She performs well at school and is always active, out spoken. I remember she once told me, “My dream is to become a nurse one day!”
The pandemic parted us for 2.5 years. Similar to the many village children, Lisa fell into a “black hole” when schools in Cambodia were closed for most of the 2 years. Let me remind everyone that most of the village children don’t have access to online learning. Lack of connectivity, devices and online education capabilities are just some of the common issues. Early this year, Veasna told me, “I am sad to share that Lisa has dropped out of school. She has run away from home!” Lisa was only 15!!!! What is happening to her? A couple months passed by, we finally heard from Lisa’s mum. Lisa was getting married! We were all so relieved to know that she is back with the families, settling down and now building her own family. However, we were also unsure how she was doing. We heard that the boy (Lisa’s hubby) was 16 and had also dropped out of school. He started working at a construction site in order to provide for the family. Lisa was pregnant and expecting her baby at the age of 16. Although underage marriage and parenting are acceptable in most of the villagers’ eyes, I wondered how a 16 year old girl could handle those heavy responsibilities in life. Weather changed. Storm came… Lisa’s hubby sadly passed away whilst working at a construction site. He fell off from higher ground and passed at the age of 16. He didn’t even get a chance to meet his own daughter. As to Lisa, she decided to move back to be with mum. I caught up with her and mum at their home… What did I expect? Not much actually. I asked myself to be ME and not PeopleStories, just keep my mind open, listen to Lisa and be there for her like a sister. Lisa looks reasonably healthy considering she just gave birth a week ago to her beautiful daughter. She looks content…but her glances are a bit more deemed than usual. It could be the parenting duties, or the unclear future… I was not sure. Our lovely chats just flowed… like two girl friends catching up. We exchanged parenting notes and complained about the lack of sleep. Lisa looked down, went quiet… she said, “Sorry I made a mistake in life.” Please don’t forget, she is only 16! It is unfair for a child to bear all these responsibilities. I was unexpectedly calm and collected, and said, “No Lisa. You didn’t make a mistake. You just made a decision in life and your path is now more challenging than planned.” “We make decisions in life. Some get us to a better place and some make life just a bit harder.” I continued. Our chat continued to flow and I got to an important question, “Lisa, what do you want to do?” She thought about it, looked straight at my eyes… her sights were like x-ray, going straight to my soul. Lisa said, “Teacher, I want to go back to school!” My tears rushed down. 🤔 What shall Lisa do? 👊 How can we support her? Drop me a message or comments below to share. With gratitude Victoria Miloschewsky #VicsDiary #OpenJournal #PurposeDrivenLife #PowerOfStories #GrowingUp #Motherhood #School #Education #Decisions #HelpingOthers #Cambodia
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Happy May to all! This month is all about love, love and more love! Hence the story you're about to read is about how a bike represents our love to the deserving children in rural Cambodia. As you know, we have given 150 scholarships early this year which the children are in our care & support. But a couple of weeks ago, PeopleStories CEO & Founder, Victoria received some news about Dara (name changed for privacy reasons), a boy in Grade 12 (last year of high school) who was about to drop out of school.
When Vic was told about the situation, her heart dropped! All these years PeopleStories mission is to serve and help the deserving children complete school. Thus she got emotional when she knew how little Dara and his family had that he had to make the decision to leave school! We also realized how important a simple bike is for him! In our modern world, mobility is a given and we don’t really think about it. In contrast, here in Cambodia, having a simple bike can break or fulfill a child's education which can consequently change their life.
"I'd feel excited if I was offered a scholarship. I also hope I'll do good work in the future with it." Dara said. Hearing this, and with a few more days of reviewing his situation, Dara is now receiving our School for Life scholarship!
His dream is to become a car mechanic and if he had magic, Dara would want to repair 100 cars in 1 hour! We do wish his dream comes true and the path to his dreams becomes easier with him finishing his education! If you'd like to support students like Dara to finish school head on over here to back our mission! Sending so much love to all in the month of May! We hope you have enjoyed Dara's story and you can be sure that he will be travelling miles to school in the next few months, with your support and love! Story written by: Volunteer Zeleen Our friends and families in Cambodia just celebrated Khmer New Year (KNY) between April 14th and 16th. Everyone enjoyed the three day public holiday to the fullest as it has been 2 years without any celebration due to the pandemic. Khmer New Year (KNY) is full of tradition and customs. It also marks the end of the harvest season, a time to rest for farmers who have been working hard on their crops all season. With the harvest season winding down in mid-April, farming communities shift their attention to the new year, before the rainy season that typically begins in late May.
