Mr. Sou Lida is a 25 year-old Primary School Teacher from Pursat Province. Lida has been living and teaching in Pramouy Commune in Veal Veng District – a remote part of the province near the Cambodian border with Thailand, nearly 125 km away from the major town, the provincial capital of Pursat.

Following decades of conflict and civil war, the forested and mountainous region of Veal Veng District was once a holdout for armed rebels, including elements of the Khmer Rouge, well into the late 1990’s. Development of infrastructure and basic services in the area has been slow, and teachers, schools, hospitals, roads, and people’s livelihoods in general are still basic and underdeveloped.

Lida is married to Ms. Koch Lina; she is a Secondary School Teacher at one of the schools in the same district. Although they own an affordable family house together, it is located in their hometown in a different part of the province.

Because of the distance and difficult terrain between their home and the area where they work, both Lida and Lina currently occupy the teacher’s living quarters at a primary school in a neighboring community, only a few kilometers from their respective schools.

Mr. Lida works at Toul Kros Primary School and teaches fourth grade. Toul Kros Primary School has a total of eight teachers (three female), and 295 students (145 girls) from preschool through grade six. Because of the lack of teachers in the area, and more specifically preschool teachers, he has taken on an additional role as a preschool teacher at the school. The school initially began offering a single preschool class starting in 2015 with a different teacher. In 2017 the other teacher left, and Mr. Lida took over the role. Over the past academic year the preschool has expanded to include more classes with younger and older preschoolers, and there are now two preschool teachers.

Mr. Lida typically teaches two classes per day. In the morning he teaches preschool for the older preschool students (four to five year olds), and in the afternoon he teaches fourth grade. His preschool class has 25 students (16 girls), and the fourth grade class has 45 students (26 girls).

Because his academic background and training focused on teaching primary school students, he initially had some difficulties adapting to his new role as a preschool teacher. The preschool curriculum, preschool teaching methodology, and use of different teaching and learning materials were all new to him.

Although he had no prior preschool teaching experience, Mr. Lida was willing to serve as a school preschool teacher because his school has few teachers to begin with, and the majority of teachers were not keen to take on the additional responsibility. He felt it was a good opportunity to develop himself both personally and professionally. Not least of all, Mr. Lida likes working with children, and he wanted his school to continue to have preschool classes so that the children in the area could benefit from early childhood education.

Mr. Lida became familiar with Save the Children’s Remote Early Learning project (R.E. Learning) when he attended the project kick off meeting in June 2018. The project aims to improve the quality and administration of preschool services at state and community preschools, and increase parental engagement in their children’s education. Mr. Lida quickly became interested in the project activities and attended every meeting, training, and workshop with other teachers, parents and community members.

Mr. Lida said that with the technical coaching and mentoring support provided by the project, the preschool and teachers’ performance has greatly improved, and as a result the preschoolers are learning good habits, are learning more effectively, and are engaged in the classroom activities. The project has also supplied materials for the students including books, games, and other essential classroom supplies. Moreover, parenting sessions has contributed to parents becoming more engaged in their children’s education at school and at home.

On a personal level, Mr. Lida feels that he has improved his knowledge and teaching methodology, and understands how to teach using a variety of different materials. He now feels more confident making lesson plans, following and implementing the new curriculum, and leading and conducting parent-teacher meetings and class committee meetings.

Like many committed teachers, Mr. Lida works beyond normal working hours. During weekends and holidays, he usually spends some time to review what he has learned, and develop lesson plans and prepare teaching materials.

He has become a great advocate of preschool education and enjoys being involved in the annual school enrolment campaigns every October, which expanded to include preschool enrolment starting in 2016. This usually involves community meetings between authorities and parents, setting up informational kiosks along the roads, and reaching out to people at pagodas, public places and visiting people’s homes in the community. The campaigns have helped preschool enrollment rates to reach levels higher than any past year; there are now 51 children (26 girls) enrolled in the preschool. Mr. Lida hopes that they can reach as many children as possible, so that all the children aged three to five in the surrounding area can benefit from early childhood education.

Moreover, the project has helped the community to improve the school environment, including the compound where the children play between classes. Outreach activities and community meetings have helped parents and community members understand the importance of education – and importantly, understand that parents have an important role to play in their children’s education and development.

Mr. Lida is committed to being a good teacher for his students and he continues to strive to work hard and improve himself for the sake of his students. He hopes that all the young preschool-age children in the surrounding villages will attend preschool, and that his school becomes a local model for what communities can achieve when there is engagement from parents and the community in early childhood education and development.