COVID-19 harmed Cambodia’s educational sector between 2020 and 2021, forcing all schools to close and leaving only virtual learning available. This abrupt school closure harmed at least the majority of students in rural Cambodia, resulting in incomplete learning that harmed their intellectual and mental development. Virtual classes appeared to be ineffective for the way students learned, and it was certainly difficult for children from impoverished families with no smart gadgets in rural Cambodia to gain such access to online education. After an unsettling wave of COVID-19 was brought under control in 2022, the Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sport, in collaboration with development partners, acted quickly to restore the quality of education for its beneficiaries. In this regard, local authorities, school teachers, and Youth Star volunteers began their intervention to restore education quality for children by reactivating learning accessibility for those at risk in each community. Due to the long break and learning difficulties, a massive quantity of support was essentially required for a large number of children.
A young boy named ROEUN Samrit undergoes a remarkable transformation in this moving story.. The youngest of seven children born to a poor farming family on 30 April 2009, this 14-year-old boy has a pale brown complexion, a little frame, and a kind face. Samrit, whose family is from the village of Kampong Ko Leu in the commune of Kampong Ko in the province of Kampong Thom, dropped out of school after fifth grade for nearly a year due to financial constraints and the pandemic. However, his life was about to change when he met Ms. Sineat, our youth volunteer.
Ms. Sineat began her work with Youth Star Cambodia on May 6, 2022, by participating in a community mapping activity in the Kampong Ko Leu neighborhood. Sineat was able to connect with and help numerous at-risk kids and their families after conducting this mapping project in their community. She was out cycling around the hamlet one day when she happened upon Samrit, who was waiting alone on the bridge known as Ta Duch. Sineat got off her bike and walked up to the first random person she met with the intention of befriending them both. She started by making a warm introduction. Ms. Sineat discovered after some small talk that Samrit was a student at risk of dropping out and in desperate need of assistance. Teacher, I barely learn anything because I don’t have a phone to learn online like others,” he said when she tried to get him to come to school. I feel too embarrassed to go back to class.
After this brief exchange, she understood that it would be difficult to alter his worldview overnight and that she should focus on building a strong relationship with him first. The rain started falling not long after. Ms. Sineat waved goodbye with a bright grin and sent him on his way. Still, it was just the beginning, and she had no intention of giving up on him so quickly. While walking back to the house, she formulated a strategy and imagined various ingenious means of sending him back to class.
Ms. Sineat requested as much information as possible from as many important people in the village about Samrit so that she could better comprehend his position. On the morning of May 13, 2022, she set out to learn more about Samrit’s situation by speaking with the boy’s educator, the village head, and the director of his school. Then she visited Samrit’s family and met his mom, dad, and sister. At home, she was told that despite everyone’s best efforts, he persisted in dropping out of school because of how poorly he was doing academically. Ms. Sineat learned more about what led to his dropping out after hearing the perspectives of the family, the chief, and the teachers.
She revisited the clan a few days later. She used this moment to publicly express her concern for Samrit and her optimism for her future. She spoke to Samrit and his family with genuine conviction that Samrit’s education would one day alter their lives for the better. She brought up the dire repercussions that their lack of education would have on their family and future generations and highlighted the bright future that may improve their family’s living conditions through education. Ms. Sineat told Samrit and his parents that they should go back to school if they wanted to help out financially. She even told the whole family her own uplifting life story. They found new motivation as a result. His parents eventually gave in to her pleadings and allowed him to participate in her educational activities such as tutoring, reading, energizers, etc. Samrit was anxious and hesitating because of it. Even though Samrit had not yet made up his mind, a hint of success appeared when Ms. Sineat managed to convince his family.
Ms. Sineat returned the next day to see him and his family, but this time she brought something that would make everyone happy. To reassure Samrit and his family, she gave him a bundle of in-kind study assistance. The little child smiled broadly when he spotted fresh notebooks, backpacks, uniforms, and stationery, as though he hadn’t touched them in a long time. He then expressed his heartfelt gratitude to Ms. Sineat, and his parents almost burst into tears seeing their son so pleased. Everyone fell silent for a moment as a deep feeling for the youngster exploded from within. Ms. Sineat then invited Samrit to come to learn with her again, and he consented without hesitation. She invited him to join one of her tutoring classes beginning tomorrow morning and promised to pick him up to assist him adjust to the new class setting.
Ms. Sineat arrived at his house the next day to fetch him up. This worried child was waiting for Ms. Sineat with his new backpack full of new books and pens. They left for tutoring class together, as their parents looked on from behind, smiling. Ms. Sineat introduced Samrit to everyone in tutoring class, he made friends with others, and he cheerfully played energizers with their buddies. Samrit became less and less frightened as time passed, and he gradually blended in with the other students in the class. However, Samrit was unable to read and do math like other youngsters during the first week since it had been too long since he had left school. Nonetheless, Samrit progressed from a sluggish student to a quick learner full of confidence and hope. Engaging him in one of the activities was insufficient, as Ms. Sineat proceeded to include him in another until his learning performance improved sufficiently in all of Ms. Sineat’s activities before it was time to return him to a public school.
Months later, Samrit had grown rather confident, and his learning performance had advanced from one level to the next. This tiny child had experienced a dramatic metamorphosis in the eyes of Ms. Sineat and everyone else. Samrit had grown into a new, driven young man, ready to stand on his own two feet. “If I had been told and encouraged earlier, I would probably have gone back to school a long time ago,” Samrit added. This was the moment Ms. Sineat realized her ambition to give this out-of-school youngster hope had come true. It was really valuable to her.
Ms. Sineat never abandoned this vulnerable 14-year-old child, mentoring and praising him in front of his family to guarantee that his assistance continued. Samrit continued to self-study and attend school regularly as a result. Furthermore, the family promised Ms. Sineat that they would continue to urge him to finish his studies, which put her at ease when she left this community to make way for a new volunteer. Samrit was promoted to Grade 6 a short time later, as everyone had hoped, and she is still very proud of him.
It’s been a year since they became friends—sister and brother, teacher and student. According to Ms. Sineat, Samrit is not just one of the target students in need of her intervention but also a source of hope and encouragement for all young Cambodians. “My voluntary service is so powerful that it has the potential not only to change a boy’s future but also to reshape the community’s belief in education.” “I am grateful for the assistance provided by Youth Star Cambodia, CCOSC, local authorities, and Samrit’s parents in fighting for the future of Samrit and other vulnerable children in Cambodia,” Ms. Sineat said.
