Student-Led Project Empowers Peers to Stay in School and Delay Marriage

Senmonorom, Mondulkiri, 3 December 2025 — The classroom is quiet except for the scratch of pens on paper. Dina Ratanakkeo, a Grade 12 student who usually keeps her thoughts to herself, suddenly speaks up. 

“One of my friends in the village was pressured to leave school and marry early,” she says, her voice steady. “It made me sad—but it made me want to do something.”

In Mondulkiri, where 40 per cent of girls aged 20–24 marry before 18—twice the national average¹. Ratanakkeo, and her classmates knew they couldn’t stay silent.

At Hun Sen Mondulkiri High School, five students from ethnic minority families joined forces to tackle a challenge that affects thousands of girls in their province: early marriage and school dropout. The team—Dina Ratanakkeo (16), Vankry Sorin (18), Keo Sreynoch (16), Khoun Moniroth (16), and Sles Corlet (20)—called their project ‘Volunteer for Youth Smiling.’ Their mission was clear: keep peers in school and delay marriage.

Armed with an official letter from their school director, they began gathering evidence. At the commune chief’s office, they learned the numbers: 451 families, 1,239 people, more than half women and girls. At the provincial hospital, nurses explained the health risks of early pregnancy and the long-term challenges young mothers face. For Sreynoch, and Moniroth, —two female students dreaming of medical school—meeting women who had reached that goal was inspiring. “If they could reach medical school,” Sreynoch later told a classmate, “so can we.”

The team met twice weekly to sift through notes, debate findings, and rehearse their message. They practiced public speaking, refined arguments, and learned how to present evidence clearly—skills rooted in Local Life Skills Education (LLSE) and strengthened through Volunteer for My Community (VMC).

LLSE is part of Cambodia’s national curriculum, focusing on practical skills for decision-making and problem-solving. VMC builds on LLSE by engaging students in structured volunteer projects that promote civic engagement and employability. With UNICEF support through Gender Thematic Funding, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport has scaled up both programmes nationwide. In 2025, 64.15 per cent of the 106 lower secondary schools and 100 per cent of the 33 high schools across three target provinces—Kratie, Stung Treng, and Mondulkiri—were trained on LLSE and VMC, reaching around 27,454 secondary school students.²

When the day came to stand before 48 Grade 9 students, they were ready. Each took a turn to explain their findings and deliver a simple call to action: stay in school and learn. They shared what they had learned—how early marriage limits opportunities, what the data revealed, what doctors warned about health risks, and why education matters for their future.

The Grade 9 students listened. When asked whether they planned to drop out or marry early, the answer came quickly: No. That response gave the five friends courage and confidence. Soon after, they carried Volunteer for Youth Smiling to other schools across Mondulkiri. What began as one project grew into a student-led movement.

School principal Mr. Khout To, an educator for over 30 years, explains why student-led messages matter: “It helps them gain a broad understanding of their future and ensures they receive sufficient education so they have a solid foundation for thinking and solving life challenges within their family and society.”

His concerns are clear: “They are still very young and not yet of legal age to marry, which can affect their health. They face financial difficulties, and early marriage can negatively impact national culture and traditions,” he says. “Projects like this teach them to think critically and protect their future.”

For Ratanakkeo, Sorin, and their friends, the project changed more than their peers’ choices. It strengthened their own dreams. For Sreynoch and Moniroth, it confirmed that medical school was possible. For Corlet and Ratanakkeo, it reinforced their goals of running a business and becoming an accountant. And for Sorin? He still wants to build robots. But now he knows the most important work he can do right now is standing in front of younger students and showing them what’s possible.

“They listen to us differently than they listen to adults,” Sorin says. “We’re not that much older than them. We’re still in school uniforms. We’re their big brothers and sisters.”

When Sorin thinks about that, he smiles. "If we can help even one Grade 9 student stay in school," he says, "then we did something important."

¹ Cambodia Demographic and Health Survey, 2022 (CDHS).

² Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport progress report, 2025.