A Discussion with Father Greg Priyadi, Director, Jesuit Service Cambodia, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

With: Greg Priyadi Berkley Center Profile

May 16, 2013

Background: As part of the Education and Social Justice Protect, undergraduate student Annie Dale interviewed Father Greg Priyadi, S.J., during the summer of 2013. Father Priyadi serves as Director of Jesuit Service Cambodia (JS), a human development agency that provides technical skills development and services for the disabled, as well as general rural development and education projects. He discussed the work of Jesuit Service, issues regarding education in Cambodia, and the challenges his organization faces.

What do you do here and what does your job entail?

I am the country coordinator of the Jesuit Services, an NGO that gives assistance to the poor and to people with disabilities. There are four main parts to Jesuit Services. The first is infrastructure development, where we develop small roads, bridges, and other things for the poor. The second is education. We try to help people gain access to education. The third one is health, and the fourth is outreach to a wheelchair program. Basically, we try to implement a twelve-point plan that focuses on many things, including access to housing, food, water, school, and also health services. We used to focus primarily on people with disabilities, but our efforts have shifted to focus on the poor and on education.

What does the JS do to increase accessibility to education?

The first step is supporting the teacher. The second is to improve the facilities, like building schools. Sometimes the schools are not yet built in some areas. We then supporting the students with scholarships or with rice scholarships. Finally, we try to maintain and improve the knowledge of reading by building small village libraries. From this, we also produce some children’s storybooks.

So how do you support the teachers?

We give them training and also give support for school materials. Also, we give them a small extra salary. The contracted teachers here do not receive a high salary, so we need to give them a higher salary. Here in Siem Reap, there are a few schools that we built and support. Some have government teachers, and some have volunteer teachers.

Are the schools that you build government schools?

Yes, most of the schools we build and support are government schools.

So you start the school, and then get the government’s involvement.

Sometimes we start the school and then contact the government asking if they will contract the school or not.

Where do you choose to build the schools?

Our staff knows the village and knows the need. Also, some come from requests from the schools or teachers. They know we work for education, so they contact us.

And these are usually very poor villages?

Yes, very poor. We choose places that are very poor and that cannot afford to build their own schools.

Without the schools that you build, would the children have any place else to go? Or would they just be uneducated their whole life?

I think some places they learn are the home or temporary shelter. Sometimes school conditions are very, very bad, like the roof is falling off, and this is very dangerous for the children.

You talked about providing scholarships. Does that mean providing money or materials?

We have two kinds of scholarships—rice scholarships and money scholarships. With a money scholarship, we provide money for extra classes or maybe materials. We give rice scholarships to the children’s family so that the children do not have to worry about food. The parents often do not allow their children to go to school because they have to help their parents in the rice field, or they have to take care of their siblings when the parents are out working in the rice fields. The scholarships try to explain to parents, “You have rice already, so please let your children go to school.” It is a small amount but supports the parents and allows the students to go to school.

I find the concept of a rice scholarship very interesting because you are not just giving money to the family because it is possible that the family might not spend the money in the most productive way.

Yes, the rice is the best way to support the children because the parents can’t spend the money on gambling or drinking.

And how do you select the families to whom you provide the rice scholarships? Is it based on the family’s need or on the student’s performance?

I think it’s based on both the need and the performance. It’s the parents’ dire need but also the students’ [performance]. So we ask information from the teachers regarding the performance of the students. We want the students to have a strong spirit to study despite their poverty and lack of support, so it is also performance and spirit.

What are some of the main causes that you see for why children stop going to school? Why are children dropping out of school?

I think that sometimes they do not understand the use of education in their future. They do not know the value of an education. The second thing is poverty. The children need to help the parents, especially in the rice fields and on the border of Thailand. Children who live near the border have better access to jobs in Thailand, so parents take their children to the border and to Thailand to work. In Thailand, they will do jobs like picking up sticks and trash or something.

