Lighthouse Club to Expand Impacts

• Proeksa Meas
• 31 December 2015
• Construction Focus
• 1032 Views

Launched in early 2011, the Cambodian chapter of the Lighthouse Club, part of a global network for construction professionals with branches in over 50 countries, is planning bigger contributions to society.

The Cambodia chapter has gathered over 200 local and international building-related professionals with the vision to promote the construction industry, help those in need such as construction workers especially on health and safety, and provide scholarships to poor students to study construction-related majors at local universities.

“Every day there must be somebody injured at a site, and most construction companies don’t have insurance to protect workers, so the poor workers and their families suffer too much,” said Colin Rogers, the chapter Chairman. “These are the people we try to help,” he said, stressing the club’s main vision is to promote workers’ health and safety.

To expand the club’s impact on the community, Rogers revealed that the team will provide 10 scholarships to poor Cambodian students, along with a living allowance, in addition to the current scholarships from 2015 and beyond. “We hope in the next three or four years we will gradually increase the numbers,” he added.

With years of experience living in Cambodia, Rogers reminded the Cambodian middle-class not to forget how poor the Cambodian people are, especially those living in remote provinces that live on an average income of US$25 per month.

The Lighthouse Club is also planning two social projects. The first, with assistance from a company in Hong Kong that can build cheap houses for US$2,000 each, the club aims to help poor Cambodian households to have decent shelters. The second is a program with an NGO to build cheap western-style toilets costing around US$100 each.

After two successful sporting events, the Lighthouse Club is also organizing its 3rd charity golf competition in January 2015 where Health & Safety awards will be presented for both companies and individuals attending the event. “We call it the ’Golden Helmet’ which is very successful in Hong Kong and Malaysia and it will create awareness about health and safety,” explained Rogers.

To raise funds, the club meets monthly and companies sponsor the events with all entrance fees being used for the club’s charity programs.