Room to Read - Cambodia

Introduction
When the Khmer Rouge seized power in 1975, the rebels immediately abolished currency and
private property and sent Cambodian city-dwellers into the countryside to work in the fields. Under
the leader Pol Pot, the regime attempted to violently restructure the country as an agrarian,
communal society. During his three year, eight month, and twenty day reign, out of a population of
thirteen million, over 1.7 million Cambodians died of torture, execution, disease, exhaustion, and
starvation. The Khmer Rouge eliminated most of the educated and business class as enemies of
the state, and by doing so, destroyed the economy. No intervention was made to stop the effects
of the genocidal "killing fields" until Vietnam invaded Cambodia in 1978, ending the Khmer Rouge's
rule. In 1991, the United Nations sent 26,000 peacekeepers, police and civilians to construct a
temporary government and organize elections. After the elections, the Khmer Rouge resumed
efforts to regain control. During the years from 1978-1989, over 200,000 Cambodian refugees fled
their country. Many died in the process. After years of warfare and strife, Cambodians are still at
work clearing thousands of land mines, creating commerce, and reviving their culture. 1999 was
the first full year of peace in 30 years. Unfortunately, the effects of the Khmer Rouge continue
today.
The current situation in Cambodia, while vastly better than the previous decades, still requires
outside help for improvement. Although the constitutional monarchy is making progress, 80% of
Cambodians remain subsistence farmers or work for low wages in food processing and forestry. (1)
In rural areas, most have no potable water, phones, electricity, or permanent jobs, and many have
little food. There are only six national highways in Cambodia, and rural roads are often impassable
even on foot. Today, Cambodia continues to be financially and morally challenged by widespread
corruption, the presence of one of Asia's highest HIV infection rates, and the support of thousands
of victims of land mine injuries.

Educational Challenges
In just three years, the Khmer Rouge killed nearly all educated
Cambodians. By 1978, there were no teachers, writers or
scientists in the country. A whole generation of literate role
models was eliminated. In its Millennium Development Goals,
two of the Cambodian government's top major goals are to
achieve universal primary education and to promote gender
equality and empowerment of women.
According to the United Nations Development Program, 80% of
Cambodians attend primary school; however, only 19% continue on to secondary. One of the
obstructions to educational development is the extent of child labor. The vast majority of child
workers in Asia work on family-owned farms in the rural areas, although child labor can be found in
many other sectors of the economy as well. Indeed, children in Cambodia, as well as other parts of
Asia, can be found in virtually every type of occupation - begging, scavenging for recyclables,
baggage-carrying (porters), rickshaw driving, garment manufacture, carpet weaving, mining,
commercial sex, fishing, brick-making, and construction work. (2)
Between the ages of ten and thirteen, 10% of Cambodian children are engaged in primary levels of
labor. Between the ages of fourteen and seventeen, the rate climbs to 42%. (3) Half of all young
girls and one third of boys work; as a result, for every three boys attending secondary school, only
one girl attends. Some reasons for this discrepancy are that families consider a boy's education to
be more economically rewarding, that over-educating a girl can be a handicap to marriage
prospects, and that the likelihood of a girl's abduction while commuting to secondary school is
great. Only 5.4% of Cambodian villages have a lower secondary school. Only 2% have an upper
secondary. (2) Students who want to attend secondary school
must walk miles to reach the nearest school.

Room to Read's Role

In 2002, Room to Read Cambodia was founded to address many
of these educational needs and to help empower the wonderful
people of Cambodia to rebuild their country. The staff there
speaks the language, knows the customs and laws, and

understands the issues surrounding the implementation of our various programs. They work
diligently in partnership with the local communities to implement our programs so that Cambodian
children have increased access to education.
One of the great educational needs was for affordable Khmer and Khmer/ English language books
that would meet the demand of young readers and improve the reading culture. The Cambodian
team organized a Book Development and Coordination Committee comprised of members of the
Khmer Writer's Association and local NGOs. Together, we have published 69 new titles and
distributed hundreds of thousands of copies to Room to Read's network of libraries and to other
national schools as well.

Programs & Results

Our Cambodia team has chosen to focus on all of our core programs, except for the School Room
Program. They have identified library construction, Khmer language children's books, and girls'
scholarships as three of the most important improvements we can make to the educational system
and have thus chosen to focus much of their work there. The following table highlights our
Cambodia team's success to date:
Program
Libraries Established
New Local Language Titles
Schools Constructed
Girls' Education Participants

Total Thru
2010

2011
(Projected)

1,259

128

96

25

1,625

1,862

Room to Read Cambodia - In Detail

Established

December, 2002

Country Director
Number of Employees
(as of 2/3/2011)
Office Location(s)
Regional Presence

Mr. Kall Kann

40

Key Partners

Phnom Penh
Banteay Meanchey, Kep, Kampong Chhnang, Phnom Penh, Pursat, Odor
Meanchey, Preah Vihear, Siemp Reap, Kampong Cham, and Kampong Thom.
Cambokids, Kampuchean Action for Primary Education (KAPE), Khmer Writers
Association, Kruosa Thmey (KT), Maryknoll, Mith Samlanh/Friends, NGO
Education Partnership (NEP), Shanti Volunteer Association (SVA), Soutien
lIniative Prive pour lAide la Reconstruction (SIPAR), Asian Foundation (AF),
Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO), Tiger Foundation, US Peace Corps, Open
Institute (OI), Protect the Earth Protect Yourself (PEPY), the Department of
Primary Education, the Department of Secondary Education, the Department
of Curriculum Development.

(1) Proquest Information and Learning Co.

(2) Human Development Report Statistics - Cambodia (2000)
(3) Asian Development Bank