Delivering School Supplies

In Cambodia, the new academic year begins on October 1^st, which means some students at Riverkids will be moving up to a new grade and some will be starting state school for the first time. Right now, the Riverkids staff is working hard to make sure that all the kids have notebooks, pens and school uniforms before school begins. These basic items are necessary for any school child, but they are particularly important for students at Riverkids who may feel self-conscious around their peers because they come from poor families or because in the past they have worked rather than going to school. Riverkids wants to ensure that our students attend school with all the supplies they need, so they start the new year feeling confident in themselves.

Yesterday, two social workers, volunteer and marketing coordinator Soklee and I (I’m a volunteer from America, if you were wondering), traveled to one of the islands near Phnom Penh to deliver school supplies to some children that Riverkids supports.

These kids used to live in the slum community Riverkids serves, but then the government forced them off the land where they were squatting and they couldn’t afford to stay in the city. The island where they live now is about a 30 minute ferry ride from central Phnom Penh, so unfortunately it’s no longer possible for them to attend school at Riverkids every day. However, social workers from Riverkids still visit the kids to check on their progress and bring them supplies.

The children and their family live in a very basic house built out on stilts over the river. To get there, we had to wade across a maze of half submerged wooden boards. These families are part of Cambodia’s large Vietnamese minority. Ethnically Vietnamese people who live in Cambodia have very little legal standing, and are usually not able to get the identification papers needed to attend high school or university. Many Vietnamese people work as semi-nomadic fishermen, living full time on boats and traveling up and down Mekong and Tonle Sap rivers throughout the year. Because of their transient lifestyle and extreme poverty, Vietnamese children often do not attend school at all and are at an especially high risk of being trafficked.

The family welcomed us into their home and served us iced coffee. The social workers handed out the notebooks, pens and pencils to the children and told them that if they keep attending school, Riverkids will continue to help them with their studies. The social workers also talked to the parents and reminded them that they need to support their children’s education and encourage them to go to school, even if they’re reluctant. The kids were visibly happy to have their own school supplies and were excitedly testing out their new pens and pencils as we left.

-Jane Boyle