Children back in the classroom!

I was reminded by my parents that I haven't posted on my blog for some time..so I thought this would be a good opportunity to share some good news stories from Phnom Penh!

One of the families we have been building a relationship with in the slum had some good news earlier this month.  Dad is the sole carer of five children and he works a hard but poorly paid job in construction to provide for his family’s needs.  The older children had been attending the local government school but stopped going when their Mum was sent to prison last year.

One of our partner organisations had a sponsor already in place.  Three weeks ago our staff advocated on behalf of the family to help get the children back into school at Dad’s request. 

We were all delighted when the older children started going to school again a couple of days later complete with new school uniform, school bags and supplies!  The youngest child will be cared for in the slum community by a neighbour whilst Dad is at work and her older siblings are at school.  The sponsor’s money will be used to help pay towards rent for the family and ensuring the children remain studying as Dad does not earn enough money to cover all the bills, especially in Mum’s absence.

Here's a photo of the children in our centre in the slum proudly wearing their new uniform..sorry I can't show their faces!