Khaem Leakhena, is 15 year-old schoolgirl at Trorpaing Thmor primary school, who dropped out from the school because of poverty matter. She, now, is living with her old unhealthy mother, brother, sister in-law and little niece at Trorpaing Thmor village, Savy commune, Sameakki Meanchey district, Kampong Chhnang province under a miserable condition of the poverty. Her mother, Ms. Heng Sokhmean, is 58 year-old; she has stroke disease. Her health is getting down from day to day. She could only speak with weak voice and everything is served by her children even moving. Moreover, she need taking care every minute. She could not stay or lay still for long time; her children help her to move back and forth  for every  10 or 20 minutes.

During the interview, Leakhena told that “After my father death, my mother worked so hard for many years to make money to support family.

Actually, she had problem with back and joint for long time ago; and she cured it with medicine that she bought from private clinic at the market. She started to get stroke disease for around this last 3 years. It was happened when she carried water back to home and fell down. First, she got only min-stroke—we try to cure her with tradition way and science medicine. Because of lacking money to see doctor, she got serious from day to day. Doctor now said that she is in the serious condition. Everything is over.”

With the next questions of her study and family condition, she said that “ Presently, my family is facing difficulties in living. We do not have rice field for cultivation like other families. My brother is working as brick layer and he could make money around 6,000 Riel (USD 1.46) a day in average. My sister in-law can earn only 15,000 Riel (USD 3.65) for every 10 days by helping neighbor to do cultivation. With those little amount of money, we need to spend for rice and meal, medicine for my mother and other necessary things. We need to expand for 6,000 Riel (USD 1.46) a week  for buying medicine. My sister in-law and I always take shift to take care my mother.

About my study, my mother always encourage to study since she was normal until got stroke disease. I love to study. My mother and I have the same dream. She want me and I also  wish myself to be a nurse or a doctor in the future. I wish to cure my family and people in my village. Local health center is a bit far from our village; and there are not enough medicine to  cure the villagers. Actually, It is just about the dream only.  During my study at primary school, I have not enough time to study like other friends in class. Sometime,  I need back home first in the middle of the class time or did not go to school for few days because of my mother disease condition. I intent todrop schooling since last two years, but I tried to survive my study; unfortunately, I still decided to drop out from school at after finishing the 6th grade because of our poverty. I have to go out to find the job because, I need money to pay for our daily food and my mother medicine; particularly, I also need it to repay the debt that we borrowed from CEDAC. We get loan from CEDAC for 600,000 Riel with 3% interest. We have to pay it back for 51500 Riel (USD 12.56) per month”.

After the school life, Leakhena has started her young life with full-time job at shoe factory as labor since July 03, 2011. Everyday, she need to work for eight and a half hour by starting from 6:30AM – 12:00PM and 1:00PM – 3:00PM a day; Everyday, she has to get up at every 5:30AM to prepare herself, cook rice and pack with her to the factory with her neighbor friends who are at the same age like her; She added that she normally pay 500 Riel (USD 0.12) a day to pay for food near by the factory to have with her rice during the lunch time. And She also told that by the year of 2010, she and other around 6 schoolgirls and schoolboys dropped out from school—some of them got work with her at the factory, some went with their parents to find jobs at the Khmer-Thai border and some help families works. The situation  was caused from lacking off resources to support children to continue to study at Lower Secondary school which is located around 6 – 7 kilometer or more than that from home. The poverty and security matter are the main concerned of children education at rural areas. Leakhena, by working as laborer at factory, could get salary for USD 61 per month. With this money, she has afforded to spend on her monthly transportation for USD 6.00, daily food, medicine for mother, debt and other necessary things for using at home.

After going through her family difficulties, she also said that “I want to go back to the school to continue my study. I felt not happy when I get on the mini truck with other laborer to factory in the morning to work; while I saw the kids, who have the same age as me, are riding their bicycles to the school at Phsar Tralach Lower Secondary school. I have no choice; I have to go to work for making money to support my family.”

