Hello everybody!

I have been living in Cambodia and it is located in Southeast Asia, sharing borders with Thailand, Laos and Vietnam. Following French colonization, Cambodia went through various revolutionary regimes. In 1975, the radical Khmer Rouge devastated Cambodia, taking the lives of over two million people with knock on effects throughout Cambodia. Unfortunately removal of this murderous regime was accompanied by the Vietnamese which led to a prolonged civil war.
After the war, the toll on the people was immense. Most of the people remaining had lost members of their families, leaving countless widows and orphans. In addition, many were left disabled from war and it’s after effects such as land mines. The people faced many obstacles to normal life such as ill health, lack of education, unemployment and in particular poverty. Moreover, the psychological trauma from years of war, compounded by the enduring suffering of many survivors, began to manifest in dangerous behavior. An increase was seen in drug and alcohol addiction, the spread of communicable and venereal diseases, violence within families, sexual abuse of children and smuggling of children for sexual abuse, as well as other criminal activities. Besides this, It small country want to have a lot of educational system like English, leadership skill and information technology and we are still developing country. This aspect we need a lot of human resources to develop by improved knowledge above. So I determination myself to study hard to make all things in my country extremely transferred.
I would like to take this occasionally to express my story to all of you. My name is khorn Sokheng, 21 years old. Lately, I have been studying year 3 at Royal University of Law and Economics in the field of Law. I come from remote area at Prey Veng province that it does not have enough school, hospital, electricity and also have many poor people.
Studying with the school that doesn’t have sufficient material coincidence with very needy family make me very difficult to school sometimes I push myself to walk to school that it very far away. My mother sells Khmer cake and father stay at home without work anymore. After I have no class at school I always bring Khmer cake to sell in the village to get some money to support family and my study. And for my sister, she has her own family thus she needs to complete her to. I nearly give up my study at grade 12 because of anything get stuck in my family. In spite of all these things happened to me but I more often memorize the word “I must be keep on my studying at university.”
You know, I was extremely delighted to my high school passed exam. I graduated from high school I wanted more than anything to continue my study to university but this was not realistic for my family as we are peasants. Because of situation of my parents they are so old and cannot find money to support me to keep on studying at university and they expected me to find job to earn money instead of studying.

Phnom Penh was arrived by me in 2008 I am so excited all the high way and with building and everything new for me. By working as a construction worker and a little bit support from my sister and uncle I can keep on my university class but everything is not enough like school fee, rent house, electricity, food and water.

I was very happy for my first step at university that I did think I won’t have my present in this class. Everything is transfer by having a lot of friends without discrimination despite of I am the poor student. In good destiny I saw an information board advertising student leadership scholarship at Attitude Centre for Education. I was very excited so I applied it immediately and having wait a few days and soon after ACE staff called me to study Attitude Forum that it the basic training course it made me very changeable by getting a new lesson from the trainer like I can collect my feeling, brave, open mind and other special things. However, they contacted to interview and some ability test as well.

Currently, I am a scholarship student, law volunteer trainer, project assistant of Cambodian Kids Care which means I have place to stay. On the other hand I can help by what I can do and one more thing I can share to everybody what I have learnt from school and my life experience because I thought that If Cambodian people brain can rapid growth our country would be better than what we still was.

Group living in ACE make me very happy because everybody love each other like brother and sister. We mutual help, learn together by sharing club, debate club, playing sport, and what especially ACE provided me leadership training who Mr Saing Sokchea is a skillful trainer.

In hobbies I do physical exercise, reading book, news event, history, other law document, and also English to build and develop my knowledge. In a head only goal that I want to study abroad are International Criminal Law and International Relationship.

In short, to begin with I would like to extend my profound gratitude to all donator who always spend energy and time to give generous gift to us without thinking its big burden. I have no anything back but I have merely try study hard, hard working and does everything make my life success.

Thanks for your time reading,

Sokheng