The Elizabeth A. Ross Project is dedicated to the memory of Elizabeth A. "Bo" Ross who died of cancer on November 6, 2005. Inspired & motivated by the way Bo lived her life, The Elizabeth A. Ross Project was launched in Spring, 2006, to carry on Bo's good deeds & honor her unrelenting quest to find the most innovative solution to any problem. Bo was a social vigilante.

Bo lamented that while corporations ravage and pollute the
       Bo Ross       Third World, they fail to contribute to the infrastructure by
creating schools, community centers & health clinics in the regions they infiltrate & exploit.  Bo believed the building of caring and beautifully designed projects--primarily schools--could be accomplished with respect to both the environment and to local cultures.  She grieved the spate of uninspired cinder block construction that had begun to dot the world's poorest villages and communities.

The Elizabeth A. Ross Project is dedicated to Bo's thoughtful vision and seeks to fund and construct schools around the world.

Architectural materials and plans will demonstrate an eco-friendly respect for the landscape and to the customs of the communities. Solar panels for schools in remote locations will generate power for computers. One can almost hear Bo say that online access will serve as an invitation to welcome these overlooked & neglected students to join our global village.

Adjacent vegetable gardens, health clinics and community centers will eventually be added to each school project. Wells to provide filtered water will be a staple.

The Elizabeth A. Ross Project believes:

Education = Hope = Dreams = The Power To Change The World

Building Opportunity

The first project undertaken is a school in rural, northeastern Cambodia, Province of Stung Treng, Village of Bat. This is the most northerly town on Cambodia's stretch of the Mekong River.

The Elizabeth A. Ross School opened in October, 2007, with 85 students in a five-room schoolhouse, equipped with five online-accessed computers powered by three solar panels. A backup generator is used during the rainy season.

 The Elizabeth A. Ross School in
 Stung Treng Province, Cambodia

A vegetable garden serves the entire community and is tended by students and villagers. A well was dug to provide water and a filtration system was installed. A nurse journeys to the school once a month to check-in on students.

For more information and photos on The Elizabeth A. Ross School, click here

Cambodia

The need for schools in Cambodia is urgent and pressing.

The country was devastated during the cruel Khmer Rouge reign (1975-1979) when millions were slaughtered.  Teachers--and anyone who wore eyeglasses--were considered an intellectual threat and were savagely killed to prevent learning and idea sharing.

The entire population was displaced to the rural areas and all were put into forced labor, deployed in the fields. 

The harsh regime left hundreds of thousands of Cambodians to die from inadequate nutrition, simple illnesses and mass starvation.

The country's civil war from 1970 to 1975 and the Cambodia-Vietnam War from 1978 to 1979 virtually destroyed Cambodia's economy. The average Cambodian worker lives far below our poverty level earning $310 a year.

The Cambodian people deserve help to rebuild their nation ravaged by war. Computer-equipped schools with Internet access will welcome children of Cambodia to connect with the world. They will bring with them the noteworthy tradition of their country's Golden Age that includes the building of the remarkable temples at Angkor Wat.

                  Sunrise At Angkor Wat

For information on how you can help, click here.