Kampong Chhnang (October 15, 2014) – Three poor schoolchildren living in Chrak Kouv village, Peam commune of Sameakki Meanchy district in Kampong Chhnang province today received education assistance from Mr. Chhay Sophal, Editor-in-Chief for Cambodia News, a local newspaper.
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Each student got a second-hand bicycle, 10 notebooks, 3 pens and 20,000 riels in cash. The handover ceremony of the donation was organized by LWD in collaboration with the village chief. The three poor students, two of them are girls, were selected through a transparent process, targeting only those schoolchildren from the poorest families whose houses are located far away from school and have no bicycles.
Mr. Sophal said that he spent some of his earnings from the sales of his book, entitled: “Who Are the 36 Cambodian Prime Ministers?” to support the humanitarian activity in the society, aiming to help the poor, especially the poorest students in rural Cambodia as much as possible.
He said education is very important for everyone. “I want to see the three shoolchildren and other rural poor children at least completed a lower secondary school level. I want to see them become good citizens with higher education and can help develop their community in the future,” Author Sophal said.
Ms. Vann Yong, 47, expressed her great content with the generous support. She said her son Sam Pav, 13, had successfully completed the primary level and he would go to Chrak Sdech Lower Secondary School for grade 7, in the accademic year 2014-2015 when the public schools open in late October of the year. The new shcool is located 8 km away from her house. Because she cannot afford to buy a bicycle for her son, she and her husband planned to have their son drop school.
She said that the donation came in the right time. Now, she no longer stopped her son from going to school.
Ms. Vann Hoeun, 47, from the same village, also expressed the same feelings and gratitude to Mr. Sophal. She said she had no bicycle for her daughter to ride to school for a year since her daughter went to study at Chrak Sdech Lower Secondary School. Over the year, her daughter Chhaem Mom, 14, went to school by asking her classmate for a ride on an old bicycle. However, Mom faced some challenges in her study. If her classmate did not go to school, she also missed her class.
She said that her daughter was promoted to grage 8 in the new accademic year. “I am very happy beyond compare. My daughter now has her own bicycle. She will go to school more regularly. I will encourage her to study hard until she finishes high school.”
Mr. Min Sor, LWD Executive Director, deeply thanked Mr. Chhay Sophal for his generousity and support for education of disadvantaged children in rural Cambodia.