Over the past 35 years, Cambodians have endured a traumatic history. Even now, the country struggles to recover from events set in motion during the Vietnam War era.

Between 1968 and 1973, Cambodia was the target of bombing raids by the United States, which sought to halt the transportation of North Vietnamese troops and supplies through Cambodia. An estimated 100,000 Cambodians lost their lives, and an additional two million people were left homeless.

In 1975, communist Cambodian forces—the Khmer Rouge—captured Phnom Penh, and began one of the most devastating reigns in history. Cities and towns were evacuated, their residents forced into brutal work camps. Educated citizens were particular targets, with doctors and teachers among the first to be killed. Executions, starvation, and disease ravaged the population. Estimates suggest that at least 1.5 million Cambodians lost their lives under the Khmer Rouge, from a total population of approximately eight million.

In 1978, the Khmer Rouge were driven into the countryside, but the following decade saw more unrest. Violence continued until the 1991 Paris Peace Accords. Remaining members of the Khmer Rouge did not surrender until 1999, and some members are currently undergoing trial by a U.N.-sponsored tribunal.

Today, Cambodia struggles to rebuild its society, and particularly the education system that was so decimated during the years of the Khmer Rouge. It is this work that Reach Out to Educate seeks to support.