In the late-1970s, the Khmer Rouge deliberately destroyed the foundations of modern education in Cambodia. People with higher education, including teachers, doctors, lawyers, and college students, were killed and/or forced to work in labour camps. The Khmer Rouge also destroyed infrastructure for education, including books and buildings. It is estimated that by the end of the Khmer Rouge devastati
on, between 75% and 80% of Cambodian educators were killed or left the country. Approximately 63% of the adult Cambodian population is currently illiterate. Eighty percent of rural Cambodian children do not attend school. Teachers, themselves, are poorly educated. Only 14% of teachers have a high school education. There are many government-run schools in Cambodia. However, the schools are without support, have few or no teachers, are poorly-run, ill-equipped, and poorly attended by students. Parents do not send their children to school because: a) they themselves are uneducated and do not see the importance of education; b) they are living in poverty and therefore need their children to work in the fields to help raise money to support the family; and c) it costs approximately $40.00 per year to send each child to elementary school and this constitutes a significant percentage of the average family’s annual income. The situation is particularly dire in rural communities. WHO IS PONHEARY LY? Ponheary Ly is a Cambodian national who resides with her family in Siem Reap, a city in northwestern Cambodia, and home to the famous temples of Angkor Wat. She comes from a long line of educators. Her father, a teacher, was killed during the Cambodian genocide. Ponheary herself was attacked by the Khmer Rouge and left for dead. During the Vietnamese-installed regime, Ponheary became a teacher and, in secret, learned how to speak French and English. In 1998, when Cambodia once again opened up to Westerners, Ponheary became a much sought-after tour guide due to her language skills. During her rounds at the rural temples, and as tourism grew, she began seeing more and more children, working in the fields instead of going to school. Ponheary started a project to support the return of rural children to school and help them stay there. She now supports four schools in and around Siem Reap, helping the children by providing supplies, basic medical care so that the children will be physically healthy enough to attend school, and also provides breakfast programs as the children normally come from families who cannot afford to properly feed the children. In 2010, Ponheary was awarded the CNN 2010 Heroes Award.
