School Supplies for Rural Cambodian Students

In August 2016, my family visited Cambodia, my mother’s homeland.  Cambodia is a beautiful country, with lush, green rice fields and palm trees lining the horizon.  Besides the beauty, what made the strongest impression on me were the small children dressed in little more than rags selling little trinkets on the street for 5 to 15 cents apiece.  I asked one little girl why she was selling these bracelets and keychains.

“I need to earn 10 dollars a month to pay for my school uniform and books.” eight-year-old Kamsut, who looked more like a five-year-old, told me.  Kamsut was one of around 25 children selling trinkets on the beach to tourists who were eating dinner at restaurants along the sand. When we finally left the beach around 11:00 PM, she was still hard at work - trying to earn just a small fraction of what we had spent on our meal. I could see how easily children like Kamsut could slip into lives of exploitation in Cambodia, which has one of the highest levels of human trafficking in the world.

There were so many other children just like her; going to school by day and forced to work by night to pay for their education. Her sister who is 11 years old is no longer going to school because she has to help her mom earn money.  Kamsut was determined to finish elementary school to better her life and help her family.

I realized how lucky I am.  I have never been hungry, my parents have never asked me to work so that I can go to school have school supplies and my concern is what college I will go to. Finishing elementary school and high school was never a question.  My brother and I, touched by these kids in Cambodia decided that we want to help them.


Photo of Khmer/Cambodian children burning wood to make charcoal for money


Information on the Event/Fundraiser

This summer my family is traveling to Cambodia.  My brother, Satya and I would like to donate school supplies to the poorest students in a remote village in Kampong Cham province.  Our gift to each student would include a backpack, pencils, paper, and a few books. The supplies will be purchased in bulk in Cambodia in order to provide for as many students as possible. All this would cost about fifteen US dollars each. Our goal is to help at least 200 students, which would cost about $3,000. We are also going to provide a meal for every person that attends, students and elders alike which would cost another $1000.

One hundred percent of the donations will go directly to the school supplies and ingredients for the meal.  We will video the event so that you (our generous donors) can see the children’s faces light up with hope for the future.  We are happy to present and speak about our experience to any organization that donates more than $300.

 

A Little History on Cambodia and my Family

Caught between Thailand and Vietnam, Cambodia was devastated by the Khmer Rouge from 1975 to 1979.   Over eighteen percent of Cambodia’s population is below the international poverty line (less than $1.25 a day) and 36.1% of children are involved in child labor.  Because the government doesn’t provide support, most parents don’t have the money for school lunches, buy backpacks, books, or pencils. As a result, only 27.7% of children are enrolled in high school. Most children drop out of school once they reach sixth grade to help their parents farm in subsistence agriculture.  By donating to this cause, children in the countryside of Cambodia will have the supplies and the inspiration to continue to pursue their education. My mother’s story shows how education can change a person’s life.

My mother lived through the Khmer Rouge and fled as a refugee to Thailand, then Indonesia, and finally made it to the United States at seven years old.  She and her family barely knew any English and the only possessions they had were the clothes on their backs.

My grandparents worked as house cleaners and to make ends meet, my Grandpa took a second job as a dishwasher for a Chinese restaurant. My mother never had money to buy new clothes, shoes, or books. Yet my mother got help from her teachers who provided her with basic school supplies, gave her second-hand clothes from their daughters and her coach paid for her fencing gear.  Because of their charitable donations and guidance, my mother became an adroit fencer and a diligent student, eventually earning her a full scholarship to a four-year university.

Donating these supplies could have as profound an impact on Cambodian children as it did on my mother.  Many of the impoverished children are coming from orphanages with little funding, with little hope in the future and feel as though nobody truly cares about them.  But with your help, they will be assured that there are people out there who want to help them.

 

All contributions are welcomed and will impact the lives of those who need the money most.  The fifteen dollars that might go towards a couple of Starbucks drinks could pay for school supplies for a child who really needs it and could change their life.  It can fire the drive for the education of the young students by giving them the knowledge that people care about them. It is essential to the future of Cambodia to have educated leaders - and maybe one of these children - might become future leaders advocating for democracy and education.

 

https://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/cambodia_statistics.html#0