Edward Suttleworth joined Purposely Podcast to share his founder story
With his wife Kate, Ed founded SeeBeyondBorders in 2009. He is committed to providing Cambodian children with access to quality education
SeeBeyondBorders’ mission is to help children in Cambodia get to school while improving the teaching and learning that happens there.
They were reacting to the atrocities in Cambodia where 90% of teachers were murdered or killed during the Khmer Rouge regime. Their vision is for children in Cambodia to have choices for their future because of a better education and they achieve this by motivating a support base to contribute time, skills and financial resources to initiatives run in collaboration with local communities and with other sponsors. They invite people to see the situation for themselves, participate directly in our programs, and determine how they can continue supporting the people they have visited. Their programs are informed by Millennium Development Goal No 2 and the Royal Cambodian Government's 'Child Friendly Schools' initiative, focusing on accessibility and quality of education. 'Accessibility' considers family needs and school infrastructure, while 'Quality' relates to the continuing professional development of teachers - teacher training and teaching resources.
Ed talks about those first few weeks in Cambodia and what was supposed to only be a holiday...
'So we were supposed to have two weeks standard holiday... off we went to Cambodia (2002). And so you know the last Australians to be killed in the Khmer Rouge period was relatively recently i.e. 1998. That was actually when Pol Pot died. So, you know, country really hadn't opened up to tourism in a really big way. But of course a massive difference between 2002 and today, of course.'
www.seebeyondborders.org