Help 1,853 Preschool Children in Rural Cambodia Start School Ready
In rural Cambodia, a child’s future in school often begins in a small community preschool classroom.
Right now, 61 teachers are caring for 1,853 young children in Kampong Laeng District. With a short training on child development and learning assessment, these teachers can give children the strong start they need to succeed in school and beyond.
Your support can help ensure that each of these children has a teacher equipped to recognize their needs and help them thrive. Our goal is to raise $2,440 to train every preschool teacher in the district.
In a small flood-prone village in Kampong Laeng District, preschool teacher Sokha begins her day with a classroom full of energetic 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds. For many of these children, this small community preschool is their first and only opportunity to learn before entering primary school. Like many teachers in rural Cambodia, Sokha is deeply committed to her students. She wants every child to be ready to succeed when they enter Grade 1. But she and many other preschool teachers have not yet received training on a new child development assessment system introduced by Cambodia’s Ministry of Education — a tool designed to help teachers understand how young children are developing and how best to support them.
Without this training:
• Children’s developmental progress may not be accurately recorded
• Early learning delays may go unnoticed • Teachers may struggle to adapt lessons to individual learning needs. As a result, some children may begin primary school without the strong foundation they need to succeed.
My name is Jocelyn Pittel, and I am an international project developer who has been working in Cambodia since 2017. Through my work with the Cambodian Children’s Advocacy Foundation Organization (CCAFO), I have seen firsthand how dedicated community teachers are — and how much impact even a small investment in training can make.
Across Kampong Laeng District, 61 community preschool teachers support 1,853 children between the ages of 3 and 5. With the right training, these teachers can help ensure children develop the language, social, and early learning skills they need before entering primary school.
Our Goal
We are raising $2,440 to organize a two-day professional training workshop for all 61 community preschool teachers in the district. During this training, teachers will learn how to: • Use the revised child development assessment forms correctly
• Recognize developmental milestones for children ages 3–5
• Identify early learning challenges • Improve classroom planning based on children’s developmental needs
• Communicate children’s progress effectively with parents.
By strengthening the skills of these teachers, 1,853 preschool children will benefit directly.
A Small Investment, A Big Impact
The total cost of this training is $2,440. That means just $1.32 helps support one child’s early learning journey.
Your support will help cover:
• Training materials
• Travel support for teachers from rural villages
• Meals during the training
• Basic workshop logistics
About CCAFO
This initiative is led by the Cambodian Children’s Advocacy Foundation Organization (CCAFO), which has spent 19 years improving education opportunities for vulnerable children and families in Cambodia. Their programs focus on strengthening community schools and helping children build a strong educational foundation.
How Your Donation Helps
$10 — Supports early learning for 7 children $25 — Helps provide training materials for teachers
$50 — Supports one teacher’s participation in the training
$100 — Helps support early education for 75 children
$250 — Helps cover training costs for teachers serving multiple villages.
Every donation, large or small, helps teachers give children a stronger start in life.
Together, we can help ensure that children in rural Cambodia enter school confident, prepared, and ready to learn.
Thank you for helping make this possible. — Jocelyn Pittel