The PIO School at the dump in Phnom helped to bring to life an education for some of the poorest kids in Cambodia, kids whose families could ''never'' afford to send them to school. These kids were (and still are) part of the families financial support structure.
They spent from dawn until dusk, many barefoot, dangerously sifting through the garbage being brought to be dumped in a regular procession of trucks. Scavenging through this mess they search for cans, bottle and plastic that could be sold for cents, maybe earning the children a $1 a day. In this fetid stinking mess they worked until PIO came up with a better offer. It took a while before the children started to attend school regularly but good old fashioned Cambodian ''bribery'' eventually won the day as families who sent their kids to school received a rice quota equivalent or more than the child could earn, this good bribery was I believe the turning point and children turned up for school on a more regular basis, but many still worked on the dump after school, but they were coming. The kids also received food at school, often their main nourishing meal in the day.
A few of the families were still sending their kids to work rather than accept the rice or even accepting the rice and not sending their kids to school. Remember these are the poorest of the poor they take what they can get, when they can get it, its survival.
Today it is a different story with over 200 kids attending class we are now struggling to keep up with the demand for more classroom space.Happy kids who want to be there and work hard at their studies. They come because they want to come and they appear to get more than just an education, support,advice and health care coming on board.The kids also get to do things that they never would have done before PIO, go to the Zoo, become an Apsara dancer dancer, albeit for a day.
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