Posted by Natasha Harris, West Coast Senior Director
On December 28th, a small group of Better World Books delegates will be departing these United States to spend two weeks traveling in Southeast Asia, visiting mostly with Room to Read projects in Cambodia (more on this to come, of course). In honor of the upcoming excursion, I thought to share some of the educational challenges currently faced by Cambodia . Read more here:
In the four years that the Khmer Rouge reigned from 1975 to 1979, they killed nearly all educated Cambodians, thus wiping out a whole generation of literate role models. Today, roughly 80% of Cambodian citizens are subsistence farmers or work in very low-wage jobs such as food processing and forestry. Child labor is prevalent at very high rates, in fact, 42% of children aged 14-17 work in order to help sustain their families. Half of all young girls work, and one third of boys work; the ratio of boys to girls attending secondary school is 3:1.
According to the United Nations Development Program, 80% of Cambodians attend primary school; however, only 19% continue on to secondary. Only 5.4% of Cambodian villages have a lower secondary school, and only 2% have an upper secondary. Students who want to attend secondary school must often walk miles to reach the nearest school.
Through 2006, Room to read has established 807 libraries and 45 computer labs in Cambodia. It has also published 45 local language titles and put 656 deserving young girls on scholarship. Room to Read currently has 19 full-time staff members in Cambodia alone. These staff are local – they speak Khmer, understand the customs and laws, and are best suited to help implement Room to Read programs so that Cambodian children can benefit through increased educational opportunities. Our delegation is looking forward with great enthusiasm to meeting the Room to Read staff and students that benefit from Room to Read programs – check back in a couple of weeks to learn more about our on-the-ground experience!
Above: Cambodian Room to Read staff
