ACTIVITY REPORT 2023-202 AND DEVELOPMENTS FIRST HALF OF 2025

Our association has existed on paper and legally since early 2023. But in real, it has been active since 2015. It was in 2015 that Mr. Jo (a Belgian living in Brussels) met a young American woman who had permanently settled in Kep, Cambodia. She had been helping a few disadvantaged children in the region since 2013, to the best of her abilities.

The aid provided aimed to get children into school, often removing them from work, as it’s not uncommon for children as young as 10 to be put to work on construction sites.

At the time, this person taught them English. The idea was to give these children an opening to the world and facilitate their future job searches. The region is very touristy, and she already knew these children would be working, at the latest, by the time they turned 16. As the tourism industry is significant, English is an asset.

However, the aid often extended to clothing, healthcare, transportation, and in the most severe cases, food. Very quickly, the following observation became a leitmotif:

When a family earns 30 USD/month, they don’t eat their fill every day, and sometimes, not at all!

But in 2020, Mr. Jo died of Covid in Belgium. Cambodia closed its borders to foreigners. At the end of 2022, his widow went to Cambodia with friends and decided to take over her late husband’s mission and help what had become a school: Sala Monkey Primary School. In March 2023, this school was on the verge of bankruptcy.

This is how KKEP-ON-LEARNING (K.O.L.) was born. Mr. Jo’s activities would be resumed as a European association based in Brussels. The association was created by 7 fully volunteer members, two of whom are statutorily responsible for daily management. An eighth member of Cambodian nationality and residing in Phnom Penh will join the team during 2024. The nationality of the members allows KKEP ON LEARNING to be present in Belgium, France, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Italy, and Cambodia.

ACHIEVEMENTS IN 2023, 2024 & THE FIRST HALF OF 2025

The objectives of KKEP-ON-LEARNING are to help the most disadvantaged children in the province of Kep, Cambodia, with their learning. This aid comes in the form of various actions over the years:

1. K.O.L. helps SALA MONKEY school cover its operating expenses

The school was funded throughout 2015 and the first quarter of 2024. During this period, the school took care of 80 Khmer students from the rural Kep region.

The school operated in parallel with the Cambodian public education system, which is considered “free.”

In the mornings, and for children who needed it, Sala Monkey provided transport to the Kep public school. For this, the school had a Tuk-Tuk, the only mode of transport that withstands the harshness of the dirt tracks. At noon, the children were picked up, and all gathered at Sala Monkey’s premises where a team of three teachers taught English and computer skills. The English lessons covered numerous subjects aimed at improving the children’s knowledge, as well as basic ways to preserve their health, eat well, and build self-confidence. Self-confidence can be “taught” through role-playing, dancing, sports, etc.

Some students had fewer financial resources than others. This is where we intervened via direct sponsorship. Some needed the traditional and obligatory uniform to access public school. Others needed books and school supplies, clothing (like shoes, for example). In the most serious cases, some students needed medical care or even food.

In KKEP-ON-LEARNING’s expenditure structure throughout 2023 and the first quarter of 2024, a very significant portion of our resources was used to pay the three teachers, as well as the Tuk-Tuk driver who, when not driving, worked as a “handyman” in the buildings.

Throughout this 15-month period, another part of our resources covered operating expenses (electricity, repairs, food, etc.).

In early 2024, Sala Monkey informed us that it had found a new major sponsor with a different philanthropic policy. Individual sponsorships were abruptly abandoned, ipso facto penalizing the poorest children while leaving European sponsors in incomprehension. Therefore, from the beginning of the second quarter of 2024, KKEP-ON-LEARNING chose to refocus on its primary activities.

2. K.O.L. helps children in great difficulty through an association based in KEP called KEP CHILDREN

This association, originally created by a French woman and her Cambodian husband, started in the 1980s. At that time, there was much talk about Kep and its slums. People particularly talked about the “children of the dumps.” It was at this time and in these neighborhoods, among the most disadvantaged in the world, that KEP CHILDREN began its activities.

During our last visit there in early 2024, we could see firsthand that many children needed food and support more than ever.

Our association took charge of the most difficult cases identified by Kep Children and its social worker. KKEP-ON-LEARNING focused from April 2024 on:

  • financing the salaries of two new KEPCHILDREN animators at a rate of US$365 per month;
  • contributing to the financing of the canteen project at a rate of US$320 per month to     

guarantee all children of the association two meals per week (Monday and Friday);

  • contributing to the financing of additional courses provided to children within the public school at a rate of US$115 per month.

Our association committed to such aid for a period of 9 months between April 2024 and February 2025. We would have liked to perpetuate our monthly support, but the state of our finances decided otherwise.

We thus observed the harsh reality of things. When an association does not have the accreditation to allow donors to deduct donations from their income, fundraising is arduous, and preference is given to associations that do.

3. K.O.L. has rethought its individual sponsorship actions pending better fortune

From the first quarter of 2025, sponsorship, also called “godparenting,” was relaunched. It appeals to the generosity of “generally Western” families who agree to support, up to €20/month for a minimum period of 12 months, a child generally under 12 years old.

This money is then granted directly to the child without passing through the parents, in the form of direct payment of fees in case of care, the granting of meal tickets at public school, or the purchase of clothes/uniforms/shoes/books/bicycles, or even private lessons paid directly to teachers. This ensures that the funds truly benefit the children in need.

We also reimburse medical expenses covered for sponsored children. Surprisingly, regarding medical matters, no case had to be opened in 2024, whereas three cases had been handled in 2023. It must be said that in 2023, there had been catastrophic rains and floods in the region. This might explain it. As of December 31, 2024, we therefore had a fund of €650 which was carried over to 2025.

As achievements from the first quarter of 2025, and thanks to the help provided by our new Cambodian volunteer member, we have been able to establish direct contact with some aid recipients. Until then, we had a communication problem. No one in the team spoke Khmer. Thus, for part of 2024 and 2025, we granted sponsorship to two children and organized remedial English classes for them. This sponsorship and these classes are still active as of this writing.

4. K.O.L. was recognized as a public utility association in June 2025.

At the beginning of June 2025, as our association was preparing new actions, we received the agreement from the Belgian tax authorities to grant us the status of a public utility association. Thanks to this recognition, and for the years 2025 and 2026, we are therefore authorized to issue tax certificates allowing any donor to deduct their donations from their income within legal limits. We will get back to you shortly with our new projects.

Once again, we sincerely thank all our donors, from Europe to Asia, who support us unfailingly. Please believe that without this help, our association would not exist.

5. 2023 and 2024 RESULTS