Success Stories: One more little girl goes to school
With the The Hearts Company we used our first opportunity in Cambodia to provide over 250 children with the right supplies they needed to excel academically. We knew this was only a short term fix for the poor education system in this area, however, we were able to see something that had not been there before we arrived.
That is seeing hope and chance for new opportunities in the eyes of these children. The teachers expressed to us that for once these kids felt like they had what they needed to get them to the next level.
The small village we visited only had a couple of teachers who dedicated their lives to the education of these children. It was a small school area with 4 classrooms, planks of wood hammered into benches and desks as well as whiteboards and fans - that we were able to provide for them.
However, they did not have the resources needed such as school supplies for the children or enough teaching supplies. In such a poverty-stricken community where teachers only getting paid $5.00 a day made it difficult for teachers to afford these supplies. This left kids coming to class with scratch pieces of paper, the small amount of schools supplies they had in a plastic bag, and most came empty-handed each day.
“According to Child’s Fund International Approximately 31 percent of Cambodia’s population of 14.3 million people live below the poverty line.”
The Hearts Company believes that education is not a privilege it is a right. Supplies are the fundamental resources a child needs to help bring their thoughts and ideas out into reality and to ultimately help develop their skills to assist in the success of their futures. A musician’s love for the piano is nothing more than love without the proper instrument to portray this out into reality. A child's mind is filled with so many ideas and being able to have the proper utilities to learn is life-changing for these kids’ future.
UNICEF Data shows, many Cambodian children take 10 years or more to complete primary school due to being held back consistently. Overall, more than half of Cambodian school children do not complete primary school at all.
During our trip, we set up a day to visit the local village school where we individually handed out the supplies to each child. However, we couldn't help but notice this girl that hid quietly behind the building. One of our co-founders went over and set a backpack filled with supplies right next to her, since she wouldn't take it from her hands. The teacher, Chhaiky Theourm, explained to us that she had been trying to invite her into her class for the longest time and that she would come to the school various times a week and just watch from afar, but never step foot in the classroom.
For the duration of our time at the school, this is where the little girl stood and watched. Watched as the backpacks were given to the children and as the children played with their new soccer balls and toys in the schoolyard.
The little girl’s family was extremely poor and did not encourage their children to attend school, but instead work in their fields. Chhaiky explained that she had visited the girl’s house numerous times to express why education was so important and to convince her parents that education is so crucial for her future. She knew she was interested in learning but may have just been scared. Shortly after our trip was over we received a message on Facebook from Chhaiky filled with pictures of that same little girl attending school that next week, with her new backpack and also sitting front row in the classroom.
Chhaiky expressed how we may have changed her entire future by simply giving her that backpack, and if that’s the only impact we made in that village then that was just enough for us.