With a school dropout rate of 1 in 5 children, PeopleStories aims to transform lives through greater access to education with the communities in need. Its purpose is to empower children to ultimately break their cycle of poverty. Established in 2017, the charity now works with 10 government schools in rural Cambodia supporting approximately 3,000 students and teachers through scholarships, building school facilities, and running literacy and sports education programs.

Scope

Oliver Wyman supported the strategic decisioning and development of 'Smart School Anywhere', a new digital education program by PeopleStories that aims to provide greater access to digital learning for rural students and those who lack regular education access, especially exacerbated by school closures stemming from the pandemic. Oliver Wyman worked with PeopleStories to understand gaps in learning and how they can be filled with a supplemental digital learning platform or existing market tools, and the associated needs to implement them in the community. We also offered feasible suggestions for strategies that communities and schools can use to meet and increase funding needs.  

Impact

As a result of the work developing ‘Smart School Everywhere’ with Oliver Wyman, PeopleStories now has a clear and sustainable path forward to enable comprehensive decision-making around strategic issues, with a clearly defined plans and timelines. PeopleStories now has the vision, capability, and the tenacity to pilot, rollout, and scale the program – allowing students to enjoy an elevated level of education access and quality. In the long term, we hope the improved access to education will offer the children in rural Cambodia more opportunity to pursue their dreams through increased employment options.