With the tear from the eyes and weak voice, Ms. Sokhmean said that “I felt so frustrated that I could not support my little daughter to go to school for higher grade. she like and pay attention with her study. I have no choice and could not do anything right now. I just only stay still on the bed, therefore she decided to drop schooling with age of 15. She is too young to work at out side as old person”

With the question of “how you think about your study?” Leakhena said that “If I have chance, I will back to school after working for one year or two years. I want to be a nurse. Anyways, I am note sure for this, because the school is located a bit far from home and my family does not have enough resource to support my study as well. Security is also the matter. Even though I still want to study higher, because I think that if I go to work as laborer with higher education [by graduating from high school], I will get pay for salary more that now. It is about USD 100 – 150 per month.”

Relating to Leakhena case, Mr. Ouch Hou, Principal of Trorpaing Thmor primary school, said that “Regarding to labor law, Leakhena actually could not work as laborer at the factory for full-time, because she is only 15 years old. It is illegitimacy. The age of 18 is the right age for work. By looking in through her family situation and the factory does not accept the men for work, the local authority and representative from factory made discussion and negotiation on her case and finally to make some administrative documents which could enable her to work in the factory as adult people. I also understood about this thing. There is no right or wrong. It is about the poverty. It is about the real situation of her family”

Nhes Ron's Siblings (Ron, Little boy, on the right hand)

Nhes Ron, called Ron, a 9-year-old little boy of the three boy siblings, is living under a miserable economic condition line with his siblings, a 14-year-old girl-cousin, orphan, and
unhealthy mother, who could not do anything beside lay still on the mat, at Peareang village, Tuek Phos district, Kampong Chhnang province. His big brother is 14 years old and the second one is 12. And his father passed away since he was a baby.

Ron's Family (with unhealthy mother)

Without any support from the old people, the four children are struggling to survive their lives and diseased-mother by own little hands by do cultivation at rice field located far from the house and other possible ways that they can do in their age for many years ago. In rainy season, his brothers and cousin are only the persons who have to plow the field, seek and harvest the rice. Beside cultivation, his second brother normally goes to find shell, fish, or bird for meal and sale; additionally, Ron and big brother always go outside at nighttime from 7:00pm – 9:00pm with small light and some stuff to find frog, bull frog or fish at creeks or stream at the rice field and near the house for the next day meal to sell at market. 1,500 riel of money (USD 0.375/day) in average is what they could earn in a day from the sale of their fish, bird, crab or shell. With this amount, his big brother will keep and use it to pay for necessary stuff in house and study, he is only the person who manages and controls everything and takes after all people in family and his cousin is the only girl that do house-keeping instead of his mother.

Ron Family's House

Even they have faced many problems in their daily lives; they still connect themselves with the school. Ron nowadays is studying at 4th grade at Mittapheap primary school, located nearby his house; and his big brother and cousin are studying at 6th grade and the second brother is also at 5th grade at the same school.

Ron also told us that: “My mother told us that she has nothing to share as property; especially, she currently could not anything to support family because of her health; so, all children have to try all the best to live in the good way; and do not forget the study, because it is only way to make them to get the better life in the future”. Moreover he also added that: “Even we have to study together as my mother word, but we could not go to school regularly; because at least of one of us need to be at home to take care of my mother and cook the rice; but I want to study; I want to be a teacher at school in my village. When I have job, I could make money to support my family and take my mother to be cured at hospital”.

Ron’s big brother also said that: “Recently, my family has got difficulties more and more. Bird or finish that we found from the stream is for our meal only. I could not take it to sell at market. I have not gone to market since the early year, 2010. And I am now studying at 6th grade, I want to study more and higher and have a good job too, but I do not what and how to do get that; because the nearest lower secondary school is located around 7 – 8 kilometers from my house. If I go to study there next year, I will take longtime to walk to the school. And if I do so, I will have not enough time to find something for meal for my family. Even though I think that if I could not do it, I will let my brothers to do it instead of me”.

