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This past month, we lost one of our brightest and most personable young graduates from 2011. Phalla Oudom Teav was tragically killed in a motorcycle accident on a wet highway while traveling home to visit his family. His loss is especially painful to the SSF community—not only are our former staff and volunteers mourning his passing, but Phalla was one of the few SSF students who continued to be sponsored by a donor beyond their time with SSF. Phalla attended a rigorous international school (grades 7 through 12) where he learned to speak fluent English and excelled academically. He then attended Stamford University in Bangkok, where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. He was in the early stages of a promising career with a real estate development firm in Phnom Penh. We are reaching out to Phalla’s family, whose home is near the Spitler School, to provide whatever help we can offer during this difficult time. Visit our website to learn more about Phalla through a touching tribute written by Jim Latt, a long-time volunteer and advisor to our schools.

>> Phalla’s Tribute <<

Thomas Lackner, Senior Vice President, Europe, at Apellis Pharmaceuticals, along with his wife Daniela, have been longtime supporters of the Spitler School Foundation and its computer literacy program. Thomas, along with Petro Dragoumanos, Jeff Russo, and Mike McGrawth at Apellis, recently donated over 85 laptops for our schools’ computer labs. This extremely generous gift came at a critical time, as our computers were well-loved by our students and thus reaching the end of their life. Computer literacy is not part of the required curriculum in Cambodia, so SSF relies solely on our donors to provide this essential skill to our students.

We are fortunate to have generous donors like Thomas, Petro, Jeff, and Mike, who volunteer their time, energy, support, and resources to SSF.

Ongoing expenses for SSF include the monthly salaries for computer teachers at both Spitler School and our middle school. We also provide internet access for both schools. We invite you to join our friends at Apellis Pharmaceuticals and help us continue to make a difference in the lives of hundreds of children.

Prior to Covid, our school year was from early November to late August. After almost three years of Covid disruption, the government has now set the school year to start in early January and run through early November. We will plan graduation ceremonies for early January just prior to the beginning of the 2024 school year. We anticipate approximately 95 students graduating from Spitler and Kurata School this year, which are similar to the last several years. We are expecting the same number of students to graduate from Stephen Mazujian Middle School. Mark your calendars and keep your eyes open for how you can contribute to these exciting times in our students’ lives.

Student graduation certificates ready for distribution