Dear supporters and followers,
I never imagined to be in the midst of a global pandemic during my lifetime. It is as if we have been thrown into an horror movie activating our survival instincts. Everyone in the world is being impacted in some way or another. With global movement severely restricted, and literally no visitors to Cambodia, we have had to close our student circus shows as well as the shows at our sister social enterprise, Phare, The Cambodian Circus. It is also something we must do to play our part in curtailing the spread of the virus. But is has come at a huge cost as we lose 90% or over $600,000 of our self-financed income, which covers 60% of our annual operating budget.
We are now facing an unprecedented situation, pushing us to consider the most challenging financial scenario that will impact our beneficiaries, our school, our staff, and our activities, possibly until mid-next year. Most of all, our concern goes to the over 1000 students and their families who come from vulnerable communities and count on us on a daily basis for support.
The capacity to deal with this unprecedented challenge depends on environmental, social, economic and personal factors. We are emotionally and physically resilient with a very supportive and understanding team who continue to work for our beneficiaries with drastically lower salaries. But we can’t survive this for long without your financial support. Help us to support the most vulnerable and continue transforming lives through the arts.
Please, donate on https://phareps.org/donate/
To help the Brightness of the Arts keep on shining in Cambodia, we are counting on everyone’s solidarity, and believe that Phare will come out stronger from these uncertain and difficult times.
Wishing you and your family and loved ones stay healthy and safe.
With much gratitude, on behalf of the Phare family,
Osman Khawaja
Executive Director,
Phare Ponleu Selpak
Concerned about how COVID-19 is affecting Phare’s social support work? Your contribution makes a concrete difference in the lives of Cambodian children and their families.
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