In Kep, the Kinal Foundation and SIPAR join forces to promote equal opportunities in education

On 17 January 2026, Chakriyavong High School in Kep inaugurated a new library with a careers and guidance space, symbolizing an exemplary partnership between the Kinal Foundation, chaired by Dr Hay Ly Eang, and the NGO SIPAR. Beyond the building itself, the event embodied a strong commitment to equal opportunities for young people in the provinces, in the presence of Nguon Chansocheata, head of the Kep Department of Education and Sports, teachers and around 300 students.

“As president of the Kinal Foundation, it is a profound honor to be here today to inaugurate this library at Chakriyavong High School, whose construction we have financed through SIPAR,” Dr Hay said at the opening ceremony, recalling that his foundation has set itself a “simple yet demanding” mission: “to help build a young generation that is healthy, well-educated and united, capable of fully taking its place in Cambodia’s future.” For him, this new facility is “not just a building with bookshelves,” but “a space for work, research and guidance, where high school students can come to seek knowledge, but also role models, references and the confidence they need to find their own path.”

Building on the media library and guidance center created in 2022 at Chi Hè High School with SIPAR’s technical support, the Kinal Foundation is thus deepening its grassroots presence in the provinces. In Kep, the library directly links, in Dr Hay’s words, “the classroom to the world of work and research,” thanks to resources in science, health, agriculture and innovation that foster skills development and critical thinking among young Cambodians.

For SIPAR, the opening also responds to a glaring lack of information in rural areas about study options and careers. Its director, Hok Sothik, notes that many rural youths are only aware of a handful of traditional career paths, even though “this is now the digital era” and a wide range of vocational training opportunities exist without necessarily studying all the way to a master’s degree. The library and guidance space, designed in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Sports, aims to help students choose a clear path and “work to earn their living by themselves.”

According to Nguon Chansocheata, the presence of such an infrastructure inside Chakriyavong High School provides “a key resource for students, the community and society.” By offering books, digital tools, and direct access to research via tablets, the library “develops the mind and reflection,” allows for deeper analysis “of causes and reasons” and “offers an equal opportunity to all students, without discrimination between rich and poor.” In Kep, this new place of knowledge is already positioning itself as a lasting reference point for the province’s youth.