Yung’s journey back to the classroom
Fifteen-year-old Yung dropped out of school due to family circumstances. She has now returned to school and is using new school materials to help her catch-up with her studies.
Yung, a Prov ethnic minority girl, lives with her widowed mother and 4 of her 9 siblings in a rural community of Ratanakiri province. Her father passed away 3 years ago due to illness, leaving her mother to support the family alone through farming and seasonal labour.
Driven by a desire to help her mother earn income, Yung made the difficult decision to drop out of school when she was in Grade 2. “My mother did not ask me to drop, but since my father passed away, I could not concentrate on study,” Yung explains. “I did not have school materials including school uniform, notebook, bag, pen.”
The challenges extended beyond the lack of supplies. “In addition, I had to walk 3km from my house to catch the ferry and walk again 1km to reach school,” she recounts. “Sometimes, I missed the ferry and waited for the next 1 hour. I was so exhausted, so, I decided to drop out and help my mother to earn money.” Yung vividly recalls feeling profound sadness, even crying, when she saw other children going to school, longing to return herself. To contribute, she cleaned grass at other farms for money or stayed home to look after her younger siblings while her mother worked.
This situation is common in Cambodia, where many marginalised families depend on their children’s labour, forcing them to prioritise work over education and subsequently fall behind in their studies.
Back to school
In 2024, during a school enrolment campaign, Yung’s school principal met with her and her mother. The principal emphasised the importance of education and encouraged Yung to return to school. He also explained that a new school building in her village would eliminate the need to cross the ferry, and that she would receive school materials.
With these assurances, Yung decided to re-enrol. Yung expresses her joy at being able to continue her studies, reconnect with friends, and receive support from her community.
Yung shares her aspirations: “I want to get higher education, so I can achieve my dream job as a teacher. I can have money to support my sibling education.”
“I want to get higher education, so I can achieve my dream job as a teacher. I can have money to support my sibling education.”
Yung
Crossing barriers: a story of resilience
However, the transition wasn’t entirely smooth. Yung initially struggled to catch up with lessons. “I was struggling and ashamed as I could not catch the lesson due to long term dropped out,” she admits. Yet, she found encouragement in her classmates. “But I was happy as my classmates did not look down on me, so it motivates me to work hard,” she shares. Her teacher consistently provided extra homework and clarified concepts she didn’t understand, while her friends coached her during break times.
The collective efforts of Yung and those supporting her have paid off. According to Sorya, her substitute teacher, Yung rarely misses class unless she is sick. “Yung is in the grade 4, better in the class, she got number 10 among 18 students in the class. Yung’s favorite major is mathematics,” explains Sorya.
Plan International Cambodia’s intervention
In partnership with Education Above All’s Educate A Child Programme, and through Aide et Action, Plan International Cambodia is implementing the “Cambodia Consortium for Out of School Children” Phase II project in Stung Treng and Ratanakiri Provinces.
This initiative aims to provide equitable, quality, and relevant primary education to marginalised, out-of-school children in Cambodia. One of the project’s key activities is to enrich learning opportunities by providing relevant learning materials and tools, alongside professional development for teachers.
Categories: Education
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