Pheak’s family sets up a table with fruit, drinks, etc., in front of their house, as an offering to the devata (angel).” She further explained, “There is usually a specific time for the angel’s arrival to the human realm and we light incense at that moment with hope and prayer that the new angel will give her blessing to us.”
The last day of KNY is all about ‘cleansing’. Pheak described how this day is celebrated in her family. “On the last day, we wash our Buddha statues and elders with perfumed water blessed by months. This is a symbolic practice to pay respect and ask forgiveness for past mistakes.”
Learning about other cultures and traditions is a true gift. Family and friends, celebrations, food; all of these things have no boundaries. Everyone can relate, it’s universal. KNY is all about rest, reflection, forgiveness, gratitude, and respect.
PeopleStories wishes all of our friends and families in Cambodia and around the world a happy and healthy New Year! To read more about the local lives in Cambodia: https://bit.ly/PS_PoSR Story written by: Volunteer Kathy Aunkst Standing tall and speaking loud at the 2022 School for Life Scholarship ceremony, a grandmother spoke with her full heart, ‘I would like to advise our students to study hard and listen to teacher during class and please do your best to complete your education.’ . It is our pleasure to introduce Doeung Yom, a grandma of one of the 150 PeopleStories scholars, who has inspired many not just with her heartful speech at the Ceremony but the story behind her strength, resilience and be the biggest dreams catcher!
Having received little education, all her five sons worked as fish sellers. Relying heavily on the environmental factors, her sons barely made enough money to support their families. Being the witness of the power of education, grandma believes that education is essential for children especially the ones who come from the poor families. It is a chance to change their lives. With that spirit, grandma Doeung Yom sometimes gave what little she had to help all her seven school-going grandchildren to complete school.
The new school year has started in Cambodia! This year Victoria, our Founder and CEO, was able to return to Cambodia to take part at the annual scholarship ceremony together with other honourable guests including the Governor of Bakong district and the Direct of Education Ministry. It was not only a celebrative moment, but it also gave the children and their families a boost of confidence in life as their much needed scholarships remain possible.
Due to the nature of their work, Reaksmey's parents are hardly at home. Hence, the 8 siblings usually have to take care of one another. As a middle child, Reaksmey shares, “I always help to look after my younger brothers and sisters as well as the housework in my family. Sometimes, I will need to help my mother with tying fishing hooks until midnight.” While these are normal tasks for Reaksmey to do, they may seem physically demanding and challenging for other children in more developed countries.
“When I was selected for the scholarship, I felt happy and lucky. My family was also very happy and urged me to study hard to show my gratitude to the scholarship team, my family as well as my country.” She shared emotionally.
We are glad that Reaksmey and her family feel supported. While we do not need her to show her gratitude to us, what we do hope is that she will study well for her dreams and hopes. We hope you have been inspired by Reaksmey’s story because we most certainly have! Please support children like Reaksmey to complete school, head on over to our donation page! We would greatly appreciate your help! Story written by: volunteer Zeleen Thum “Taking my final step onto the stage facing hundreds of audiences at an ICT conference, I hold my head high!” student KongNov recalled her recent amazing achievement as part of PeopleStories STEM4Girls scholar. Student KongNov’s background is not all that different from many other children in rural Cambodia. Her family is poor and has very little. KongNov’s mother, from early on, instilled determination and courage in her children. KongNov has always been motivated and determined to better her life and better the lives of those who need her help. Having the role model of her strong mother to look up to, KongNov was destined for great things. What makes her story different from the many others is just one thing - an opportunity!
Thinking about the first three years of her scholarship journey, KongNov was asked to reflect on how her life changed. She confidently responded and said, “My life has changed 360 degrees. My family didn’t have money for my studies and then PeopleStories helped me; they gave me a bicycle and what I need to get to school.” The changes and opportunities didn’t end there. At the end of Grade 9 another door was about to open for KongNov… STEM For Girls! A trip to the capital city of Phnom Penh was in order. Prospective students must take an exam to be accepted into a highly respected STEM high school. KongNov shared, “When I was told I would move to Phnom Penh for STEM education I was really surprised and wasn’t sure if I could pass the exam. But I would do it and try my best. My mother said, ‘please go to the exam’ and said it was partly for me and partly for her.” KongNov passed her STEM exam, “When I passed the exam my mother, father, and Victoria were so happy for me!”
Coming from humble beginnings doesn't have to define us. The willingness to learn, the determination to want better can change lives. Just 5 years ago, KongNov was in her village with her family, not in school. She was given an opportunity to attend school and she took it. One door after another has opened and KongNov has walked through. Sometimes it was exciting, sometimes it was scary, but that brave little girl from the village kept going. She’s still going and shows no signs of slowing down.
