It’s finally 2021, and we’ve happily opened our doors for a new school year. While we are basking in the feeling of starting fresh, we can’t help but be proud of the accomplishments we made last year. As we come out of that genuinely extraordinary time, take a look back with us at some of the good ISF’s Education Programme has done across 2020.

 Highlights

• 97% of Catch-Up Students have passed to the next grade
• 98% of State School students have passed to their next grade as well
• 432 are completing state school education and 13 are supported in tertiary education
• 7,404 monthly food parcels distributed in 2020 with 1,209 extra parcels given to those families most in need
• 6,309 readers visited ISF community and mobile libraries 14,658 times and borrowed 6,750 books
• 3,339 bars of soap distributed to poor families promoting hygiene and sanitation

As you can see from the numbers above, even though 2020 was fraught with challenges, ISF teachers and staff were able to keep students engaged, learning, and progressing. With unemployment on the rise due to falling tourism, many families were pushed to the limit last year. Falling income exacerbated pre-existing issues like poor access to healthcare, food insecurity. The situation threatened to force our students’ families to move out of the city—far from the reach of ISF’s support programmes—to survive. We knew we had to work hard to make sure our students got through this crisis without giving up their futures. By providing take-home lessons and online classes, we incentivised parents like *Socheata’s to keep their children in education. Read their story here.

Students’ family came together to keep children engaged in learning with take-home lessons

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Since we limited or canceled many gatherings to prevent the spread of COVID-19, providing our services was challenging. Though our crack Community Engagement team met the challenge head-on and showed that they were more than up for the task. Our small but dedicated group of social workers have supported ISF families in coping with the pandemic’s ravages.

An ISF Cambodia social worker discussing rent deferment with a landlord

The Community team also helped raise awareness and health in ISF communities with hygiene and COVID-19 infection prevention workshops. Rent negotiation meetings they brokered with landlords saved 125 families from homelessness. Their efforts to help the poorest overcome the barrier of illiteracy to sign up for Cambodia’s IDPoor programme also helped many struggling families get government funding during these trying times.

Our Community Engagement team helped distribute COVID-19 prevention materials

Though we knew that only providing extra help and distance learning wasn’t enough. We understood there was no replacement for in-person learning. Since the beginning of the crisis, ISF has been planning how to safely reopen our schools. So we made changes to ISF campuses taking into account the World Health Organization’s and Cambodia’s Ministry of Health’s best practices. With these improvements, plus a solid distance learning strategy, ISF is prepared for the future. No matter what 2021 brings, we’re equipped to provide education and vital support to poor and marginalised children. And we’re looking forward to it.