Give Phnong Children the Gift of Education

The Phnong Education Initiative education program has seen significant changes to the lives of many Phnong girl scholars entering job employment as primary teachers. In addition, the project has promoted minority cultural understanding to the Khmer children at school and the community by a range of activities that show aspects of Phnong culture e.g. dance, life skills, significant celebrations such as weddings and funerals and this has helped the Phnong children be proud of their culture and to increase respect for each other within the two communities (Khmer and Phnong). In total, 60 Phnong girl scholars that have been funded by the Lotus Outreach International have become primary teachers and of that group approximately 28% had received scholarships from Lotus Outreach at lower secondary level. This successful group now teach thousands of Phnong children in their communities.

In 2015 a total of 51 girl students received scholarship support funded by Lotus Outreach International.

Soma, aged 19, has received a scholarship from Phnong Education Initiative (PEI) project since Grade 7 at Oraing Lower Secondary School funded by the Lotus Outreach International. In 2013 Soma passed her teacher training examination. She continued receiving a $20 stipend per month which she spent on her study materials and food for her two-year program at Teacher Training College in Steung Treng Province. Soma is from a Phnong ethnic minority family that grows rice up in the mountain. Their rice growing depends on natural rain and sometimes when there were droughts, the rice was not enough to feed them. They did not normally buy food in the market. When they didn’t have rice they dug up bamboo shoots and pickled them to eat.  Receiving scholarship support from the project has helped to reduce Soma’s family’s expense of study materials and food. Soma is a hard-working and clever student and has volunteered her time at school for a the Phnong research club and was a member of the student council. 

Soma successfully graduated from her teacher training course in August 2015 and became a primary school teacher at Puchu primary school where there are more than 90% of Phnong ethnic minority students studying. “I will save money for my parents, they work very hard to raise me until my age. I would like to see my parents eat delicious food with my first salary of being a teacher,” Soma said happily.

Thank you to all of the donors. With out support from you, Soma would not be able to give back to her community and family in such an influential way!