“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, 19, member of Xavier Jesuit School’s inaugural graduating class.
In Cambodia, poverty and extremely poor access to education mean just 1 in 4 young people finish school. Sadly, many don’t even start.
But thanks to people like you, Rany will be the first in her family to graduate high school.
Today, you can help more families to have a “first” that will transform their future.
Please join us in celebrating the first graduating class of Xavier Jesuit School, Cambodia, who completed their final exams in December 2022.
These impressive young men and women will now go on use their education to help them break the cycle of poverty in their own families and contribute to the new future of Cambodian society.
Of the 28 graduating students, 9 are scholarship students, like Rany, whose lives have been forever changed by the compassionate support of people like you.
Like 90% 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.
While they 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% 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.
Please help provide life-changing scholarships for more students, like Rany, who would otherwise miss out on an education.
Your support will help Xavier Jesuit School ensure more young people have a quality education that will help safeguard them from a future determined by poverty, injustice and inequity.
DONATE NOWFounded 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.
With the generous help of Australian supporters like you, 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.
“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
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.
Without the generosity of Jesuit Mission supporters in Australia, 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. I gained a good education and learned how to be a good person, now I want to help the poor.” ”
Please, help more young people like Rany receive life-changing education that will empower them to build better futures for themselves, their families and their communities.
Your generosity is powerful:
- $58 can provide uniforms, books, bags and learning materials for a year for one student
- $71 can provide food and water for a scholarship student for one month
- $286 can pay school fees for a scholarship student for one month
- $1,527 can provide a full scholarship to a scholarship students for one year
Please, make your kind donation today.
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