Srey Im Kim
My name is SREY IM KIM, I am 20 years old. I am a student at the National University of Management. I have 3 siblings and I am from Banteay Meanchey Province. My father was a Farmer and construction worker and could make about $200 per month, but now he has come back home to work in his field. It was hard to support my sister and me. I dropped out of school when I was 14 years old. I went to Thailand with my parent to work. My life in Thailand was so difficult. I learned to live and work in another country for the first time in my life. I saw many different things in Thailand and it changed my thinking of life. My work experience helped me to better understand the value of life and the importance of a good education. When I went back to school, I was more committed to learning. I wanted to be a good resource for my country and have a good job, so that I could be independent. This problem inspired me more and gave me the confidence to pursue a degree in Phnom Penh.
Unfortunately, when I finished High School, my parents couldn’t afford to pay for a university education and they wanted me to be a teacher in my hometown. But I had my own dream that… Srey Im’s story >
Dina Leangchiv
My name is Dina Leangchiv (杨温錱 ). I am 19 years old as of 2022. I am from Krouch Chhmar district, Tbong Khmum province, formerly Kampong Cham province. I am the first of three children in a poor family of seven (my grandparents, parents, brother, and sister).
Of course, everyone has different experiences and each of us has our own life story. Some are born into affluent families where they are able to enjoy their childhood and have the opportunity to study outside of school hours. While others are born into poor families and have almost no education. Poverty robs them of the joys of childhood. In addition to school hours, they must work hard to earn a living and alleviate the financial burden on their families as much as possible. The following is a story from my past that I will never forget: When I was 7 years old, in the first grade, my father was promoted to a small position away from home. During this time, I began to know what it meant to be away from my father, how it felt. My family really… Leangchiv’s story >
Tann Sophat
My name is Sophat and I am 22 years old. I grew up in a small village on the outskirts of Siem Reap, Cambodia to a loving family of six and I am the second child. I am now a sophomore at the University of Puthisastra, majoring in Information Technology.
I came from an unprivileged family where my mother is a farmer and my father is a carpenter. Since my father doesn’t earn much in my hometown, he decided to migrate to Preah Vihear in order to turn a profit to support the family. Meanwhile, I spent my early childhood living with my mom and three sisters. Sooner or later, my mom and my youngest sister also went there in order to assist with cooking and stuff. Without enough warmth from my parents, sometimes it was hard for me to adapt and live with my grandma who was my caregiver at that time. Luckily, my house was near my school so I was able to walk there otherwise I don’t know what I would have done since I didn’t have any transportation. But I was so ecstatic when, in grade 8, my parents could afford to buy me a bicycle. This gave me a fair chance to study at diverse NGOs which provided free courses such as English and Computer classes. It also helped to lighten the burden for… Sophat’s story >
Chan Randaly
Hello, my name is Chan Randaly. I am 17 years old, and I am a first-year student studying Law at the Royal University of Law and Economics. I was born in Svay Reing province, I have 2 siblings and I am the oldest. My mother is a housewife, but she used to work in a factory but had to stop because of Covid-19 and her condition of health. My father is a farmer and also a Vietnamese translator. My brother is a student too, as he is younger than me by only 2 years.
In life, you learn from bad things that you cannot forget. I am very afraid of that. My father and my mother had a big conflict and my mother said she wanted to get divorced from my father. My little, bity brother and I were so worried. At that time, we felt a lot of pressure because my mom wanted us to choose one of them to live with. Many days later, by seeing the effect on my siblings and myself, my father and my mother became closer. After that, my family is living with happiness, the sound of laughing again. Furthermore, I would like to tell you about the good thing that my mom said that is very important to my life. She said, “Dear my darling, please always be kind, helpful, patient, friendly, and honest to… Daly’s story >
Roth Vannda
My name is Vannda. I am turning 23 years old this year (2022), and I was born on the outskirts of a rural area in Preah Vihear province. In my family, there are 5 siblings which consist of two sisters and three brothers, including myself, and I am the second child in the family. I am now a senior student, majoring in General Management, at Preah Sihamoniraja Buddhist University.
