Kimlong-Young ACE's hero

I am 15 years old and was born in the Beoung Kak lake slum in Phnom Penh where more than 4000 families used to live on the lake. My father drunk and drowned in the lake when I was only 8 months. I spend my childhood as the rubbish collector in the city for about 5 years before I changed my business to be the shoes brusher. I started my job as the shoes brusher after my mum become pregnant and have another baby with my stepfather, Pov who is a builder. The baby didn't have milk to drink and my mum didn't have enough food to eat as she couldn't work at that time. So I decided to ask my mum if I could change my business to become the shoes brusher so that I thought that I could earn more money for the family. So my mum allowed me to started the new business as the shoe brusher since then. I was happy with my new job but I didn't get a chance to go to school. My business was going well which I could earn on average $2.5 per day. Initially I could earn only $0.50 a day as I didn't know how to find customers. Eventually some days I could earn up to $5 a day!

Unluckily the government sold that land to a private company. All the residents there were all fiercely evicted to a relocation site to Peace II (where ACE is running the Rudi Boa Centre). My mum's house was one of the 4000 houses and family that were evicted.

My family had no choice but had to move our house to a new place which is Peace II, 22km away from the city. It was the sadness time for me and my family because I lost my job as a shoes brusher and my whole family also lost the job. In the hard situation like that, I decided to borrow one of my friend's bike to use it so that I could come to work in Phnom Penh as the shoes brusher. I needed to wake up at 4 am, ride 22 km to Phnom Penh everyday and ride another 22km back to my home.

I also decided to start my English class at Rudi Boa with the basic English with other younger kids than him. One of our volunteers at Rudi Boa bought a bicycle for me and later on they register me in grade 3to one of the public schools close to my house but the school does not have any quality. They also tried to set up the small business for my mum so that I could go to school again.

Now I have moved to live in ACE with another little boy, Veth and another 12 university students. Luckily, I was given a sponsor to go to a private school. Thank so much to Samuel!

I am so extremely excited to go to a good school, have a good friends, and good teacher especially I can go to very expensive school that I never could dream of.

I am deeply thanks to Sam, Chibodia and everyone that has given this chance to me to have a new life and a bright future! I have transformed from a shoe brusher to become an AIS student! I promise that in a few years from now I am committed and will try my very best to get number 1 at my school!

Best Wishes
Kimlong