CCT’S EDUCATION APPEAL

BUY A TEE TO LET YOUTH BLOOM

THE UPSIDE  is proud to continue its longtime support of CCT by releasing a limited-edition T-shirt in partnership with acclaimed artist Craig Waddell. All proceeds from the sale of this limited-edition T-shirt will be donated directly to CCT’s Education Appeal.

The knock-on effects of the COVID-19 pandemic has deprived thousands of Cambodian children of their education. An extended period of school closures due to 14 months of lockdown has exacerbated education inequality by widening the digital divide. Students who can’t afford home internet, personal computers or smartphones are left unable to participate in remote learning. This predicament poses a serious risk to the future of these children, many of whom may never resume their schooling or ‘catch up’ academically with their peers, once lockdowns are finally lifted. THE UPSIDE’s longtime charity partner CCT, founded by our dear friend Tara Winkler  is a Battambang based organisation that works to protect children and empower families by providing essential services like education, healthcare, social work, housing and family finance. In response to what is essentially a human rights crisis, CCT has launched an Education Appeal to specifically address the problem by personally delivering paper-based learning materials and, where possible, online materials to hundreds of children at home and providing them with tutoring. They have also been facilitating small outdoor meetings of 8 – 10 students so they can study with their peers in their own village and coaching families in financial literacy so children do not have to drop out of school and start working to support their family.

For the students who do have online access, CCT has been training public school teachers to deliver online learning using Facebook Messenger, Telegram and Zoom. And crucially, CCT has ensured year 12 students have access to computers so they can complete their final exams online. CCT have identified 140 children in Battambang who desperately need financial support to resume their education. With basic education critical to the long-term safety and self-sufficiency of young Cambodians, CCT urgently needs to raise a total of $35,000 to ensure that no child gets left behind.

As a brand founded on the pursuit of a full and meaningful life, THE UPSIDE believes deeply in the power and beauty of education.  A love of learning, an openness to ideas and the capacity to problem solve is what made it possible for founder Jodhi Meares to translate her idea into reality. Access to education inspires confidence, security, self-sufficiency and joy, and it is every child’s birthright. It is from a place of compassion that we seek to use creativity and collaboration to resolve this crisis affecting young Cambodians. Because before they can dream a brighter future, these children first need the tools to build it.

Fine artist Craig Waddell’s celebrated work is sensual and tactile, a vibrant approach to colour and layering that celebrates the beauty of the imperfect. Born in Sydney in 1973 Waddell honed his talents locally and abroad, graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Art from the National Art School in 1999 and a Masters of Fine Art (Printmaking) at the Chiang Mai University, Thailand in 2004. Waddell’s work would see him bring his complex beauty to the world , completing residences in Paris, Thailand and Vietnam. Waddell’s sublime aesthetic has been much acclaimed over the years, winning countless awards such as the Mosman Art Prize (2010), the Moya Dyring (2008), the 2007 Marten Bequest Travelling Art Scholarship (2007), the Tattersall’s Art Prize for landscape. He has also been a finalist in the Sulman Prize (2010), Dobell Drawing Prize (2007), the Archibald Prize (2006) and trh Wynne Prize (2005). A recurring theme in Waddell’s work is that of change and rebirth. It is this mix of realism and renewal that very much aligns with the CCT mission of reshaping the future for thousands of Cambodian children and their families. Buy a T-shirt today and let youth bloom tomorrow.