Empowering Cambodian Children with English 2026

2nd Quarterly Report

Warm greetings from Siem Reap!

I’m pleased to share highlights from Quarter 2 at Opening Doors Cambodia (ODC). While Cambodia continues to recover from global economic instability and faces added pressure from recent border tensions with Thailand, we’ve witnessed extraordinary resilience in our community. Families continue to prioritize their children’s education despite inflation, rising costs, and limited job opportunities.

We now serve 283 students across 13 classes, supported by 8 professional teachers, 2 teaching scholars, and 2 volunteers. A few students withdrew due to family relocations or scheduling conflicts with Khmer school. This quarter’s weekend enrichment program also grew thanks to our dedicated volunteers and board members. David, an international board member, led a 6-week Sunday science class. Anna Geary, a volunteer from England, completed a 3-month teaching term and also facilitated a 6-week speaking course. Though now back home, she plans to continue supporting our top students through online weekend classes focused on real-world English and confidence building. Kathy, another board member, will soon lead a 6-week class on global proverbs, helping students connect cultural learning with real-life reflection. This quarter, we also celebrated the success of three of our teachers, all of whom sat for the IELTS exam and exceeded ODC’s benchmark scores. In addition to this milestone, all staff participated in monthly professional development workshops, with a focus on using digital tools to enhance teaching quality. We also conducted a full-day first aid training, ensuring our team is equipped to respond effectively to student health needs.

According to our Q2 Academic Progress Report, overall student performance reached 81.24%. The majority of students passed their Q2 exams, demonstrating encouraging progress. A few did not meet expectations—not due to a lack of effort, but because of ODC’s raised academic standards this year, aimed at promoting deeper understanding and stronger long-term learning outcomes.

We also hosted teacher-parent meetings this quarter—and were moved by the response. 98% of parents came to meet with our teachers, a powerful sign of trust and commitment. Teachers noted that in other schools where they’ve worked, parent turnout is often very low. At ODC, the opposite was true: nearly every parent came, asked questions, and showed strong support for their children’s education. This moment was a reminder that we are not only educating students—but also earning the trust of families and building meaningful relationships within our community.

Despite these successes, funding remains our greatest challenge. With rising operating costs and increased student interest, we’ve had to make difficult decisions for the coming year. In 2026, due to limited resources, we plan to reduce the number of classes and operate within a constrained financial framework. This also means we’ve had to turn away a small number of students—a heartbreaking but necessary decision to preserve the quality of our programs. We approached these moments with care and honesty, helping families understand that our priority is sustainability and depth, not scale alone.

To help ODC become more sustainable in the future, we carried out a feasibility study and are now preparing to launch a pilot project. We hope this project will bring in income to support our work in the years ahead.

Thank you for walking alongside us. In a world full of uncertainty, your support provides consistency, care, and opportunity for the children we serve. Every lesson taught, every dream nurtured, and every family reached is made possible by your belief in our mission.

With deep appreciation,
Chhaiya Im
Founder & Headmaster, ODC