By Vicheka Chourp | Chief Executive
It’s finally 2023, and we’ve happily opened our doors for a new school year.
Our Catch-up Education Programme welcomed 60 new out-of-school children, many of whom had never stepped foot in a classroom before. Our student headcount in our Catch-up Programme, primary, secondary, higher education and employment support, is now of 668, half of them being female.
We are absolutely thrilled to announce that an impressive 96% of our students have passed their exams and moved on to the next grade – well above the national average of 72%. Our efforts paid off with 100% of our grade 12 students successfully completing their secondary education, often being the first graduates in their families. These tremendous achievements further demonstrate the commitment and hard work of our students and staff in keeping the children learning.
Our mission is to give students a pathway to employment and independent living, and we achieved that in a major way. In 2022, 30 students began university, and 25 students found gainful and fulfilling employment, proving that children are breaking the cycle of poverty their families have been trapped in. This is a result we are immensely proud of and that would have seemed unimaginable to children who had resigned themselves to a life of scavenging or working informal jobs.
Lynha, now a 23-year old accountant, was supported by ISF for more than 10 years. She joined ISF’s Catch-up Education Programme in 2010. “Before I joined ISF, my family was living separately, my parents lived in Phnom Penh but my sister and I lived in the provinces with our grandparents.” After moving to the capital city, Lynha and her sister could not go to school. Their parents’ poor health did not allow them to work and both girls had to help support their family financially. After she joined ISF, Lynha could finally access quality education, meals, study materials, healthcare services and tuition fees for extra classes, such as English, IT and sport. After acing the grade 12 exam, she had the chance to practise accounting skills at ISF Finance Office for a six-month internship. Lynha adds “All of ISF’s support system kept me in school until I completed a bachelor degree in accounting.” ISF Employment Support team also helped her find the right workplace and position with counselling and support.
The consistency of support is essential when the mission requires us to educate children from primary school through to university or employment – a ten to fifteen-year journey for a child – and we are forever grateful to all of those who have been part of this journey.
Thank you so much again for everything you have already done to create opportunities and hope for our students and their families. We simply couldn’t do it without you.
Best wishes,
Vicheka Chourp
Chief Executive
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