Do many children get to continue into secondary school, or do many children drop out of school to work before they pass primary school?

Many, many students drop, especially the ones near the border with access to Thailand. The high pay in Thailand is very attractive to children, even very young children, so they choose to drop out or their parents make them drop out before secondary school.

And you mentioned that the children don’t know the importance of their education and don’t realize how education can change their future. I have been realizing that a lot of this comes from their parents—their parents don’t understand the importance either. Does this have a big influence on the children’s education?

Yes, I think this has a big influence. The awareness of the parents is not there. The children and the parents don’t see any future. After finishing high school, they don’t know what kind of job they will get. If they are girls, they just get married. If not, they will just be a worker in the factory. To be a worker, you do not need to finish high school, maybe just primary school, so there is really no need to study hard.

So how do you address that? Do you work to raise awareness about the importance of education?

Yes, we do a lot of advocacy. We do advocacy through radio to raise awareness of issues, including the importance of education.

Do the communities where you build the schools support your efforts?

Yes, and that is one of the criteria for building a school. The community must support us. They have to want our help. Before we build, we have a conference with the villagers and the leaders and address not only what they need but also what they can contribute. We need them to encourage the children to go to school—it is one of the conditions of our building the school.

Do you form a close relationship with the community?

Yes, of course. We need to build a relationship to get their support because we are working for the community and with the community.

Is there a big difference between the quality of education in the private schools and the government schools?

Yes, a big difference. The government teachers all have training, but there is no spirit for education. They have the training, but there is no desire for teaching and learning. The system in the whole country is not conducive for education. We at Jesuit Services try to help but cannot change the system. Our efforts don’t have a deep impact, so we are thinking of starting Jesuit schools so that we can run them and improve the quality of education.

In the villages where you are building primary schools, is there access to secondary schools as well? I have seen that many children who attend primary school in their village do not have access to a secondary school—maybe it is very far away and they cannot get there. Is that an issue that you see?

Yes, and we also provide bicycles to student so they can get to secondary schools.

Why is education so important to the Jesuit Service?

Well, to give education is to give access to a bigger world and more awareness, understanding, and knowledge. It is part of the conditions to become a truly complete person.

And that is a large focus of Jesuits in general, correct?

Yes, it is tradition to focus on education.

Why is education so important specifically to Cambodia?

I think it is important because it is for the future of the children and for the country.

What is the future for these children if they do not get an education?

If they do not get education, they will stay in poverty. The better education they receive, the better life they will have. It is a positive change for their life.

I know you mentioned that one of the four pillars for Jesuit Services is education. However, the other three all relate to education, as well. For example, you mentioned infrastructure as another pillar. Is it true that developing infrastructure will also help provide education?

Yes, that is true. For example, if the roof on the school is leaking, the children cannot go to school. We need to create a good place for them to study that is conducive to education.

What is the most challenging part of building up schools and getting children to go to school?

The building of schools is not very hard; what is hard is maintaining a school that provides good education to the students. We need a good principal and good teachers. If the principal is good then the school will be better, and we are happy to work with the principals to get the schools and the children what they need.

Are the regional governments very supportive of your work?

Yes, of course. We need to get their permission to build the schools. Also, they will sometimes provide us teachers or train our teachers. So yes, they are very supportive.

It’s like you are doing their work for them. You are the ones building the schools the government should be building.

Yes, yes. We still need a good relationship with the government so they will support our children.

And what is the most rewarding part of your job at Jesuit Services?

The most rewarding part is seeing the impact on the people, on the children. Even though they are a very small number, our students are happy and continue to study. They want to go to school, so the lives of the people change. We are improving the people’s lives.

Have you seen much impact on the children through your work?

I think so, yes. For example, now the village wants to plant trees and take care of them. Every three months we evaluate the tree and the work of the people. The whole community is happy and wants to take care of the tree. There are social benefits for the children and their familes. They want to take care of themselves and their environment.
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