"Back to School" for Children in Cambodia!

Yes, it's true.

We are incredibly grateful to have you as a donor and champion of this cause- making sure that each child has the opportunity to grow up with more opportunities available to them than they would ever have imagined. 

Srey, pictured above, is one such example. She began studying at PIO when she was 10 years old--in Grade 1. How old were you in Grade 1? Many students at PIO are not able to start at their grade level and must work dilligently to get ahead. Then, she stopped in Grade 6 because of her parents quarreling about her attending school instead of working, discouraging her from wanting to study. However, Srey was able to return to PIO to gain new skills in their beauty salon vocational training program and completed her course in 2009. She worked for one year at a salon in Phnom Penh where she received a decent salary, was able to save some money, and then opened her very own business in her village. While most workers were earning $3 per day in Cambodia, she was making $15 on average and at least $50 per day during wedding season, a significant difference compared to others thanks to PIO and donors just like you.

"Without the skills that I gained at PIO, I wouldn't have been able to support myself and my family, or even own my house. PIO taught me primary education and life skills. I use the skills that I learned from PIO daily." 

PIO is reaching its goals of having low absenteeism rates (less than 10%), monthly pass rates above 80%, and high retention rates from year to year as well as a waiting list to enroll. 

Additionally, over the last 3 years, the number of students supported by PIO has increased; English examination pass rates have increased; and 100% of Grade 6 students have passed their high school entrance exams.

Thank you for being part of this change. We hope that we can count on you to continue helping students like Srey to believe, to achieve, and to change their world.

Let's make today count for children around the world!

Share the love and spread some holiday cheer by giving a gift or sharing this story with others.

Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours!

Good morning!

How are you today? We recently heard from a volunteer who spent 15 weeks at PIO and she mentioned that "No matter how hard life can be in Cambodia, everyone is always friendly, always smiling." We hope this brings a smile to you as well because we are grateful for your support. Without you, this project surely would not be possible- the support PIO receives removes the financial barriers that face poor families sending their children to school and for this project that means that you are helping students in Kindergarten to Grade 6 to go to school every single day!

What’s been going on at PIO?

• From the first to second quarters of the year, the students have been working hard. They improved their English Class pass rates from 69% to 73%! We are so proud of them!
• The Social Worker has made 88 visits to students’ homes to check in on those who have been absent due to illness, work, or family situations, and encourages them to go back to school.
• The Doctor has provided 3,144 treatments this year! The highest number of cases were due to the common cold or headaches.

Have you met Lita?

Lita and 5 of her siblings have been studying at PIO since 2005. Before that, she and her siblings had never been to school before. Her family was extremely poor and worked together as garbage pickers every day to earn money for rent and food. One day she and hers sister were invited to study at PIO school. On their first day of school they were so nervous and happy that they were moved to tears! Now Lita is studying in Grade 5. She enjoys studying English very much. In the future, she wants to be a Teacher. Lita and her siblings are really happy with their lives at PIO and she couldn’t say thanks enough to PIO for giving her a new life, a nice place to live, and providing good food to eat.

What does the future hold in store for students like Lita?

Like Lita, Saran was born into a very poor family. Fortunately, she was able to attend PIO School at no cost from Grade 1 to Grade 6. However, she was not able to continue into grade seven because her family requested her to stop because of their financial situation. She was employed and worked with her older sister at a manufacturing factory starting at the age of 13 years old. Saran knew she couldn’t be a factory worker all her life. It was a difficult and unfulfilling working environment and she had always dreamt of becoming a journalist or a teacher. With good references from PIO School, Saran was hired at ABC Cambodia Radio in Phnom Penh and later offered a job as a journalist at Reaksmey Bopea. After writing countless articles about disasters and the economic problems in Cambodia, Saran realized journalism was not everything she wanted or imagined. She contacted PIO once again and was formally trained as a primary education teacher for Kindergarten.        

“Becoming a teacher at PIO was really a dream come true. I really could sympathize with the pupils in the school because they’re from families like mine. I can share my love, but the most important thing I am able to share is the skills I learned and my experiences. I want the children to have hope for a brighter future like me. I am very proud to work at PIO.”

Saran is a positive role model and a successful student from PIO’s education system. In the evening after teaching, she continues studying English part-time.

What do others have to say?

Just recently, Hien went to Phnom Penh, with the purpose of finding a job or a volunteer position in a non-profit setting to help the community as much as she could and to understand more about life there. She started teaching English to Grade 3B and Mathematics to Kindergarten girls and boys.

“Teaching English to young students was so much fun, but also quite challenging. One of the greatest lessons I’ve learned after 15 weeks of volunteer work at PIO is to always be patient and smile a lot. No matter how hard life can be in Cambodia, everyone is always friendly, always smiling.

My hopes and dreams for the young students at PIO are that they will continue to receive the great care and support from PIO and that they will grow up to have good careers and lives for themselves and their family members. I hope more people like us will be interested in finding ways to alleviate poverty and improve the living conditions of people in third world countries because it’s very sad to see many young children, who supposedly are the future of this planet Earth, have to live in poverty with much fewer resources and opportunities than their wealthier counterparts.”

Thank you, thank you, thank you! Without you, Lita would not be going to school right now and Saran would not have been able to become a Teacher. We hope you will continue supporting PIO students on their journey and believing that their dreams can come true!