Snuol Rural Education Project (P70002)

This past year was a milestone in the Snuol education project. We want to empower kids who have the least access to resources in Cambodia's rebuilding educational system. In the past, this has primarily been through providing teachers in remote villages. This year we are branching out to meet additional needs. One is our first effort to address the high drop out rates in the countryside. Snuol district has a population of over 90,000 people, there are about 16,000 students in grades 1-6. However, less than 100 of these students will actually graduate from high school in the entire district. There are many reasons for the high drop out rate. Cambodia's education system is progressing, but they are building up from the ashes, from a system burned to the ground during the Pol Pot regime from 1975-78. Teachers, anyone who was educated, even people with glasses, were all targeted by the Khmer Rouge as potentially dangerous. Entering the 90s Cambodia had a missing generation of teachers and a dearth of facilities. The problem of access to education lingers today. There is no busing system and thousands of villages remain a 15 mile or more bicycle journey on dirt roads from the nearest middle school. This journey is a lot to ask of a 12-year girl who wants to study past 6th grade. And if no one is studying past elementary school in her village, who will be the one to help fill the teacher shortage for her kids?   

This year, in cooperation with the government, we began a drop out program for students in the remote elementary school of Bat-howy. The region is home to 5 villages, about 5,000 people, who have a 15-20 mile journey to the nearest middle school. I sat in a meeting with concerned parents as we were working on the details of the program, they said their kids want to study, but the middle school is just too far.  Students over 14 years of age who have dropped out of school in the past are able to join a two-year condensed course that will give them a middle school diploma upon graduation and allow them to continue to high school. The journey to the Snuol high school is just as far as the nearest middle school, but much easier if you are one step closer to seeing the shore on the other side and a few years older to attempt the journey. There are 20 students currently enrolled in this year's program and through your generosity, we are providing the three teachers and the books to make this possible. Thank You!