As the sun begins to set and casts a yellow light over the river, Mr. Paong Ladin and his family sit together on their small floating house as they tell us about their involvement in Save the Children’s Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) for Floating Villages project.

Mr. Ladin and his wife have five children, four girls and one boy. Their eldest daughter is 12, and the youngest is four years old. Their only son Seyha, now six years old, has been involved in Save the Children’s project for the past three and a half years. As part of the project, Save the Children constructed a preschool in the compound of the community’s Buddhist pagoda.

Mr. Ladin explained, “Seyha is my fourth child out of five children in our family. He goes to school with his sisters, and he rarely misses school even when he feels unwell. Seyha is a humble and quiet child, he is happy to go to school, and even though he faces challenges to travel there, he persists to learn.”

The family lives in Doun Viet Village – a small community of around 487 families and 2,609 people including 1,273 children – situated in the Tonle Sap River, close to the area where the river feeds in and out of the great Tonle Sap Lake – the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia. The seasonal flooding cycles of the lake largely determine the livelihoods and subsistence strategies of many of the people in the area. Like many, Mr. Ladin makes a living by fishing, and in the dry season (roughly November to May) he is able to do some farming on dry land.

Although parts of the community are constructed on higher ground that remains mostly dry for half the year, Mr. Ladin and his family live in a small floating house on the water for the entirety of the year.

Now that the community has the new preschool building, Mr. Ladin makes sure his preschool-age son can attend class. This is an extra challenge for the family, as they live on the open water and must travel by boat to reach the higher ground where the preschool is located inside the pagoda compound.

“I have to get up at around 3am or 4am to prepare breakfast and get my kids dressed for school. When I go back, I have to earn money to support their studies. From my house, it takes me least 30 minutes to reach [the preschool]. I cannot go faster because of the waves. Sometimes, [Seyha] gets mad at me and asks me why I send him to school late. ‘Daddy, it’s time to go! The sun is shining already!’ [he says].”

Seyha has been an enthusiastic participant in the preschool, and even though the floating way of life makes it more difficult to travel, Mr. Ladin takes the time to bring his children to school every day.

Mrs. Deuk Souy, one of the Preschool Teachers in Doun Viet Village explained, “Most parents did not understand about early education, and they thought the teachers just only teach their children to dance and sing songs. But after the early childhood education project […] intervened in this community, parents started to enrol their children [in preschool] at two years of age!

“Seyha is passionate to learn because he came with his sister to school in their boat since he was two years old. Even when it is raining, he still goes with his sister to come to class. Seyha rarely misses a class; his father brings him to school even when there is [rough weather].

“Before, he did not get involved with his classmates, but now he is very active and friendly. He joins activities with his classmates and teachers during class and break time. He raises his hand to read and pronounce the Khmer consonants in class. After we received this building, I have observed that the amount of students enrolled in preschool is increasing when compared to the last two years.’’

Seyha and Mr. Ladin’s other children are happy to learn and practice the lessons at home by making their own study materials as they have learned from the preschool. “During free time, Seyha and his sisters make Khmer [word cards] that are recycled from cardboard boxes for teaching their siblings and others neighbours. I send my children to school because I think education is very important for them, and I want them to have bright futures. As a farmer, I work hard and do not earn much income to support my family, so I want to enrol my children to access education.”

When asked about school and his dreams for the future, little Seyha said, “I love to play around with my friends at school, and I want to be a police officer when I grow up.”As the sun begins to set and casts a yellow light over the river, Mr. Paong Ladin and his family sit together on their small floating house as they tell us about their involvement in Save the Children’s Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) for Floating Villages project.

Mr. Ladin and his wife have five children, four girls and one boy. Their eldest daughter is 12, and the youngest is four years old. Their only son Seyha, now six years old, has been involved in Save the Children’s project for the past three and a half years. As part of the project, Save the Children constructed a preschool in the compound of the community’s Buddhist pagoda.

Mr. Ladin explained, “Seyha is my fourth child out of five children in our family. He goes to school with his sisters, and he rarely misses school even when he feels unwell. Seyha is a humble and quiet child, he is happy to go to school, and even though he faces challenges to travel there, he persists to learn.”

The family lives in Doun Viet Village – a small community of around 487 families and 2,609 people including 1,273 children – situated in the Tonle Sap River, close to the area where the river feeds in and out of the great Tonle Sap Lake – the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia. The seasonal flooding cycles of the lake largely determine the livelihoods and subsistence strategies of many of the people in the area. Like many, Mr. Ladin makes a living by fishing, and in the dry season (roughly November to May) he is able to do some farming on dry land.

Although parts of the community are constructed on higher ground that remains mostly dry for half the year, Mr. Ladin and his family live in a small floating house on the water for the entirety of the year.

Now that the community has the new preschool building, Mr. Ladin makes sure his preschool-age son can attend class. This is an extra challenge for the family, as they live on the open water and must travel by boat to reach the higher ground where the preschool is located inside the pagoda compound.

“I have to get up at around 3am or 4am to prepare breakfast and get my kids dressed for school. When I go back, I have to earn money to support their studies. From my house, it takes me least 30 minutes to reach [the preschool]. I cannot go faster because of the waves. Sometimes, [Seyha] gets mad at me and asks me why I send him to school late. ‘Daddy, it’s time to go! The sun is shining already!’ [he says].”

Seyha has been an enthusiastic participant in the preschool, and even though the floating way of life makes it more difficult to travel, Mr. Ladin takes the time to bring his children to school every day.

Mrs. Deuk Souy, one of the Preschool Teachers in Doun Viet Village explained, “Most parents did not understand about early education, and they thought the teachers just only teach their children to dance and sing songs. But after the early childhood education project […] intervened in this community, parents started to enrol their children [in preschool] at two years of age!

“Seyha is passionate to learn because he came with his sister to school in their boat since he was two years old. Even when it is raining, he still goes with his sister to come to class. Seyha rarely misses a class; his father brings him to school even when there is [rough weather].

“Before, he did not get involved with his classmates, but now he is very active and friendly. He joins activities with his classmates and teachers during class and break time. He raises his hand to read and pronounce the Khmer consonants in class. After we received this building, I have observed that the amount of students enrolled in preschool is increasing when compared to the last two years.’’

Seyha and Mr. Ladin’s other children are happy to learn and practice the lessons at home by making their own study materials as they have learned from the preschool. “During free time, Seyha and his sisters make Khmer [word cards] that are recycled from cardboard boxes for teaching their siblings and others neighbours. I send my children to school because I think education is very important for them, and I want them to have bright futures. As a farmer, I work hard and do not earn much income to support my family, so I want to enrol my children to access education.”

When asked about school and his dreams for the future, little Seyha said, “I love to play around with my friends at school, and I want to be a police officer when I grow up.”