New schools are creating new opportunities for children around the world, and new open doors for the Gospel.
In a remote Cambodian village, nearly 80 elementary-aged students huddle into three overcrowded classrooms. At 9 a.m., the heat creaks in, unbearable as the dry-season sun presses down on the rusted tin roof atop walls of dilapidated timber.
Today, Kimthon is the principal and a teacher at the same elementary school she attended as a child.
Any space not filled with desks and students in the stifling structure is lined with small collections of books. And nearly every surface is covered in fine dirt and pollen as the relief of a much-needed breeze also carries dust with it from the main road running through the village.
With such little space and even fewer teachers, students in different grades have to share classrooms and split their lesson times. It’s hard to maintain the classes’ attention in the echoey rooms.
But these teachers and their principal are committed–as are the students. And through a special Samaritan’s Purse project to create greater opportunities to educate children in remote, impoverished places, a new path forward is forming that could open the way.
Educating Communities in Need Around the World
In many rural communities around the world, schools often lack electricity, clean water, basic supplies, and adequate structures. This creates a nearly-impossible environment to learn in, and as a result, keeps many from receiving a proper education. Many families can’t even allow themselves to hope for anything different.
Students in Kimthon’s school attend class in an older building. Soon, they will receive a brand new school that is being constructed by Samaritan’s Purse.
Now, though, in places like Cambodia, Burkina Faso, Vietnam, and South Sudan, Samaritan’s Purse is building schools to help at-risk children learn how to read, write, dream, and enjoy a tangible expression of God’s love for them. The program will provide safe environments to learn in and to experience the hope of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, shared and lived out in their lives.
School Construction Strengthens A Principal’s Mission of Change
When sharing about her excitement to see her students in a new school building, principal and teacher, Kimthon, smiled brightly. “It is important to have a good school, because when we have a good school, it attracts the students to come and learn,” she explained.
Committed educators like Kimthon serve as bridges, connecting impoverished communities with futures of hope and flourishing. They also serve as connection points for the Gospel.
As a former student of this particular elementary school in Cambodia, Kimthon understands how challenging it can be for the students to stay committed to their studies.
“We have many students inside,” she shared. “We don’t have space to store materials for the students. It’s really challenging. When the students take a break and play [outside], they sweat—they come back and really smell. It’s hard to manage the class.”
Kimthon has been instrumental in growing the capacity of the village’s only elementary school. She was one of few students in the village to move away after high school and receive a specialized education at a teaching training center. Desiring to give back, she returned home and began instructing at her alma mater.
“When I studied, I studied in this school. We only had three grades and less students. Now, we have six grades and many more students.” While Kimthon’s determination as an educator and community member had taken the school to new heights, there was still so much more that needed to be done to help the village’s young people.
A New School Constructed by Samaritan’s Purse
To show God’s love and help create brighter futures for the young students in her village, Samaritan’s Purse, in partnership with a local church, began construction in recent months on a new building beyond anything Kimthon could have imagined.
A new and improved elementary school is being built for the children in a rural village in Cambodia.
The new structure will include a fully-stocked library, clean drinking water, proper latrines, larger classrooms, and colorful furniture. In addition to this construction, students and teachers at Kimthon’s school have also been supplied with new learning materials such as tablets and additions to the curriculum.
Scheduled to be completed by September, the new school in Kimthon’s community will be the 46th school to have been constructed by Samaritan’s Purse in Cambodia alone. As we continue these projects throughout the world, we are reminding children and their communities that God loves them and that their worth is far greater than any struggle they may face in this life.
An Exciting Future Ahead
Kimthon is almost as thrilled about the new school building as her eager students. She excitedly shared “From my school principal’s perspective, I hope that my students will try to learn harder because they have a new school building and that they have more success with their learning.”
New schools are creating new opportunities for children around the world, and new open doors for the Gospel.
When asked what her students hope to be when they grow up, she smiled and shared that they have all sorts of dreams for the future.
“Some want to be teachers just like me,” she said. “Some want to be doctors and lawyers. Some even want to be engineers.”
Now, perhaps for the first time in that remote region of Cambodia, anything seems possible. Learn more now about how you can be a part of the life-changing work of school construction around the world.
