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You're watching UNICEF Television.

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Every weekday morning, children aged 3 to 5 in Ban Tayai Krang village attend classes

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at the non-formal community preschool.

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For children such as 5-year-old Natar, simple and stimulating activities are essential for

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early childhood education, and to help them enter primary school at the right age.

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Only less than 14% of 3 to 5-year-olds in Cambodia are enrolled in preschools, and mostly

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in affluent urban areas.

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UNICEF's Child Rights Program in Cambodia, known as Seth Korma in Khmer, is working with

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rural communities to build preschools with access to clean water and latrines.

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They also train volunteer teachers and provide basic school supplies.

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Currently the Cambodian government doesn't have the necessary funds to provide early

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childhood education to all Cambodian children, especially in the rural areas.

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There are big problems with children enrolling in school at a later age, dropping out of

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school or repeating classes, and UNICEF believes that community preschool education actually

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better prepares children for formal schooling and aids them in their psychosocial development.

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For Natar, the two-hour preschool classes of a morning provides a positive daily routine

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in her life.

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Her parents are divorced, her mother lives in Phnom Penh and works in a garment factory.

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Natar lives with her grandmother together with her elder sister and cousin.

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Her grandmother Savun believes preschool is giving Natar a good head start in life.

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She says without her father, Natar is much more vulnerable.

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Community preschool gives her the education she needs.

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In the past year, UNICEF has assisted around 900 preschools in six rural provinces, helping

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to bring early education to some 20,000 children.

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Natar says she's looking forward to going to primary school next year when she turns

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six.

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Having attended community preschool since she was three, Natar will be on track to enrol

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at her local primary school with her friends at the right age.

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This is Guy Deegan reporting for UNICEF Television.

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Unite for Children.