Time has shown over and over again, that opening the doors to education for young girls not only creates a path out of poverty for themselves, put ultimately has a positive impact on society as a whole. This is truly a principle that we live by, as we are committed to empowering the leaders of Cambodia’s tomorrow and the generations to come.
However, many young girls in Cambodia’s countryside lack the resources and family support to pursue higher education. Vicheka is one of those girls and found herself facing obstacles that were too challenging to overcome after graduating from high school. Growing up in a family of farmers, with her parents growing corn and selling it on the streets until late at night, the family struggles to make ends meet every single month.
Vicheka, however, dreamed of enrolling at a university in Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh. This would give her the knowledge and skills she needed to find stable employment opportunities with a reliable income, which would already be more than her parents have ever had.
In order to empower her on her journey and remove the financial barriers standing in her way, Thomlang – Cambodian Youth Support began supporting the 19-year-old last year. We helped the aspiring accountant through the entire process of leaving the rural village where she grew up and moving to Phnom Penh. Upon her arrival, we supported her by covering her university tuition and rental expenses.
Since Cambodia lacks a functioning public transportation system, we provided Vicheka with a moto, which helps her commute to and from university and run other daily errands. Additionally, we donated a laptop to her, which she needs to meet her academic responsibilities, such as writing assignments, preparing presentations, and participating in online lectures.
Learn more about her story in her own words below:
Hello everybody,
My name is Vicheka and I would like to tell you a little bit about myself. Last year, after I finished high school, it was my goal to study at the National University of Management in Phnom Penh. I want to achieve my dream of obtaining a Bachelor’s Degree and study hard, so that I can build solid knowledge. This will help me find a job easily that matches my interests and improve my life! I chose to enroll in the accounting major. I feel happy when I go to study at my university.
Unfortunately, my family is very poor. My parents are farmers. They don’t have much income to support their children. On top of that, they are in debt, because they needed bank loans in the past. My older brother had to drop out of school to help earn money and support my parents with repaying their loan. However, this is a path that I don’t want to go down. I want to get education and help my family in a sustainable way. My goal in the future is to become an accountant at a bank. This will allow be to earn a decent salary to help support not only myself, but my entire family.
At last, I would like to thank this NGO for supporting me. I feel lucky that I get a chance to study at university. Without your support, this would not be possible.
I wish you all the best,
Vicheka
Support girls from impoverished backgrounds like Vicheka through education by donating to CYS today!
