Soksan lives in Prek Toal, a floating community on where boats are the main means of 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.
But increasingly, the biggest obstacle between Soksan and his classroom is not distance. It is fuel. His family, like many others in the commune, depends on fishing for their livelihood. When fuel prices rise, they are forced to make difficult 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. "We don't catch enough fish, and we need around three liters of gasoline a day to travel long distances for fishing. Because of this, Soksan often has to miss school. "
For families living on the water, rising fuel costs can quickly become a barrier to . 
Why rising fuel costs hit Cambodia's poor the hardest
relies heavily on imported fuel, leaving households exposed to global price shocks and regional supply disruptions. The has driven up energy costs, making transport to remote communities more expensive. Around Tonle Sap, this has hit students and their families.
Gasoline prices rose 45% and diesel prices more than 70% in March, the largest single-month increase since 2008, according to the World Bank.
Gasoline currently costs 5,700 riel ($1.41) per liter, up 26.7% from 4,500 riel ($1.11) a year ago, according to Global Petrol Prices.
Although Cambodia does not depend directly on the for most of its fuel imports, it is exposed to Cambodia imports all of its petroleum products and has no domestic refining capacity.
For Soksan's family, the pressure is felt both on the fishing boat and the school boat. Some days, they borrow money to buy gasoline. Other days, they cut back on food, clothing or school supplies.
"Five students collect money to buy gasoline, sometimes just one liter at a time," Soksan said. When they cannot afford even that, they row themselves. "We row the boat ourselves. It can take up to an hour, but we still try to go to school," he noted.
On the Tonle Sap, 12-year-old Siyien Ly walks more than 30 minutes to school during the dry season. When flooding makes the roads impassable, she relies on an aid-supported school boat. Some of her classmates have stopped attending because their families cannot afford the cost of transport.
"Even though fuel prices are rising, we still keep trying to come to school because education is important for our future," Siyien said.
Siyien's family of six has four children in school. Her mother, Kunthea Chin, now sells sugarcane juice after Siyien's father developed serious hearing problems following a water-related accident.
Kunthea said that her daily income has fallen from about 80,000 riel ($20) to around 40,000 riel, while the cost of supplies has risen. The family spends around 600,000 riel ($150) a month on fuel, which they need for both the children's transport and her business.