Wrapping up her speech facing hundreds of audiences at an ICT conference, she spoke loud and clear, “I hope in the future a Cambodian child will have a personal skill. I also encourage all students to seize these great opportunities. Don’t be afraid to fail, but be afraid to not try.” Why not join us to uplift more girls for their STEM education? 100% of your generous donation helps a child finish school. Story written by: Volunteer Kathy Aunkst When Da Dot was 28 years old, he stepped on a landmine, on his family’s farm, and lost both of his legs. “Dot” means legless. Victoria met with Da Dot in 2017 and we’ve all been interested to see how he is doing four years later. Da Dot’s story really touched many hearts especially our newest team member Kathy. She spoke with much emotion, “I read about Da Dot’s story as part of the People of Siem Reap. Having dealt with such adverse challenges in life, Da Dot’s positivity inspired me greatly and I immediately found myself wanting to learn more about him.”
Speaking about his family further, Da Dot said, “I have two older children working as construction workers but now Covid-19 is very contagious in Siem Reap and both children are unemployed because their place of work is temporarily closed.”
Story written by: volunteer Kathy Aunkst PeopleStories provides students in need with greater access to education and Sambath is one of our 120 scholarship students who is studying at grade 9 in Rolous Secondary School this year.
He shared, “To make my business successful, I need to advertise. I need to look for a place to inform my customers about my books. I target places where there is sharing of knowledge and also places where everyone likes reading books.” At the age of 17, Sambath surprisingly has demonstrated a good level of entrepreneurship. So, how does he run the business? He explained, “When someone orders books through me, I always ask the bookshop to send them to me from Phnom Penh. It is called Norkor Book Bookstore located in the capital city of Cambodia, Phnom Penh.” With limited access to internet, we wonder who are his customers? He said, “My customers are not just the students. They can be children or adults. They are anyone who likes reading or searching for new knowledge.”
In fact, he has up to 4,000 titles of books including novels, psychology, encouragement / motivation, business, dictionaries, legends, history, history of the world-famous people, education, language books (English, Korean, Thai, Chinese…) for self-learning, kids’ books (numbers, alphabets) and story books for young children. A well-stocked book store indeed!
With your help, PeopleStories School for Life scholarship program is making positive changes to students’ lives. Want to support students like Sambath to complete school? Here is how: https://bit.ly/PS100Dreams202021 Story written by: volunteer Bok Hoon Ong
A special agenda in 2021 School for Life ceremony became the most talked about segment for the attendees. Can you guess what it was? It was the speech by KongNov’s mother, Oeurn Sakhorn!
Although she was not educated, she was willing to learn. When PeopleStories offered her the job of cooking for the volunteers visiting the school, she was hesitant first as she felt that her cooking was not good enough. Victoria took her to the market to share about the ingredients that would be welcomed by our volunteers. She tried out a few dishes and perfected them. She was paid for half a day’s work to cook at the school and she was grateful and happy.
It is heartening to note that while she may not be educated, she understands the value of education and chooses to put in the efforts for her daughters to attend school. Very often, daughters in poor families had to sacrifice their education to bring food on the table for the family. KongNov is indeed fortunate to have a mother like her.
Do join us in our mission to help other rural Cambodian families in similar situation by providing them with ladder out of the well. A Mother's Appeal from PeopleStories Charity on Vimeo. My name is KongNov and I am 14 years old. I would like to share my story with you and how PeopleStories is changing my life. We had a lot of difficult in my family such as my father is always drunk, so sometimes my mother just raising children on her own. Sometimes we don’t have money to buy food so we need to eat salt fish sauce prahok with rice. Sometime I picked up jujube from the ground to sell in the market to help my mum. There are young children in my village who were forced to work, and my sister also had to dropped out from study to help our family.
My life has changed a lot. I can gradually see clear about the world and the future. When I heard that I was selected for the Road to STEM scholarship, I felt very happy and excited. I don’t want to believe it! I think this scholarship will help change my life.
Imagine 5 years later, I can see myself achieve my job (professor), help PeopleStories as a member, and help children especially from poor families. I have some advice to all students that please do not stop studying! If we stop studying, it is like being in the pit of darkness. If we quit school at a young age, we cannot do any work and have a life time of regrets, especially poor students. We must work hard to save our family. Get out of poverty as well as help out our children, the next generation. Remember knowledge is wealth! Supporters to PeopleStories like you give me strength. Guide me on the path. I will be determined to learn as much as I can. Thank you! KongNov |
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