Little Steps, Big Dreams

Ratanakiri, 15 January 2026 - Three-year-old Leoung Keolyan jumps to her feet before the question is finished.

“Me! Me!” she calls out, her braided pigtails bouncing as she waves her hand in the air.

Her classmates turn to watch as she walks to the front of the room, standing on the blue-patterned tile floor of a small yellow classroom. Sunlight pours through wide windows. Posters with Khmer letters line the walls.

“Cluck, cluck!” Keolyan says, flapping her arms. “I’m a chicken!”

Laughter fills the room.

Her teacher, Veng Pheng, crouches beside her, pretending to be a mother hen. The children roar with delight. Keolyan grins, unafraid, confident in front of her classmates.

That confidence did not come by chance.

Before coming to this community preschool, Keolyan spent most days at home. There were no books, no group play, no structured learning. Like many families in rural Ratanakiri, her parents did not see preschool as essential. Children were expected to start learning when primary school began.

Now, Keolyan arrives each morning in her white school uniform with a navy bow tie, ready to raise her hand.

“She wants to answer every question,” Pheng says, smiling. “She’s not afraid to try.”

Keolyan is one of more than 80,000 preschool children across Cambodia enrolled in Community Preschools, which help close early learning gaps—especially in rural areas where formal schooling is scarce.

Across the country, Cambodia has nearly 1,098,090 aged three to five, yet only one in three is enrolled in early childhood education. For many children, community preschools are their first experience of play-based learning.

The Community Preschool initiative began in 2003 with just 700 schools. Today, it has grown to 3,348 preschools nationwide, accounting for about 20 per cent of all preschool enrolments. Many are small village classrooms like this one—simple buildings surrounded by palm trees, but filled with songs, stories, and play.

For children who miss out on early learning, the transition to primary school can be overwhelming. Many struggle to sit still, follow instructions, or speak up in class. Some fall behind early and never catch up.

In this classroom, those early gaps begin to close.

Veng Pheng is 24 years old and six months pregnant. Teaching young children is demanding, but she builds each lesson around movement, games, and repetition. One day, the children learn animal sounds. Another day, they practise counting to ten.

“These small things matter,” she says. “They help children feel comfortable in a classroom.”

During recess, Keolyan rushes outside to the playground. Painted blue tires hang from trees, serving as swings. Chickens wander past the schoolyard fence. Dust rises under small running feet.

Keolyan climbs into one of the tire swings and poses proudly as her teacher watches.

“She is my best student,” Pheng says. “She loves learning.”

Not long ago, many children in Keolyan’s village had no preschool to attend. Some parents did not believe early learning was important. That has begun to change.

With support from UNICEF, Cambodia’s Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport has expanded Community Preschools to reach villages like this one. UNICEF supports the Ministry by helping develop early learning curriculum and providing financial support, while the Ministry oversees teaching and delivery at community level. Together, they work to strengthen early childhood education across the country.

Teachers like Pheng receive training, books, and classroom supplies. Parents learn why early learning matters and how play supports development at home.

This preschool was made possible with funding from Ernsting's Family, whose support helped bring early learning to Lumphat District. Through the Ministry’s provincial education office, 28 Community Preschool teachers—27 of them women—completed 35 days of training, including Pheng and another local teacher, Soeng Puthna.

For Pheng, the impact is visible every day.

“When children feel happy and safe, they want to learn,” she says. “That stays with them.”

As the school day ends, Keolyan lines up with her classmates. She waves goodbye before heading home, still humming the song they learned that morning.

Tomorrow, she will return to the same yellow classroom. She will sing, count, and play again.