Cambodia is rebuilding its educational system from the ground up after years of upheaval. To aid in this effort, Room to Read Cambodia has led in the field of literacy and girls’ education and works as one of the national government’s primary partners improving Cambodia’s quality of education.
Room to Read is committed to helping the country rebuild its educational system from the ground up. We operate in government schools within Banteay Meanchey, Kampong Cham, Kampong Thom, Prey Veng, Tbong Khmum and Siem Reap. Cambodia’s young readers lack affordable Khmer-language books. With that in mind, we have prioritized publishing local language children’s books since the early days of our operations in Cambodia. Our Literacy Program also establishes school libraries, constructs or renovates school rooms, and trains teachers on a phonics-based approach to literacy instruction. Another large part of our collaboration with Cambodia’s Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport includes influencing and drafting literacy textbooks, library standards and reading activity guidelines for all primary school children across Cambodia.
We have also had great success with our Girls’ Education Program in Cambodia, which has received international attention. In March of 2015, the First Lady of the United States and the First Lady of Cambodia visited one of our Girls’ Education Program sites in Siem Reap where they met with 10 of our program participants. These students shared their stories of overcoming obstacles to stay in school, and discussed how they have benefited from community-led programs, including our Girls’ Education Program.