livelihood Enhancement and Association of the Poor (LEAP) Project is a government initiative funded by the World Bank to help poor and vulnerable people in Siem Reap and Phnom Penh.
Since the project kickoff in 2017, nearly 800 people have received vocational training, according to LEAP project meeting held in Siem Reap on March 13.
Siem Reap provincial governor Tea Seiha met with 105 people from the LEAP project to show their commitment and provide recommendations.
Seiha commended the project implementation working group and target town-district administration for their support to the poor families in their locality. He also congratulated the participants for getting more skills to serve society and support their own families.
“The LEAP project is a project of the Royal Government of Cambodia under a loan from the World Bank with coordination from the Ministry of Interior. The project is implemented by the Siem Reap Provincial Administration. This project is to strengthen potential in increasing wages and access to employment opportunities for poor and vulnerable families in the community through vocational training and better job opportunities,” he said.
Sok Thol, deputy governor of the Siem Reap and LEAP provincial project manager, said that so far the project has trained 784 trainees (394 women) in various professional skills.
“I would recommend to all participants to apply the knowledge gained from the school for earning money to support the family and teaching the next generation in the community as well,” he said.
According to the report on the activities and outcomes of the project in six years of implementation from June 2017 to November 30 of this year, the project’s budget is $22.17 million. $20.17 million is financed by the World Bank for and $2 million by the Cambodian government.
The LEAP project is coordinated by the Ministry of Interior and it is designed to select 47 communes out of nine target towns and districts to support poor families.
So far, the project has sent capital for investment twice to 975 self-help groups, provided skills training to 784 trainees on garment work, coffee making, small scale car and motorcycle maintenance, repairing air conditioners, hairdressing, electrical work and cashiering.
The trainees who benefited from the project also thanked the project leaders at the national and provincial levels for providing them with skills and knowledge to earn a better living.
