Room to Read and Salesforce discuss their work expanding education access, especially for girls, in Cambodia and beyond. The speakers share personal stories about how education transforms lives and communities.
All of us by virtue of where we were born have been lucky. If we have educated mothers, educated fathers, we're lucky if we have a government school system that may not be perfect but that works pretty well. We're very, very lucky. Those of us who have been successful in life, I think we have a great opportunity to give back to those who might not have had that same luck. The cruelest fate for 5 year olds, 6 year olds to be told you're born in the wrong place at the wrong time so you're not going to get educated, you'll be one more generation to live in.
Povert.
Education is an amazing tool. It can unlock solutions to almost every problem you can think of in the world. And that's Room to Read's job is to ensure that every child is reached through education.
When the Khmer Rouge occupied the country I lost my parents because of the genocide regime and I becoming an orphan kid since I was about 12 and a half years old forced to work in the rice field. And until six, seven years later I went back to school. I remember all my parents told me, no matter where you are, make sure you go to school. And that's why I always have dream if I have money I will build a school for my parents and dedicated my parents. I do believe in all the tragedy, the poverty, all these things people suffer here. It's a rude act. People have no education if they have been educated. I don't think the genocide regime will take place in Cambodia. So our strategy here is to make sure children have access to school because like the philosophy says here, chance start with educated children.
Statistically 2/3 of those who are out of school, 2/3 of those who are illiterate are girls, young women. We also know that when a girl or a woman gets educated it changes everything. It changes things for the family, for the community, for the whole society. That's why Ribbon Reed decided to have a special focus on girls and women.
So walking into Pire's house and meeting her parents and her younger sister to show us the bookshelf that clearly Pire just has so much pride in her bookshelf. She's got all these medical books, she wants to be a doctor, it's amazing. That's a bold dream for a 15 year old girl. You know, the mother pointed out the one light that they have in the house and with such pride that her daughter could sit under that one light. There was so much love and joy in the family and they're so proud of their daughter.
If a girl stays in School just one extra year in secondary school, her earning potential goes up by 15 to 20% every year. If she makes it to the end of 12th grade, she is a completely different future in front of her.
In the end, the fact that over 28,000 girls are now enrolled in our long term girls education program, the fact that we have worked in over 1,800 villages, the fact that there's over 17,000 communities where we've run our library and literacy program, we have to be able to track all of that. Salesforce has been a really important partner for Room to Read from the very beginning.
We're really lucky to have Salesforce. We really wouldn't be the organization that we are without having those metrics and the information and the data to share with people. It's just an integral part of how we oper.
And I'll never forget one time I emailed Mark and I was like, oh, I hope, you know, I hope he at least reads it. And I got a reply within literally about 45 seconds. And he said, whatever you guys need, comma, you get. And that was it.
I'm incredibly grateful to be in Cambodia, both with my local staff, but also with an incredible group of volunteers from Salesforce. We worked together with Salesforce to fund the building of a new structure for these families. And to be able to provide them with just a safe place to come home to is just an amazing opportunity.
I've had kids in Nepal, a landlocked state. Ask me what does the ocean taste like, right? I've had children in Cambodia which, you know, never gets below like 95 degrees. Ask me what does snow feel like? What does it feel like to be cold? They read about it in a book.
The remnants vision is very simple. It's to tell every kid in the world you were born in the right place at the right time because we were there for you. Salesforce was there for you.
On behalf of Cambodian children, we were really, really thankful to Salesforce. I went to Pagoda, any ritual festival. I prayed to my parents and I told them that I built school for them once every month. At least, at least if you can.
Reach that many children and then they grow up to raise an educated family. They grow up to be part of a peaceful, productive, stable society. This is right up there with the Archidamist quote. Give me a lever long enough and I can move the earth. 15 million kids getting educated is a pretty long lever. Sam.
