Background/ERCO Profile
Education Rural Community Organization (ERCO) is a non-profit, non-religious NGO active in a remote rural community near Kampot in southeastern Cambodia, a coastal area lacking in education and health care for children. ERCO is an NGO working at the local and regional level promoting welfare and sustainable development through education at the grassroots level.
Cambodia is one of the poorest countries in Southeast Asia. The area around Kampot was the last stronghold of the Khmer Rouge, which destroyed the country in the 1970s. Pockets of Khmer Rouge fighters continued their attacks in this area until 1997, long after they had been eliminated from other regions of Cambodia. Consequently, this region of Cambodia was a conflict zone for decades and has not had as long to recover as other parts of the country have.
The primary focus of the Education for Rural Community Development Organization (ERCO) is education. At its inception in 2015, this involved teaching English language skills to schoolchildren in the local community. This was soon followed by instruction in computing. These are the activities that are most evident. However, as its name states, ERCO’s purpose is to aid the development of local communities through education. This education has progressively expanded beyond the classroom to the wider community. ERCO actively seeks and initiates projects which benefit the local community in a variety of ways. These projects are spearheaded by their Executive Director, in consultation with the community. The Executive Director has wide-ranging experience in local, regional and national NGOs. These projects all involve educating stakeholders within the community; imparting skills and knowledge which can be used to sustain and grow the endeavours on which the projects are based.
In the past, ERCO has received support from various local and international organizations such as Co-operation Committee for Cambodia (CCC), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), NGO Education Partnership (NEP), Friends for Cambodia, Australia for Cambodia and a number of private donors.
Tax Registration Certificate
