Free education for 300 children in rural Cambodia

If you give a man a fish…” begins that somewhat overused saying. Yes, it is a bit of a cliché but the only reason this saying has been quoted so much is because it is so true.

Helping Hands’ commitment to improving the lives of our community reflects this saying in many ways. We don’t believe in giving people a handout – a fleeting gift that will last a moment, quickly leaving the recipient needing and expecting another handout. On the contrary, we believe in giving people a hand up, which is to say helping people to find their own sustainable solutions to the challenges that life throws at them rather than a quick, easy, temporary fix.

At the cornerstone of Helping Hands’ philosophy is our holistic approach to education as we believe that by teaching people to make a better life for themselves will have a much longer lasting impact on them and their families and generations to come.

Before explaining more about our approach to education, here are some facts that not many people realise about going to school in Cambodia

1. State education is free but all children, no matter how badly off they are, have to have a school uniform.
2. Teaching in the state sector is generally a poorly paid profession which leads to low standards of teaching and the only way to make up for this is paying for private tuition, something poorer families simply cannot afford.
3. The distances that high school children have to travel to school can be very long, with some of the Helping Hands students having to cycle as much as two hours just to get to state school. Tiring enough in the dry season, often impossible in the wet season contributing to students falling behind and dropping out.
4. Children of the poorest families often have to go without breakfast making concentration and in some cases even staying awake in class extremely difficult.
5. Poor nutrition, sanitation and hygiene can lead to frequent illnesses that prevent children from attending school.

And here are some of the ways Helping Hands tackles issues associated with education:

1. We provide all our students with two free state school uniforms each so that they can attend state school and don’t have to be ashamed of what they are wearing
2. The free education provided at Helping Hands mirrors and compliments the state school curriculum making up for low state school standards and teaching our students new skills they may not learn at school.
3. Helping Hands is within walking distance or an easy cycle ride for all our students, so even when they cannot get to state school they can almost always make it to Helping Hands.
4. Every day Helping Hands provides a free nutritious breakfast for up to 100 of the poorest children to help counter malnutrition and to make sure they have the energy for a day of learning
5. Helping Hands not only teaches traditional academic subjects but also focuses on nutrition and agriculture, health and hygiene to improve the overall wellbeing of our community and minimise health-related school or work absences.

We believe that our holistic approach is the best way to make a long term difference to all our villagers. This is what your donations are helping to fund and why your support is so very much appreciated. A huge thank you for helping to make our work possible.

And finally, just in case anyone doesn’t know the rest of it, the words of that saying continue like this. “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day…Teach a man to fish and you will feed him forever.”

The impact of your donation to Helping Hands is already being felt by our fantastic students and teachers.

As you know, education, from kindergarten through primary and high school, through university and beyond is the key to Helping Hands Cambodia's strategy to help our villagers combat decades of poverty and secure a better future for the whole community.

Battling the elements

But keeping our full time programme up and running all year round can be a bit of a challenge when we only have two classrooms and almost 300 students. During the hot, dry season we can hold classes outside when it gets a bit crowded, but when the annual rains come this is no longer possible. But we, our students and their families won't let a little thing like a monsoon put a dampner on things!

Thanks to the many generous donations we have already received and to the help of parents and staff, we have been able to build a new, temporary classroom so that lessons will continue throughout the wet season and our students' education will not suffer.

A wise investment

When I was at school we loved those odd days when extreme weather meant you could have a day off. How we loved those "snow days"! In wonderful contrast, our students and their families would do anything to make sure that they don't miss a single day of school. A donation to Helping Hands is an investment in a community that is willing to work hard to help themsleves, so a huge thank you from all of us and from our community for lending us a most welcome helping hand.

Thank you!