My parents are identified as the Kui indigenous and reside in a tribe community in Boss Thom Village, Prame Commune, Tbeng Meanchey District, remote from the town. My parents manage a rice farm in order to support the whole household. After the Khmer regime, my parents have endured and surpassed working as just farmers. They often work overload and take chances looking for other non-timber forest products in order to manage financial expenses in our family. Our living condition was very bad yet we were also grateful for what we had and where… Vannda’s story >
Krian Sony
My name is Krian Sony. I was born on 5th June, 2002. I am a year three student majoring in Social Work at Royal University of Phnom Penh. My homeland was in Kampong Cham Province. I am from an extremely poor family of farmers. I am the second child of two children. My brother has gone to be a priest to continue his studies. In my village, if a boy wants to study, he has to become a priest to get an education, while girls are not so highly educated. As for girls, they most likely have to work in Phnom Penh serving others as a chef, taking care of others’ children, working in a factory, etc.
In 2000, my family was removed to live in the Battambong province because of their poverty condition. While we lived there, my parents were farming to sustain a daily meal and in order to get a tiny income via selling rice as well. When I was pursuing secondary school, my mother got sick and needed immediate surgery. While my mother was having surgery, I was about to take the high school exam at the province. At that time, my family situation was very tense and extremely miserable. I was so worried and I inquired to myself that, would I just drop out of school in order to find… Sony’s story >
Koun Channy
My name is KOUN Channy. I am 18 years old and from a poor farming family. I was born in Prey Tayon village, Pong Teuk district, and Svay Rieng province. I am a year three student studying Biology at Royal Phnom Penh University. In my family, there are 5 members comprised of my 2 siblings and myself, the first child. While growing up, I think I was luckier than other children because my parents gave me an opportunity to study.
While in primary school, I walked to school because I did not have any transportation, not even a bike. Thus, my parents did not have enough time for me and I was going to school with my uncle who was bringing his child to school everyday. After I finished primary school and secondary school, I pursued high school. During that time, I did not have money to buy snacks or lunch to eat at school like others. Nevertheless, I would wake up early in the morning and cook meals to bring to school everyday. But sometimes, I had to eat alone while all my classmates were eating out. In the countryside, being a high school graduate is enough, but for me it’s not enough because I want to follow my dreams and discover new things that I have never… Channy’s story >
Son Sotheary
My name is Son Sotheary. I’m 19 years old and was born on January 1st, 2003. I’m from Stung Treng and currently in my third year, studying Linguistics, at the Royal University of Phnom Penh. I’m the oldest child in my family with one brother and one sister. We were raised by a single mother as my father passed away when I was in grade 1, my brother was in kindergarten, and my little sister was 10 months old.
I am from a poor family. We lived in a difficult situation, facing a lot of dilemmas since our dad died. My mum had to find a job or sell something to support the family, and our food was lacking. I also had to find a part-time job to do at night after school to feed myself like working as a waitress, cleaner, or seller. Even though it was hard work, it was meaningful. My mum works very hard to support our family, and she still sends my siblings and I to school without hesitation. She encourages us to study hard to get a good job in the future so we won’t have to struggle like her. To me, my mum is the… Sotheary’s story >
Pak Sokly
My name is Pak Sokly, I am 19 years old and I was born and raised in Thlok Srok commune, Traing District, Takeo Province. I’m from a very poor family and have two sibilings. I am the youngest living with farming parents. After graduating from high-school, I decided to continue my studies at the Royal University of Phnom Penh specializing in Khmer literature.
The reason I decided to study Khmer literature is because Khmer literature is a subject that helps me to understand more about the Khmer national identity, culture, civilization, genealogy, traditions, customs, literature, art, and so on. Moreover, I want to pursue my dream to write a novel and make it come true. I seek to expand my knowledge and skills to be able to develop myself, and be able to help my family and society.
My family cannot really afford to send me to university, which makes my time at… Sokly’s story >
Koung Raksmey
My name is Koung Raksmey, and I am 22 years old. I was born in Kampong Thom Province. I have three siblings, two brothers and one sister. I am studying at Royal University of Phnom Penh, in the field of information technology with the goal of becoming a software developer. I now also volunteer as a teacher teaching computer at one organization, named Advanced Centre for Empowerment.
