Impact Story

Through the opportunity I was given, my life has changed. I graduated in 2017 majoring in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) with support from Children’s Future International (CFI). Currently, I am working for an NGO in Phnom Penh, the capital city of Cambodia.

Being the oldest of seven siblings, and with both of my parents not having regular job employment, I never thought that I would be able to continue my education until graduation. I was always told I should work to earn money to support my family instead of going to school because I am the oldest child and my family needed support. Even though life put me in a really hard situation with my family and the judgment from people around, I never lost hope and wanted to prove that education is a better choice for my life. School has given me a new life. I would rather stay in school than stay home. During high school, I had to work to survive as well as support my family financially. After finishing high school, I received a scholarship for a bachelor’s degree from CFI. It was an enormous change for my life. Besides studying for my degree I also had a job to support myself and family.

While pursuing my BA class, I was working for Children’s Future. I first was a student, then intern and later on I became staff. From time to time, I learnt many different skills such as Communications, Admin, Finance as well as HR. Basically, basic tasks in Operations within the organization. In nearly six years of being with CFI, I gained a lot of experience which is why I was confident to take up the next challenge which is my current job in the city. CFI has become one of my best families. Even though I’m not working there anymore, my relationship with everyone is still the same. I would go visit them if I go to visit my hometown. The staff are cool and amazing. They are nice people, supportive and care about each other. I had such a great time and memories working there. 

A Master’s Degree is the next thing I would like to pursue. In my community, there aren’t many people, especially girls, who are able to go to college. Many girls I grew up with ended up starting a family at a very young age and had babies. Some of them now migrate to work at the border and it’s not safe for them. I want to inspire them to think differently and tell them that life can be more. Attaining a Master’s Degree would mean another achievement for myself, but also for the community I am from. Ever since I obtained my bachelor’s degree and found a job, my parents have encouraged my brothers to go to school which they never did when I was young. Even my neighbors who used to tell me to stop school in order to work changed. 

Nowadays, I work in the HR department for an NGO. I want to study Human Resource Management for my master’s degree because it will help me to perform well in my job and improve the organization further. I believe I can help and inspire more people by attaining higher Education. And I wish to help strengthen the organization so that they can help the community even more.

Thanks for taking the time to read my story! 🙂

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Sokha

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