Literacy Lost and Found
Chrauk Tiek Village, Cambodia.
The students lined up to form a corridor to the library and started clapping, while the village dignitaries and I made our way down the path to the red ribbon. Each one of us cut a little, first me, then Sovann, then the village chief, then the commune chief, our honored guest Sam Sundoeun, and finally the school director. With an uproar cheer, the Peter Pisey Library was officially opened and the students pile in to see the new books.
One of our economic development goals for the future is for the school to generate enough income to pay 
for the librarian, but for now we pay her $45 per month to take care of the books and school supplies and to attend to the weekly library hour for each class. We need a monthly sponsor for the librarian if anyone would like to contribute click here.
The upgraded and expanded Smart Choice Fuel production facility is complete, providing a more efficient processing center and shelter for drying and storing the briquettes. After the library opening, I met with the briquette production team. All but one of the 19 workers are women and girls, some are widows, some are orphans, all are desperate for the job. I asked who could read and two raised their hands. More than half had not finished primary school but there was still a chance for three girls, age 15, who had recently stopped their studies in 5th grade. I offered each of them a scholarship. I asked them to choose school or work, the money would be the same. Only one chose school, Socheata, age 15, 5th grade. I asked the school director’s wife to make her a uniform and then turned to the others and gave them a second chance. A young girl in the red shirt sitting in the back row looked like she was going to cry. Then I learned her story.
Her father is dead and her mother is mentally ill, leaving her, the oldest daughter, responsible for three younger siblings. Her salary of $33 per month is their only income. She is really 13, having lied about her age to get the job, and she only completed 2nd grade. I put my hand on her shoulder and told her again, I will pay her the same to go to school. She chose work. She does not want to sit in the 2nd grade at age 13.
Rattana chimed in, telling the girls that she used to scavenge the dumpsite and she did not start to study until she was 13. An NGO gave her the opportunity to go to school and she studied very hard, sometimes skipping the school grades. Now she is the English teacher, she can have a good job and a good future. She offered to help them, but her plea fell on deaf ears.
If we can find a sponsor for an adult literacy class we could make adult literacy an integral part of any economic development project at the school, perhaps half-day work and half-day literacy. This is where the poverty cycle begins, girls and women lost to illiteracy. Any income opportunity at the school attracts this most vulnerable population, so this is where the cycle of poverty must end, with both income generation and education of girls and women. Please help us help them. To contribute click here.
The only thing the girls really cared about was having a party. They begged me to rent the karaoke machine so they could dance. I was happy to oblige, except unfortunately, an extension cord from the neighbors generator could not be found. I promised them on my next visit, we would have a dance party.
After the meeting, a shy boy in an orange shirt was waiting quietly behind me. His name is Nuon Sokan, he is 13-years-old and in the 8th grade, the son of Nou Nuon my old friend the commune chief. Sokan wants to be a doctor. I discussed with him a scholarship that would require a commitment from him to work in this village for at least 5 years. He comes from a Souy family, their ancestors have been here forever. He says he will be happy to return here. He has one more year of secondary school to complete, and then our scholarship will help him to go high school in Phnom Penh and then on to University for medical studies. The goal seems a long way off, but I am certain that the investment will yield long-term results. The only way to build a medical system in the countryside will be to educate the people who live there.
In the next post, The Teacher Meeting, and the establishment of a strict, community enforced, teacher attendance policy.
