History and Foundation
Cambodia was known as the Pearl of South-East-Asia, before a brutal and destructive civil war changed it all. The guerrilla organization known as Khmer Rouge gained power over Cambodia in 1975. Under the command of Pol Pot, Khmer Rouge forced society with brutal violence into agrarian socialism. By January 1979 approximately 1.5 – 2 million people had died. Cambodians lost their level of education and all achievements of the golden age. Poverty, corruption, fraud and exploitation prospered.
Lukas Bernhardt visited Cambodia the first time in 2006. In 2007 he moved to Cambodia, learned the language, and helped out wherever help was needed. In 2008 a Cambodian teenager from the rural area asked him to assist her in finding a secure place to live while going to high school in the city. After finding no place for her, Lukas opened his private house and shared it with four youth in need of a secure living space – Lighthouse Battambang was born.
There are schools in the rural areas however the schools and teachers have a significant lower standard as the schools in town. Therefore, year nine and above students from the rural area try to move to the city in hope of a better future. Currently, the government is doing a lot to improve the school quality in the rural areas, however a lot of time is needed to overcome these differences.
