It’s back-to-school season in the States. For many of us, back-to-school shopping is a normal rhythm of our year. However, for Cambodian children, hidden costs like uniforms, books, and backpacks are hurdles to attending school. Rampant poverty makes it difficult for many families to afford the necessary supplies for their children’s education, and those in rural villages often walk many miles to reach their nearest school.
According to UNICEF 2023 data, around 300,000 Cambodian children and teens are not in school and over 15% of children drop out. While there have been strides in recent years to improve the education system of Cambodia, literacy rates still remain the lowest of any Southeast Asian country, sitting just below 72% across Cambodia (as seen in World Population Review’s recent literacy statistics).
Seeing a Need
Rock Foundation Cambodia regularly conducts on-the-ground outreach in Cambodia’s most rural and impoverished villages. Our outreach consists of providing hot meals, water, Bibles, gospel messages, and most recently, bicycles.
Why bicycles? We have seen the need staring us in the face in every village that we visit. Many children we meet are unable to attend school because they are working to help support their family, like Srey Thay, or if they are attending school, they have to walk long distances each way.
Recently, we have begun working in partnership with local schools to provide bicycles to children who have no means of transportation. We send a request to the school principal, who then determines the children with the greatest need. RFC team members will visit the schools and the children’s homes, opening doors for the gospel to be shared.
To date, our team has supplied 30 bicycles to children who live over two miles away from their school. Beyond that, we have also distributed over 900 Bibles and shared the gospel with large groups of students.
Two Wheels, a Lifetime of Impact
To us, bicycles might just seem like toys, but to the children who receive them, they are vehicles of hope. Two wheels represent freedom and the ability to travel much longer distances without exhausting themselves. Bikes make it possible for children to continue attending school when they may have not been able to otherwise. Completing their primary and secondary school education opens up not only an avenue for future opportunities but also helps to pull children out of the cycle of poverty.
Along with the bikes that our team delivers, we provide other school supplies like backpacks, books, pencils, and uniforms of their very own. These serve a practical purpose for their educational needs, but they also give children immense joy from having their own personal belongings.
Greater kingdom work
Every child deserves an education. When you support our Wheels of Hope student bicycle and school supply scholarship, you are not just providing a child with a bike. You are giving them something that carries them into a brighter future, ensuring education is never out of their reach. Not only that, you are furthering the gospel’s spread with every school supply that is given.
Would you consider making a donation to the Wheels of Hope? For $100, you can help provide a child with a bike, backpack, and school supplies. Together, we can ensure no child goes without an education and the hope of Jesus.
Thank you for your faithful support of our mission at Rock Foundation Cambodia! Your prayers, gifts, and support are felt from across the globe and are yielding real fruit each day.