Cambodian youth at a local NGO now have access to a broader range of educational tools thanks to a free internet donation by Ezecom, one of Cambodia’s leading communications companies.

Students at Mith Samlanh, which means “Friends” in English, can now use the internet to further their education and computer skills, an asset the school could previously not afford.

Ezecom CEO Paul Blanche-Horgan said the company made the donation because they admire the NGO’s contribution to Cambodian society.

“A big part of what Mith Samlanh does is educating and training marginalised children and young people in order to give them better opportunities in life,” the CEO said.

Mith Samlanh international communications coordinator James Sutherland said before the donation, the children had no access to the internet.

“We had very limited access, only for essential administrative purposes but not for our students’ educational use,” Sutherland said, adding that the web skills would help students after graduating.

“They are better prepared for the modern world.”

Blanche-Horgan said it had not yet been decided how long Ezecom would provide the free service for.

Mith Samlanh director Map Somaya said, “We are extremely grateful for this donation ... [The internet] is becoming an integral part of our educational program.”

Mith Samlanh is not the first to receive free internet services from Ezecom, which assists 16 universities across the country and is considering connections to 50 high schools.

“As a socially responsible company that is constantly contributing to the development of Cambodia we are always interested to hear about worthwhile projects that we can become involved with,” Blanche-Horgan said.