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Why has Oxfam been working with KAPE?Can you imagine what it would be like to turn up at school and not have enough school books to go around? What about starting lessons feeling really hungry and not being able to concentrate? In some rural areas in Cambodia, that's what life is like for lots of children, so Oxfam has been working with KAPE to make it easier and more fun to go to school.
How has Oxfam been helping?You might not think school food is that good, but one of Oxfam's most important jobs has been to help set-up new kitchens so that each child can have a free breakfast. This encourages them to come to school and makes sure that they're not trying to learn on empty stomachs. The feeding programme has been so successful that some of the schools are getting overcrowded! Oxfam has also provided money to fund a mobile library, training for teachers and special remedial classes after school. Most of the books that have been bought for the cluster schools to share are fun to read, and have lots of pictures. A small comic-style books costs about six pence and a larger book about 55 pence. What difference has Oxfam's work made?Leng Sopheavy is 13 years old and attends grade six at Lovea cluster school.
"I go to school at 6.30 each morning and get breakfast there before the lessons start. We eat breakfast in the classroom. All the school has it together, every day. Without the breakfast, I could go to school to do my lessons, but I'd be hungry and have stomach cramps." Even the headteacher, Lak Lim, has noted the difference. "There are many more students coming to school now. They come because they know they'll have food in the morning. The feeding programme started in November last year. Before, we had about 652 children coming to school regularly, now there are 758." Why should we keep equipping schools?At the moment 100 million children around the world don’t have the chance to go to school because they are poor. Education is a human right and a route out of poverty. But until we finally succeed in making poverty history children around the world will continue to miss out. By helping equip schools with more materials and by providing training for teachers, we can help more children get a better education. Oxfam's work is important to make sure that as many people as possible are able to enjoy as good an education as you!
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