The word of principal of Mittapheap primary school: “I found that this young family gets many problems in living. The father died of disease since they were so young. Ron never sees his father face in real, because during that time, he was just a baby. I am also poor. I do have little help for this family, because I have own family waiting for my support as well. I used to call for help from authorities to cure his mother, but the come only one time. I do not know what kind of disease of his mother. She can have meal as normal when her son feed her. But she could not move her body, she just stay on mat”.

Three boy-siblings and orphan-female cousin, Nhes Ron (the little boy, third one from the left)

Through this story, it may make you feel sympathy, but only sympathy is not enough. It would be difference if you could pass your helping-hand to lift this young family by giving them a chance to gain ultimate development road through accessing to education to get a better lives.

Chun Sophal is a schoolgirl at Chres Primary school.  She is 13 years; nowadays, she is living with her unhealthy mother and another 2 siblings in a miserable cottage at Chromos Chrouk village, Chres commune, Kampong Tralach District, Kampong Chhnang province—and another oldest sister is separately living with her own family under the poverty line as well.

By facing the difficulties in living, all her family members have to find job or thing that they can do to make money and food for daily living. Sophal always help her mother to sell lotus flower with her unhealthy mother at the market when she get free from her study. And her older brother, who stop to study at 4th grade,  routinely  get out of the home in the morning with his slingshot and fish basket trap for shooting the bird, pigeon…and catching the fish at the free pound  in the village.

Even though she is living in the distress situation, Sopal never forget about her study and her mother as well also normally encourage to go to school.  Moreover during the study at 4th grade at primary school, she applied for EDF Scholarship and got study support from EDF-Cambodia for 3 full years since 2007 with the main support of  Mr. Fujimoto Haruhiko.

With her study situation, she does not get any issue in study the lesson, because she is a good at study student in the class and often get some small gift from school like a book, pencil, or ruler…but she get problem with traveling to the school. Everyday, she has to take around 30 minutes to walk on her both feet for 3 kilometers to get her primary school. Furthermore, by the next new study academic year, 2010-2011, her older brother will back for school again to study at 4th grade and she is going to continue her study at lower secondary level at Chum Teav Sokh Junior High School, which is located around 7 kilometers in distance from her house. Therefore, she has to walk back and forth for 14 kilometers with hours time when the class start.

Regarding to this matter, Sophal used to ask to her teacher whether there is any organization give donation to poor student with bike-cycle for traveling to the school or not. Additionally, she also used to suggest to EDF-Cambodia’s staff, for bike-cycle support. She intent to continue to study to higher grade and become a teacher at the Chres primary school in her future life.

Cambodian government considered the development of human resources as first priority for national development, but the development of human resources could not be achieved because of poverty.

Cambodia, in 2009, faced with high dropout rate of students, 8.8 at primary level, 21.8 at lower secondary level and 14.4 at upper secondary level. The dropout rate, at present, is higher than 2009. Thus Cambodia can not reach the EFA in 2015.

The people of Japan, to contribute to the national development, poverty reduction as well as peace building for Cambodia, have provided noble donation “Scholarship” to poor rural Cambodian children via EDF-Japan known as Minsai Center. Education can change the destiny of poor rural children and is the key function for national development. The great outcomes from noble donation of the people of Japan in the first three years shown the table.

Through the scholarship donation, there are many children came back for their schools and passed the grade year-by-year and survive until the last grade of primary education . Moreover, the number of dropped-out and class repetition rates remarkably decreased at the end of academic year.

Kampong Chhnang Education Situation

Regarding to the study result of Cambodian children at Kampong Chhnang province, more than 10,000 students got class repetition and dropped out the school every year (KPEO, 2009). Within the academic year 2009, 1308 students were supported by EDF-Cambodia to carry on their education.

By comparing these above views, there are around 85% of poor children at Kampong Chhnang province are waiting for education support in order at the new study academic year, 2009 to continue primary education.

***KPEO : Kampong Chhnang Provincial Education Office

EDF Scholarship Statistic 2007 -2009

Scholars Study Situation Statistic, 2007-2009