Help REAN AAN bring Cambodian children the ACCESS to Fun Extensive Reading in Khmer Language

The Problem

In Cambodia, 73% of 3 – 5 year-old children in Cambodia are BEHIND in their development in literacy (UNICEF, 2018). According to the findings from PISA-D conducted by OECD in 2018, 41% of students at 15 years old and below in Cambodia perform below the baseline in Reading. What has been contributing to this problem is the lack of Early Reading Habits. We believe that the main root cause is the lack of ACCESS to fun Extensive reading resources in Khmer language for young children in their primary levels —despite of the efforts from the Ministry and some big NGOs in Cambodia. And the pandemic makes it even worse since schools have been closed for quite some time now.

Therefore, we have formed a team of committed and passionate individuals from different backgrounds and skills to work on resolving this solvable issue.

Why REAN AAN exists

We dream a world where all CHILDREN in Cambodia have the ACCESS to READING in Khmer language for FUN and EMPOWERMENT.

How we do that

We are on a mission to establish the necessary infrastructures to enable READING in Khmer language to be fun, accessible and empowering through the power of TECHNOLOGY.

What we do

First, we aim to develop a kid-friendly mobile application consisting of free story e-books (for reading) and animated version (for watching) of those stories in Khmer language. We intentionally turn the story books into an animation because it is a simple fact that kids love watching cartoons. We also grade the story books/videos into 18 Reading Levels to fit with different reading abilities of the Primary school students so that they get the opportunity to read/watch at the right level with suitable progression. Reading at the right level provides them with a sense of achievement while being able to enjoy the journeys each story brings. As a result, they will grow the love for reading, so they will start to take up reading as a part of their habit, ultimately making them independent learners, thinkers and leaders.

"Today leader, tomorrow a leader." Margaret Fuller

"Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers." Harry S. Truman

What we have done

We have gathered hundreds of Khmer story e-books and produced about 50 animated videos from those books so far. We have launched our Facebook page to share our videos with parents as well as raise awareness around the importance of Extensive Reading at a young age. We also have a Telegram Channel where we send in video stories and e-books every day for a community of parents and teachers who have/teach kids in Primary Levels. Parents and teachers have been really happy to receive the videos and e-books because their kids/students enjoy watching the beautifully-illustrated animation while being able to read along with the voice over using the Khmer Subtitles. We aim to launch the first version of the mobile application by the end of 2021. Moreover, we have been working closely with primary school principals in Kampong Chnang province to ensure that we could reach at least 10,000 children after we launch the first version of the mobile application. The first App prototype/mock-up has also been developed to be the foundation for the up-coming App Development team to work with.

Potential long-term Impact

Cambodia’s Total Population = 16.7 million (Worldometer, 2020)

• 3 – 14 years old = approx. 22% (Population Pyramid, 2019)
• 97% of children enrolled in Primary Education (73% of 3 – 5 year olds are BEHIND in their development in literacy) (UNICEF, 2018)
• Households with Smartphones/Tablets = 50%+ (Phnom Penh Post, 2019)

From the above data, approx. 8% (1.34 million) of the total population will be potential REAN AAN App users (3 – 14 age group) who will benefit greatly from the App and future infrastructures.

Campaign Goals

• Objectives
  • Produce about 600 video stories at the end of 2021
  • Launch the first version of REAN AAN mobile application with the produced video stories and e-books by the end of 2021
• Timeline: August-December 2021 (first stage of the project)
• Financial Goals ($18,000)
  • $6,000 for Video Production (approximately $10 for 1 Video)
  • $12,000 for Mobile App Development

Funding Requirements

Since we started in April, all 10 REAN AAN team members have been working on volunteering basis without any pay. The 2 challenges we are facing right now are that 1). our production team cannot work up to speed to reach the goal of 600 videos by the end of 2021 and 2). we have not got any one in our team with the expertise in specifically Software Development yet. Therefore, we are now seeking to hire:

• 2 more voice over artists
• 2 more video producers
• 1 Project Manager (App Development)
• 1 App Developer
• 1 Graphic Designer

This funding would enable REAN AAN to operate at a full capacity, maximizing the productivity and impact. Furthermore, it will also help us build a strong foundation for REAN AAN and allow us to apply for longer-term grant financing future projects.

How your donation will be utilized

• $10 = 1 video story
• $800/month for Project Manager (5 months period)
• $4.5K for App Development for both Android and iOS
• $2.5K for UX/UI Design
• $250 for VPS Hosting Server for Database
• $350 for VPS Hosting Server for Application

We really need the support from all of you to execute this stage of our project successfully. We would be really grateful if you make the donation to fund REAN AAN right now. Your donation will go a long way to help enable fun EXTENSIVE READING to be more ACCESSIBLE to Cambodian children. However, if you cannot make the donation today, we would appreciate you sharing this with your families and friends.

REAN AAN Team

Sofilta SETH : Operation Lead

Chindavotey LY : Social Media Lead

Dany CHE : Production Lead

Sokuntharoath CHUM : Production Lead

Vanny CHEAN : Book Grader

Pheanut PROEUNG : Video Editor

Madona THY : Video Editor

Arunremfa LIM : Production Member

Visal SIN : Voice-over Artist

Heang XANG : Voice-over Artist

All team members have been working virtually due to the pandemic. You can learn more about REAN AAN by:

• visiting our WebSite: https://sites.google.com/view/rean-aan/home
• checking out our Facebook Page: រៀនអាន-REAN AAN (https://www.facebook.com/reanaaneducation)
• contacting us directly via Tel: (+855) 93 40 58 58