Higher education allows young adults to break into the increasingly competitive job market in Cambodia. However, the financial burden of tuition fees can prevent underprivileged young Cambodians, like Makara, from enrolling in university.
Makara is an orphan and doesn’t have a traditional support system that could have covered his tuition. In early 2021, Thomlang – Cambodian Youth Support began supporting Makara’s higher education. Through our support, Makara was able to enroll in the TVET University in Kampot and is studying Accounting and Finance. Thanks to a Business Diploma that he had obtained previously from the Don Bosco Technical School, he was able to skip the first 2 years of this Bachelor’s program.
Makara is currently completing the second semester of year 3 and will start the 4th year in early 2022. In addition to the coverage of his tuition fees and the distribution of school uniforms and school supplies, CYS was able to provide Makara with a laptop. This was an important resource this year, as classes were mostly held online, and will continue to be helpful in order to write assignments and his Bachelor’s thesis.
Please read this letter, which Makara wrote at the beginning of 2021:
Dear Julian and dear supporters from Thomlang – Cambodian Youth Support,
How are you? I hope you are fine and you are staying safe in your country.
My name is Makara. I’m 22 years old and I come from Takeo, Cambodia.
Last year, I finished a diploma at the Don Bosco school in Kep. I learned about business subjects such as accounting, computer, and business English. I really like these subjects a lot.
After I received my diploma, my dream was to study more. I want to study at university because I want to improve my knowledge and my skills. I know that I will have many great possibilities in the future if I have a Bachelor’s degree from a university.
However, I don’t have parents to support me to study at university. Right now, I’m staying with my uncle. I can live there, but he has to take care of my cousins, so he cannot support me more.
This is what led me to ask for your help.
Thanks to your support, I can study Accounting and Finance at the TVET University in Kampot. I was able to skip the first 2 years because of my diploma. So now I am a student in the 3rd year. I am so happy to study this subject because my dream is to work for a company, a bank, or maybe even the state in the future.
I want to say thank you to all of you again and again. Without you, this would be impossible for me.
With lots of love,
Makara