Sokdom Romnea School

School Story

RSVP first heard about Chhlong Kat School through a monk that has been living and studying in Phnom Penh. This monk always went out to help the poor in other different areas of the country during his free time from school. Because of this, many people knew him. His home village is very close to Chhlong Kat School and on a visit home, the neighboring village chief and teacher came to ask him if he could help build a school for their children. The current school build was a four post structure with a metal roof, open to the air, sunshine, and rain. The building only had one room, and so students were only able to attend school for grade 1 and after they would have to travel to a larger school with the other grade levels. Unfortunately, that school was about 2 or 3 kilometers away. About 50% of the children quit their schooling after grade 1 in the village because the bigger school was too far for small children to walk everyday.

This area is very poor. Families could not afford to feed or clothe their children, let alone send them off to school hungry or without proper clothing. The parents worried about the children not being able to continue their education because of this. It inspired them to go out and look for groups to help build them a school.

When the RSVP team managed to visit and survey the school, it was decided that the village definitely qualified for a new school building! The villagers were so dedicated and adamant about a new school building, they said they would do anything it took to build a school.