Sisters of Code visits Schools in Battambang and Siem Reap
- Sisters of Code
- 9 hours ago
- 4 min read
Most of Sisters of Code’s work happens in Phnom Penh. But we never forget about the provinces and this May our team has organized a special trip to visit our partners in Battambang and Siem Reap. This visit was a clear reminder of how much demand for digital education exists outside the capital.
Over several days, the team visited six schools and one university across both provinces, running information sessions that reached 620 female students. The number matters less than what it represents: girls in provincial secondary schools who have the same curiosity about technology as girls in Phnom Penh, but fewer pathways to act on it.
The visits also included meetings with provincial government partners — the Departments of Post and Telecommunications, Education, and Labor and Vocational Training — to build the kind of institutional relationships that make Sisters of Code Clubs sustainable beyond a single visit.
Battambang Province
Across three schools in Battambang, around 210 students participated in the outreach sessions, where many asked thoughtful questions about coding, technology careers, and opportunities to continue learning beyond the free programs. Teachers and local stakeholders also showed strong support for expanding digital education opportunities for girls in the province.
Sorhue Secondary School: About 40 girls joined the session. For most of them, coding wasn’t something they’d considered as a real option — not because of lack of interest, but because no one had shown up to offer it. That’s the basic problem Sisters of Code is trying to solve in the provinces.
Preah Monivong High School: Roughly 60 Grade 11 students attended alongside several teachers. The teachers stayed for the whole session, asked their own questions, and talked about what a club would need to function at their school. That kind of conversation — practical, specific, led by the school rather than by us — is what makes outreach worth doing.
Net Yang High School: The largest Battambang session, with around 110 students. Questions ran past the scheduled time and got specific: which programming languages, what career paths, what the commitment looks like. Students weren’t asking whether coding was for them. They were asking how to start.
In addition to the school visits, the team met with the Provincial Department of Post and Telecommunications and the Provincial Department of Labor and Vocational Training. Both are open to future coordination on digital education for girls — conversations that we hope will mean more than goodwill over time.
Siem Reap Rrovince
Across four information sessions, Sisters of Code reached around 410 students. One thing became very clear: many girls are interested in technology and digital skills, but often lack exposure, encouragement, and accessible opportunities to begin. From secondary school students asking how to join coding clubs to university students discussing employment and career pathways, the conversations showed both curiosity and ambition.
Hun Sen Wat Svay High School: The largest single session of the trip, around 180 girls. The school created a genuinely welcoming environment: teachers introduced the program, leaders stayed in the room, and students felt comfortable enough to ask questions they might not ask in a less supported setting. That atmosphere doesn’t happen by accident, and it made a difference.
10 January High School: About 100 students participated. Angkor High School: Approximately 120 attended. Across both schools, the pattern repeated: girls who were initially unsure whether coding was something for people like them, and by the end of the session, asking about how to sign up.
The team also visited the University of South-East Asia (USEA), where 10 university students joined an Employment Skills Program information session. Older students ask harder questions — about job markets, about whether digital skills actually change outcomes. Those conversations are worth having too.
In Siem Reap, the team met with the Provincial Department of Post and Telecommunications and, they made the logistics of the whole trip work. That kind of coordination doesn’t just happen; people chose to make it happen, and Sisters of Code is grateful they did.
On Bringing the Program to the Provinces
Digital education in Cambodia is concentrated in Phnom Penh — where the infrastructure is better, the partners more accessible, options are more diverse. Sisters of Code is trying not to grow beyond the capital and make sure girls in the provinces are not excluded. The girls we met in Battambang and Siem Reap are not waiting for technology to come to them someday. They’re ready now. The question is whether the organizations and institutions around them show up consistently enough to give that readiness somewhere to go.
These visits were a start. The follow-through — clubs that actually launch, teachers who are supported, students who finish the program — is the harder part, and the part that matters more.
If your school or organization in Battambang or Siem Reap is interested in hosting a Sisters of Code Club, get in touch at sistersofcode.org.
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