The 6th LOVE FNC School has completed its construction on Koh Thmei, an island about 30 minutes away from Sihanoukville. Koh Thmei is a very small island with only 80 households and there is no electricity or water supply yet. On this island, LOVE FNC has built its first school. 

Children on the island grow up without attending schools. As the school is not on the island, in order to go to school, the children must ride the boat to go ashore. It is not easy for parents to send their children to schools because of the financial difficulties they face despite their hard work. They would rather want extra hands to help them. Eventually, the children grow up helping their parents instead of going to school. With their small bodies, they clean up nets or help farm on the island. Although there is a school ashore they can go to if they ride the boat for 30 minutes, for these children, education is something far-flung.

A school has been built in the center of Koh Thmei. It was a long and difficult journey. The first thing we had to do was to buy a ship so that we can transport the building materials to the island. The villagers worked together to make a way on the coastal area so that we can move the materials and helped with the construction as well. The first school of Koh Thmei was firmly built. It was built with strong bricks to withstand the rainy season and also has a large window to brighten up the classroom with sunlight. In addition, there is a small accommodation on one side of the school building for teachers who come by boat can stay. The best building in the village is ‘our school’.  

Cambodia needs more education than other countries. Although Cambodia is growing every year, it still ranks 107th in the world in terms of GDP, and is the most economically struggling country among the Indochina Peninsula (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam). Cambodia has a heartbreaking history as the overall social system had collapsed due to the ‘Killing Fields’. In 1975, Cambodia’s communist militant group Khmer Rouge (Red Cambodia) massacred the intellectuals and the wealthy, which took a quarter of the country’s whole population. With the death of the intellectuals, the distortion of books, and the utilization of schools as prisons, Cambodia’s education curriculum was completely destroyed. Thus, the meaning of schools and education is more significant in Cambodia. 

We want to help children dream of a different future. We want to help children attend schools. If they graduate, they have are given a chance to choose the direction of their own lives. LOVE FNC wants to give children a new dream. With our scholarships, we will help children so that they do not have to give up their education because of financial problems. Everything had been possible thanks to everyone’s efforts. Thank you for being with us. For a world where all children are loved LOVE FNC. 

 * translation: volunteer / Jung Yukyung