KAMPONG PRAHOK, Cambodia (AP) — On Cambodia’s Tonle Sap, the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia, getting anywhere has always meant navigating the water. It isn’t any different for schoolchildren.
Most mornings, a gas-powered boat chugs through Kampong Prahok floating village, steered by students often no older than those climbing aboard. They pull up alongside floating homes, as peers in crisp uniforms clamber aboard, careful to keep their backpacks dry.
The Iran war is driving up fuel prices, making it more expensive for students to get to school.
Students arrive at a school in a floating village on the Tonle Sap Lake, Cambodia, Tuesday, June 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Anton L. Delgado)
Students arrive at a school in a floating village on the Tonle Sap Lake, Cambodia, Tuesday, June 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Anton L. Delgado)
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Students from a floating village on Cambodia’s Tonle Sap Lake return to their homes in a school boat on Monday, June 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Anton L. Delgado)
Students from a floating village on Cambodia’s Tonle Sap Lake return to their homes in a school boat on Monday, June 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Anton L. Delgado)
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The floating village of Kampong Prahok on the Tonle Sap Lake, Cambodia, Monday, June 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Anton L. Delgado)
The floating village of Kampong Prahok on the Tonle Sap Lake, Cambodia, Monday, June 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Anton L. Delgado)
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Students participate in a counting exercise at a school in one of the floating villages of Cambodia’s Tonle Sap Lake on Monday, June 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Anton L. Delgado)
Students participate in a counting exercise at a school in one of the floating villages of Cambodia’s Tonle Sap Lake on Monday, June 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Anton L. Delgado)
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Thirteen-year-old Sou Sreynich, right, attends a computer class at a school in one of the floating villages of Cambodia’s Tonle Sap Lake on Monday, June 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Anton L. Delgado)
Thirteen-year-old Sou Sreynich, right, attends a computer class at a school in one of the floating villages of Cambodia’s Tonle Sap Lake on Monday, June 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Anton L. Delgado)
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Students attend a computer class at a school in one of the floating villages of Cambodia’s Tonle Sap Lake on Monday, June 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Anton L. Delgado)
Students attend a computer class at a school in one of the floating villages of Cambodia’s Tonle Sap Lake on Monday, June 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Anton L. Delgado)
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Students attend a computer class at a school in one of the floating villages of Cambodia’s Tonle Sap Lake on Monday, June 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Anton L. Delgado)
Students attend a computer class at a school in one of the floating villages of Cambodia’s Tonle Sap Lake on Monday, June 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Anton L. Delgado)
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A student looks up from his picture book at a school in one of the floating villages of Cambodia’s Tonle Sap Lake on Monday, June 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Aniruddha Ghosal)
A student looks up from his picture book at a school in one of the floating villages of Cambodia’s Tonle Sap Lake on Monday, June 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Aniruddha Ghosal)
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Students in a school in one of the floating villages of Cambodia’s Tonle Sap Lake on Monday, June 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Aniruddha Ghosal)
Students in a school in one of the floating villages of Cambodia’s Tonle Sap Lake on Monday, June 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Aniruddha Ghosal)
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Nhim San, left, and her daughter, Sou Sreynich, at their home in a floating village on Cambodia’s Tonle Sap Lake on Monday, June 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Anton L. Delgado)
Nhim San, left, and her daughter, Sou Sreynich, at their home in a floating village on Cambodia’s Tonle Sap Lake on Monday, June 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Anton L. Delgado)
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Boats traverse a floating village on Cambodia’s Tonle Sap Lake on Monday, June 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Anton L. Delgado)
Boats traverse a floating village on Cambodia’s Tonle Sap Lake on Monday, June 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Anton L. Delgado)
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Students from a floating village on Cambodia’s Tonle Sap Lake take a school boat back to their homes on Tuesday, June 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Anton L. Delgado)
Students from a floating village on Cambodia’s Tonle Sap Lake take a school boat back to their homes on Tuesday, June 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Anton L. Delgado)
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Sou Sreynich, center, collects firewood with her mother and sister near their home in a floating village on Cambodia’s Tonle Sap Lake on Monday, June 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Anton L. Delgado)
Sou Sreynich, center, collects firewood with her mother and sister near their home in a floating village on Cambodia’s Tonle Sap Lake on Monday, June 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Anton L. Delgado)
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Students board school boats to return to their homes in a floating village on Cambodia’s Tonle Sap Lake on Monday, June 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Anton L. Delgado)
Students board school boats to return to their homes in a floating village on Cambodia’s Tonle Sap Lake on Monday, June 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Anton L. Delgado)
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Some children are quitting school and starting to work to help their families make ends meet. Cash-strapped governments in hard-hit Asia also are struggling to fund education initiatives and school meal programs that help keep millions of children in classrooms.
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This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.
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Associated Press reporter Sopheng Cheang contributed to this report.
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