AEA is constantly trying to inform the local and international media about their work and challenges in Cambodia to promote a better understanding of the stark necessity of education for all. At the beginning of this year, two French newspapers, la Croix and le Petit Quotidien, and a Chinese newspaper located in Cambodia and Hong Kong published diverse articles on schooling for disadvantaged, street and handicapped children.
Three articles in the French youth newspaper Le Petit Quotidien seem to have stimulated the most debate. The first article explained the difficulties of handicapped children in Cambodia to access education. Notably, the reader learned about 7 year old Sok Cheng who suffers from the Autism, a mental handicap that prevents her from talking or learning like the other children. The article presented the positive results and progress that children like Sok Cheng can make in a special program like this one set up with the support of AEA and his partners.
The second and third article featured the hard life of many children in rural Cambodia, where when money is short, children are often forced to work after school (on rice fields, vegetable gardens or elsewhere) to help the family secure their income.
« Thanks to these articles, children and especially French teenagers will be able to better understand the difficulties faced by poor, disadvantaged and handicapped children in Cambodia. I therefore hope that they will start to engage with AEA to secure free quality education for all” said Samphors Vorn, the director of AEA Cambodia.