On Garbage Hill

Our popular ‘Literacy for Life’ projects are generously supported by Bible Society donors – here’s how just one is making a real difference

Three decades of fierce civil conflict in Cambodia stripped almost an entire generation of an education. Widespread illiteracy makes children and adults alike vulnerable to poverty and exploitation. To help turn back the tide of illiteracy, the Bible Society launched the ‘Generation of Hope’ project in Garbage Hill, one of the poorest areas of Phnom Penh. Here, men, women and children work from dawn to dusk collecting recyclable materials from garbage. After a day in the unbearable stench, they may earn just two dollars. 20 eager children turned up for their classes, in which they learn to read and write, using the Bible as their text. They are led by a Christian lady, Bunny, a man from the local church and a Bible Society worker. The classes are specially devised to ensure the children enjoy the learning. None of them ever wants to miss the class. Most of them are very intelligent and learn literacy quickly, as well as the precious truths of Scripture.

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