When I finished high school, I encountered a lot of problems when deciding to continue my degree in Phnom Penh. My family did not have much money to support me in my degree, accommodation, food, and other expenses; however, my parents still work hard to earn for me. My parents were also farmers and vendors, they spent a lot of time as farmers working all day, everyday.
But now, they are only farmers, so it is quite hard for me to study in Phnom Penh. Being farmers, it is very difficult to… Raksmey’s story >
Seath Chhunlay
Hello! I’m Chhunlay! I am a sophomore at the Paññāsāstra University of Cambodia studying International Relations. I was born and raised in Sdech nn village, Krola commune, Kampong Siem district, Kampong Cham province. I’m currently located in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. I am passionate about communication, national and international history, and volunteering in society in order to develop as a person and help others. I especially love working with all the people in our surrounding communities. Through this work, I gain knowledge, experiences, leadership skills, and so on.
I firmly believe that through studying Foreign Affairs, I can learn from historical stories and gain effective communication skills that will push me to be a good diplomat in the near future. I strongly believe that being a diplomat is about the representation and protection of the interests and rights of the state, with a focus on the promotion of information, trade and commerce, technology, and relationships. I hope to become a key person who can develop my country to be better than it is at present.
Outside of my field, I enjoy spending time to joining a lot of forums and competitions. I won…Chhunlay’s story >
You Souleang
You Souleang is my name. I’m from the Kandal province. In 2020, I graduated from Hun Sen Kampong Phnom High School. I am currently pursuing my studies in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, at the Royal University of Law and Economics. I have chosen to major in law. I now live and work at an organization called the Advanced Center for Empowerment (ACE). Before coming to study in Phnom Penh, I had some difficulties in my life while studying. Especially when COVID-19 was widely spreading during the examination year, at a time when my family was facing serious financial difficulties. My family are sellers, and when these problem arose, my family sold everything at its lowest price. The COVID-19 virus was rapidly spreading. My family did not allow me to leave the house. They decided to let me skip school for a while in order to assist with any of their projects; they couldn’t afford to send me to go outside to study. One reason is that most of the villagers there sent their children to work in factories and shops because they believe that going to study in Phnom Penh would be too expensive. This is what they believe (my neighbor told my parents something like this).
My friend suggested that we stop studying and go to work in a factory together. I didn’t go because… Souleang’s Story >
Tab Kay
My name is Tab Kay, I’m 20 years old, and I was born in the province of Siem Reap in the Lolai hamlet of the Bakong commune. In my family there are 3 sisters, 3 brothers, and myself. I am the youngest kid in the family and live with my farmer mother Khun Barang, a 53-year-old widow. I’m a first-year student in the Department of Mathematics at the Royal University of Phnom Penh right now. I had a lot of challenges as a poor student moving to Phnom Penh to pursue a career that I have loved and enjoyed since I was a young kid. Phnom Penh is an expensive city, and having living expenditures that include the cost of education as well as other costs like materials, it was difficult having only one widow as a breadwinner. Given our income from my mother, I knew that she wouldn’t be able to finance it if I asked her to continue my studies in Phnom Penh.
As a result, I considered numerous options to enable me to attend Phnom Penh for academic purposes because, when I was in high school, instructors would often advise all students to attend school there. As luck would have it, I applied when… Kay’s Story >
Soun Pitou
My name is Suon Pitou. I am from Kampong Thom province. I am 20 years old (2021). Now I am a sophomore student at the University of Cambodia and my major is English Language and Literature. I have grown up in a family which lacks of warmth because my father and my mother got divorced. They have been divorced since I was 7. After my parents got divorced, I lived with my mother, my brother, and my sister in a rental house. When I was a child, my family changed our living place several time until 2009 when my mother bought a plot of land for building our own house to stay. We have lived there since 2010. My mother was very working hard for my family. And for my father, although we did not live with each other, we still kept in touch. And when I was studying in high school, my father had been responsible to pay for my extra class’ fees until I finished my high school successfully.
After I graduated from my high school in 2019, I went to Phnom Penh to continue my studies at the university. My brother and I lived with my aunt’s family in a rental house in Phnom Penh. It was a hard time for me, when I just moved to live in Phnom Penh, because my family did not have enough money to support me to study in the university. I thought I may have to follow my brother’s way that he works along with studying to pay for… Pitou’s story >
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