Fuel Crisis Deepens Education Crisis for Cambodia's Lake Communities
Soaring fuel prices from the Iran war are forcing poor families in Cambodia and Vietnam to pull children out of school, threatening years of education progress.
On the floating villages of Cambodia's Tonle Sap lake, the Iran war is an invisible force reshaping childhoods. Thirteen-year-old Sou Sreynich dreams of becoming a teacher, but she entered school at 10, years behind her peers. Her mother delayed her enrollment until she could swim, fearing the boat ride to school might capsize.
Now, the war-driven spike in gasoline prices has added a new burden. Families that already struggled to afford food and fuel are finding it harder to keep children in school. Teachers say 10 students have drowned over the years, and climate change is making the lake's waters more unpredictable.
Sreynich's family depends on fishing. Rising fuel costs mean they cannot travel to deeper waters where fish are plentiful. When money runs short, she skips school to work with her parents. "I want to complete my studies," she says.
The impact extends beyond Cambodia. In Vietnam, two sisters, Ly, 16, and Nhi, 13, dropped out of school to work in a Hanoi restaurant after their father lost his fishing job when diesel prices soared. The work was illegal for Nhi, and the girls were exposed to sharp tools and heavy lifting. A nonprofit intervened, and they returned to school.
A UNICEF report warns that if the war continues, up to 23.4 million more children could be pushed into poverty by year's end, with 80% in Africa and Asia. Rising fuel costs are making education more expensive—from transport to supplies—and straining government budgets.
In Bangladesh, the war threatens years of progress in education and poverty reduction. In South Asia, girls are especially at risk, as families may prioritize sons and turn to child marriage during economic hardship. School meal programs, which feed over 466 million children worldwide, are also under pressure as fertilizer and transport costs rise.
"It's the tipping point for a lot of families," says Michael Brosowski of Blue Dragon Children's Foundation. When families reach a financial breaking point, they often pull some children out of school to work, leaving them vulnerable to exploitation and trafficking.
On Tonle Sap, the cost of everything has risen, including electricity for school labs. "Even the electricity to run this lab is 10-times higher," says Samphors Vorn of Aide et Action. For families already living on the edge, the choice between schooling and survival is becoming starker every day.