In Prek Toal, a floating community on Tonle Sap lake in Cambodia, rising fuel costs are making it difficult for families to transport their children to school. Families depend on fishing for livelihoods and need gasoline for daily travel, but prices have increased by 45% for gasoline and over 70% for diesel since March. The increased cost has forced some students to miss school, with families having to make difficult choices between sending their children to class or buying food and other necessities. For families like Soksan's and Siyien's, education is still seen as a priority, but the strain on finances is evident.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-10,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Every morning, 12-year-old Soksan Set faces a journey most children his age never have to think about.
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children → face → journey
Soksan lives in Prek Toal, a floating community on Tonle Sap, Southeast Asia's largest freshwater lake where boats are the main means of transport.
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boats → live → transport
A Grade 4 student at the local primary school, he travels several kilometers on water to attend class and sometimes helps younger children along the way.
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he → travel → way
His family, like many others in the commune, depends on fishing for their livelihood.
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family → depend → livelihood
When fuel prices rise, they are forced to make difficult choices.
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they → rise → choices
"When gasoline prices go up, we don't have enough money to take our children to school regularly," said Soksan's father, 41-year-old Set Soeum.
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father → go → school
"We don't catch enough fish, and we need around three liters (0.8 gallons) of gasoline a day to travel long distances for fishing.
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we → catch → fishing
Because of this, Soksan often has to miss school.
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Soksan → have → school
For families living on the water, rising fuel costs can quickly become a barrier to education.
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costs → live → education
Why rising fuel costs hit Cambodia's poor the hardest
Cambodia relies heavily on imported fuel, leaving households exposed to global price shocks and regional supply disruptions.
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Cambodia → rise → shocks
The 2026 Iran war has driven up energy costs, making transport to remote communities more expensive.
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transport → drive → communities
Around Tonle Sap, this has hit students and their families.
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this → hit → students
Gasoline prices rose 45% and diesel prices more than 70% in March, the largest single-month increase since 2008, according to the World Bank.
uncertain
prices → rise → Bank
Gasoline currently costs 5,700 riel ($1.41, €1.21) per liter, up 26.7% from 4,500 riel a year ago, according to Global Petrol Prices.
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Gasoline → cost → Prices
Although Cambodia does not depend directly on the Strait of Hormuz for most of its fuel imports, it is exposed to higher global oil prices and supply disruptions affecting regional suppliers.
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it → depend → suppliers
Cambodia imports all of its petroleum products and has no domestic refining capacity.
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Cambodia → import → capacity
For Soksan's family, the pressure is felt both on the fishing boat and the school boat.
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pressure → feel → boat
Some days, they borrow money to buy gasoline.
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they → borrow → gasoline
On other days, they cut back on food, clothing or school supplies.
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they → cut → food
"Five students collect money to buy gasoline, sometimes just one liter at a time," Soksan said.
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Soksan → collect → time
When they cannot afford even that, they row themselves.
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they → afford → that
"We row the boat ourselves.
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We → row → boat
It can take up to an hour, but we still try to go to school," he noted.
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he → take → school
On the Tonle Sap, 12-year-old Siyien Ly walks more than 30 minutes to school during the dry season.
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Ly → walk → season
When flooding makes the roads impassable, she relies on an aid-supported school boat.
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she → make → boat
Some of her classmates have stopped attending, because their families cannot afford the cost of transport.
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families → stop → transport
"Even though fuel prices are rising, we still keep trying to come to school because education is important for our future," Siyien said.
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Siyien → rise → future
Siyien's family of six has four children in school.
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family → have → school
Her mother, Kunthea Chin, now sells sugarcane juice after Siyien's father developed serious hearing problems following a water-related accident.
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father → sell → accident
Kunthea said that her daily income has fallen by around half from about $20 to around $10 while the cost of supplies has risen.
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cost → say → supplies
The family spends around $150 a month on fuel, which they need for both the children's transport and her business.
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they → spend → transport
Taking risks to reach the classroom
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Taking → take → classroom
Families also try to reduce costs by traveling together and sharing fuel expenses.
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Families → try → expenses
Some have returned to traditional rowing boats.
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Some → return → boats
But saving money can come at the cost of safety.
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saving → save → safety
When several children share a small boat, it can become crowded.
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it → share → boat
During storms and heavy rain, parents worry about their children's safety on the water.
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parents → worry → water
"My mother worries when too many students ride together," Siyien said.
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Siyien → worry → ?
Remote schools also depend on boats to transport teachers, textbooks, classroom materials, food and maintenance supplies.
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schools → depend → teachers
Higher fuel prices can therefore increase the cost of delivering education itself.
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prices → increase → education
…and 21 more, not listed.
