Keeping The Wheels Of Opportunity Turning

In the rural villages of Koh Ker and Romchek in northern Cambodia, finishing Grade 6 is a major milestone. But for many, it’s also where the road ends, literally. The nearest middle school is 15 kilometers away in Srayang, an impossible daily journey for most families.

This isn’t a new challenge for PLF. We’ve been solving it, mile by mile, for over a decade.

Back in 2010, when the first bright-eyed village students reached the end of primary school, the path ahead simply disappeared. There were no nearby middle schools, no transport, no options. Just distance and dreams. So we built a dormitory in Srayang, a safe haven beside the school where a handful of students could live and continue learning beyond Grade 6.

As local schools improved, so did our approach. That’s where our “school buses” come in.

In 2020, we transformed the Srayang dorm into a full Learning Center and put trucks on the road - not just for the few students who stood out, but for the many still waiting.

Now, instead of having to leave home so young to chase an education, students can access school daily while remaining living with their families where they belong. Every morning at dawn, our three trucks set out along long, dusty roads to bring students into town, where they continue learning and growing, and dream of their futures beyond high school.

After morning classes at the local secondary school, they head to our Srayang Learning Center for a hot lunch, and extra classes in English, Computers and Science. They can access our well-stocked library, take part in Life Skills workshops, compete in Chess club and benefit from small group study. Our center rounds out their school day, and gives them all the support they need to thrive in their government classes while staying on track to complete high school.

We have worked for nearly twenty years in these communities, which were some of the most traumatized by the decades of civil war that ravaged Cambodia. When we first arrived in the villages, the value of education was almost non-existent. The first few plucky students that broke through those barriers to continue their schooling were indeed pioneers.

And now we see the swelling of numbers ready to follow in their footsteps. Our work is paying off, demand is growing - and projected student numbers for 2026 mean we are going to need an additional truck!

Without this transport, many would have no choice but to drop out after Grade 6. Not because they lack ambition, but because the road ahead is simply too far.

It costs around $30,000 to put one of these lifelines on the road. For the students waiting at the end of that road, it means everything. Because when the road is long, we do not step back. We roll forward.

Will you help us keep the wheels of opportunity turning?