Ra is nine years old. He loves running, playing with his younger brother Satape, and going to school with his friends.
Almost all his friends live on a farm, just like him, in rural Cambodia. His parents are farmers and earn money by selling their crops at the local food market. The money his parents make is used to pay for food, any farming and home needs, and his school fees.
At school, Ra learns to read and write, he learns maths, history, and science. Each day when he gets home from school he runs alongside his dad as he works on the farm. He tells his dad what he has learned that day.
Ra still remembers the afternoon, two years ago, when he arrived home from school, but his father was not there. He was not working on the farm as he usually would be at that time, he was not inside the house either. Ra asked his neighbours if they had seen his father, but nobody could find him.
His father returned home much later that night, but something was wrong. Ra’s father had been in a bad motorcycle crash when he was on his way to the market. His left leg had been badly twisted by an oncoming car, but the family did not have enough money to go to a doctor to fully repair his leg.
Instead, the family waited for the leg to recover, during this time Ra’s father could not work, he could barely even walk.
Ra was filled with worry, what would he do if his father could never work on the farm again? Did his family have enough money to pay for his school fees? Would he have to leave school to start working on the farm?
Ra’s father was determined to keep his son in school, and as soon as he could start walking, he returned to the farm. He walks with a bad limp and is often in pain but refuses to stop working for the sake of his son’s education.
When ADRA came to Ra’s village, both his parents started to attend a range of ADRA training sessions. Ra’s father learned more about the crops he was growing, what was valuable, and what would earn him a better income. At the end of the training, he received packets of seeds, fertiliser, and farming tools to ensure the success of their new crops.
Now Ra’s father and mother earn more at the market, they have a stronger income and always make sure the boys’ school fees are paid. Ra no longer worries about missing school. Now he can focus more on learning and enjoying school!
Thanks to our amazing supporters, we can implement projects like the project Ra’s parents participated in, that ensure parents have a strong income and can continue to send their children to school.
Many of our project activities have an impact on a child’s education, such as installing water taps at schools to ensure children have clean water all day, educating families through business and skills training, or helping grow the income of a family. Together, we can make a difference for children through education!
