Hello Dr. Carol, Peter, and members of the Rotary Club of Melbourne,
I hope you are all doing well and staying healthy!
Greetings from Siem Reap, Cambodia, and this is my monthly email that would be sharing my daily activities, including joining workshops, volunteering, and updating my education in both the IEAP class and the Introducing Cultural Anthropology course at the university. Firstly, I joined the Project G - Empowering Girls workshop at a remote school in Chikreng District, Siem Reap, where we distributed washable Kits to female students and shared essential PG lessons with both male and female students in grades 7 to 9 at the secondary school. My class consisted of about 40 students, who were educated by Bong Sreypeou and me through sharing information about menstruation, puberty, and human trafficking. By joining this meaningful workshop, I not only shared the lessons written on the flip chart, but more importantly, I brought my experiences and knowledge as a rural student to inspire and empower other rural students to pursue their studies and place their trust in education.
In addition, I participated in a humanitarian mission in CRST to distribute essential food supplies and PG Kits to refugees who had relocated from the border due to the recent conflict between Cambodia and Thailand since the 7th of this month. I felt heartbroken seeing my nation invaded without reason and witnessing many families facing famine, while children were forced to stop their studies because schools, homes, heritage sites, and infrastructure had been destroyed. Being part of this act of generosity, I am deeply thankful to the Palti family, who have always supported us whenever we were in need. I hope that all the families and officials from both sides return home safely, and that all the students will be able to attend school daily and continue living in peace, contributing to the development of their country and community.
My studies at PUC are going well, both in my English class and my university foundation course. Recently, I completed my IEAP 3 class with an A grade, and I am very delighted with this accomplishment. I am truly grateful to my teachers from the previous term, teacher Channthy and Stive, who always guided and assisted me in learning English, including paragraph and basic essay writing, as well as grammar, and offered encouragement while sharing their learning strategies. About my cultural class, it is currently an additional subject in my foundation year while I am taking my IEAP class. I have already done presentations on Chapter 1, Cultural Anthropology, and finished the midterm exam as well. I’m excited that our team could present smoothly. Well done to all my classmates who completed the midterm exam, and we’re looking forward to seeing our first results at university together.
Last but not least, I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to Dr. Carol, who took the valuable time to visit Cambodia, especially your visit to the CRST campus in Siem Reap. I’m deeply thankful for your participation in many meaningful activities that have a positive impact on our community, such as the charity run, packing Kits with PG, the PB workshop, and other activities. The Kits-packing activity at CRST is especially vital, as it supports many female students in rural areas by helping them manage their menstruation with dignity and empowering them to believe in education as a way to get out of poverty. Additionally, thank you very much for joining the PB – Bicycles for Education workshop. Your presence inspired students to continue pursuing their education, and your support in providing school materials and bicycles has greatly helped students who cannot afford transportation to school. I would also like to sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused by my English speaking. At times, my speaking and translation were unclear or confusing. Now I am doing my best to continue improving my English to become more fluent and accurate in daily communication. I have been studying English consistently for 11 months so far, and I am truly grateful to CRST for providing me with the valuable opportunities to learn. Thank you once again for coming to explore Cambodia. I hope to see you again in the future.
That’s all from me. I sincerely appreciate you taking the time to read my email and for your continued support. Wishing you all the best in everything you do, and happy New Year. I hope you enjoy the photos I’ve attached below.
