Defying poverty: How a backpack helped Panha stay in school

Back-to-school time used to have Seng Chou’s stomach tied in knots. As Cambodia’s month-long school vacation wound down each January, her anxiety rose with it.

No, Seng Chou isn’t a student going back to school, but she’s raising four grandchildren under one roof. This is the story of one of them—her grandson Panha—and the question she couldn’t shake every year: how would she afford the pens, books and backpack he needed just to walk into his classroom?

Year after year, the answer was always the same: she couldn’t, not on her own. So she swallowed her pride and went to relatives and neighbours, asking to borrow money she didn’t have so 12-year-old Panha wouldn’t fall behind.

Trapped in a cycle of poverty

Panha describes his family as “very poor.” He adds, “My parents work in Thailand, and they are trying very hard to earn money for me, my siblings and my grandparents.”

More people can relate to Panha’s life than you can even imagine. Extreme poverty affects approximately 826 million people around the world. That’s almost one billion people living on less than $3 USD per day.

And about half that number— 412 million —are children.

But poverty isn’t just about lack of money. It’s also about lack of access to everything from education and healthcare to skills and resources that can lead to opportunities to get ahead.

The causes of poverty are complex and multidimensional:

• Conflict and instability force people to flee their homes, sometimes with nothing more than what they can carry, for relative safety in neighbouring cities or nations.

• Climate change disrupts weather systems and creates conditions that can wipe out crops through drought, flooding or wildfires.

• Economic crises and rising costs drive up prices of everyday essentials that people need for survival, such as food, water and healthcare.

• Lack of support from the government, such as social programs that can help impoverished families make ends meet.

Any one of these challenges on their own is difficult to overcome. Together, they can trap a family for generations. For Seng Chou’s family, two years of failed rice harvests, worsened by flooding, left them owing more than they could repay—and no way to dig themselves out.

Here’s how poverty shaped Panha’s childhood. A broken family. A grandmother forced to borrow money to make ends meet. Parents toiling away to pay down their debt. And, worst of all, children paying for a crisis they didn’t create.

The backpack that carried the future

Seng Chou looks back on how she raised her son and is determined not to repeat the same pattern with her grandchildren. Her own son, Panha’s father, quit school in grade three and she admits that she wasn’t hands-on when it came to his schooling.

It never occurred to her that his missed education would impact the next generation, too.

This time, she wanted things to be different for Panha. But wanting it and being able to provide for it were two different things—until World Vision partnered with her community to tackle the barriers keeping families from real progress. Little by little, she began to see change take root, with help from World Vision supporters.

Seng Chou recalls Panha’s excitement when he received a backpack full of school supplies from World Vision. “Grandma, I already got books!” he exclaimed happily. “I already got shirts! Grandma, I already got shoes! Grandma, I already got a backpack!”

For Seng Chou, the backpack was more than a gift—it was the key that unlocked Panha’s future. “I am very delighted now that I can worry less about finding him his study materials,” she says. “I am sure he can go to class with the help from World Vision.”

Mrs. Soda, the village chief, explains how World Vision helps deliver support where families need it most. “When there are families who are nutritionally deficient, the Nutrition team, the Health team and the Education team of World Vision will deal with the vulnerability through distributing materials, food and other support to our community.”

The future looks bright for Panha, who now has the tools he needs to live life to the fullest. Empowered and equipped for school, he dreams about giving back to his community.

“I believe one day I will be a police officer to protect children and people in Cambodia.”

It’s amazing what the gift of a backpack can do for a child struggling to stay in school simply because he couldn’t afford one. In 2025, nearly 1.5 million people benefited from World Vision Canada ’s educational programs, including 1,073,726 children who received school supplies and educational resources.

With you, we can reach even more children, families and communities. Here’s how.

Help kids rise and families grow strong

A gift to World Vision Canada’s Where Most Needed program doesn’t just help kids like Panha stay in school—it helps them flourish and dream big. Your one-time gift or monthly donation can help provide:

• Access to essentials like education, healthcare, nutritious food and clean water.
• After-school programs where kids can learn their rights, develop new skills and make new friends.
• Programs that help families gain economic stability and independence.

Partner with World Vision Canada today to help children and families break free from poverty and move toward a life of fullness.