Celebrating our graduates in Cambodia

Please join us in celebrating the first graduating class of Xavier Jesuit School, Cambodia, who completed their final exams in December 2022.

Of the 28 graduating students, 9 are scholarship students, such as Rany, whose life has been forever changed through our program.

Rany

Like 90 percent of Cambodians who live in poverty, Rany comes from a rural area. Her parents are farmers who work tirelessly, relying on their crops for income.

Rany, who has two siblings that left school to help support the family, and one who never attended school at all, was in Grade 6 at her local government school, when a Jesuit Service Cambodia outreach worker identified her as a candidate for a scholarship to Xavier Jesuit School.

Rany’s parents were thrilled for her to accept a full scholarship, and she started Grade 7 at Xavier Jesuit School in 2017.

Although shy to begin with, Rany has thrived at the school year after year. Bright and studious, she’s learned to express herself, problem solve and has developed her compassionate spirit.

When our Jesuit Mission Australia team first met her in 2019, she was in Year 9 and dreaming of becoming a teacher so she could give back to her community.

“I like Khmer and Chemistry the most. These subjects will help me to be a teacher and it is my dream. I hope to teach children who do not have an opportunity to learn.” – Rany

Education in Cambodia

In Cambodia, poverty and extremely poor access to education mean just 1 in 4 young people finish school. Sadly, many don’t even start.

While parents value education, the burden of poverty and vastly inadequate education infrastructure – the result of decades of war and conflict – means there are many barriers to sending their children to school.

Government school costs around $1 a day per student, an insurmountable sum for many parents.

On top of this the regular school day is short and teachers’ wages low.

As a result, it’s become common practice for teachers to charge fees to students for “extra classes” outside school hours.

The real curriculum is often taught during these classes, so students who can’t afford this extra tuition – like Rany – fall even further behind their classmates.

This has resulted in an education crisis where just 50 percent of young people in Cambodia begin high school, and only around half of those finish.

In rural areas, the rate is even lower because children from poor families must leave school early to work and contribute to the survival of the household.

Xavier Jesuit School

The Xavier Jesuit School is ensuring more young people have a quality education that will help safeguard them from a future determined by poverty, injustice and inequity.

Founded by our local partner Jesuit Service Cambodia, Xavier Jesuit School was established in one of the poorest provinces in the country to provide local students with affordable, quality education.

From primary to high school, Xavier Jesuit School students receive a full day’s education across the full Cambodian curriculum, including English, Khmer, maths and computer studies.

“The flow-on effect of a scholarship program that supports 100 students per year will indirectly benefit at least another 500 people.” – Jesuit Service Cambodia

With the generous help of our supporters, the school has flourished. In 2022 Xavier Jesuit School educated 850 students, including 75 full scholarship students (49 girls and 26 boys).

These life-changing scholarships cover full tuition fees, accommodation, uniforms and living costs, helping to ease the burden for very poor families.

In the short term, families have the benefit of one less mouth to feed, while in the long-term young people help lift their families out of poverty.

Without the generosity of Jesuit Mission supporters, Rany would most likely have left school in Grade 9 and be working in low-paid job in Phnom Penh. But instead, she’s graduated Xavier Jesuit School and will soon begin University to pursue studies to become a teacher, turning her dream of sharing the gifts of her education into reality.

“I’m so lucky to come and study at Xavier Jesuit School and stay and graduate Year 12," she says. "I gained a good education and learned how to be a good person, now I want to help the poor.”

Find out more

About Xavier Jesuit School Cambodia

All our programs