Acknowledging the significant obstacle at hand, the Cambodian Consortium for Out-of-School Children (CCOSC), led by Action Education, has undertaken a groundbreaking initiative in collaboration with Education Above All’s Educate A Child program and 40 committed partners. In the role of a Youth Star volunteer, Mr. SVAY Utdom, part of Cohort 37, has made a significant impact on the life of PENG Rotha, an 11-year-old boy in a rural Cambodian community. By offering education, support, and encouragement, Mr. SVAY Utdom has played a vital role in enhancing Rotha’s learning journey and fostering hope for a brighter future.
Wearing the green badge of “Youth in Service to Cambodia,” I stand in the familiar embrace of Sandann commune, Kratie. While the rural landscape echoes with childhood memories, this time I’m here not as a son, but as a Youth Star volunteer, Cohort 37, ready to tackle the challenges and promises of this community.
As a Youth Star volunteer, I have always dreamed that the next generation should have access to quality education, break the cycle of poverty, and especially have a brighter future. On 29 December 2022, I felt strong empathy for a young boy. PENG Rotha is a young boy with a small, dark-skinned, medium-sized body. Frankly speaking, I did not realize that Rotha was a boy that I had to pay close attention to until I called him to read on the whiteboard. Rotha could not read and had less confidence. I asked Rotha, “What is your name and what grade are you?” Yes, my name is PENG Rothat, and I’m 11 years old and studying in grade 3,” he replied. I continued, “Do you know how to do arithmetic? He replied, “No, I don’t.” After hearing that, I felt even more empathy for him. I must help this young boy get better at his studies. I started to set a plan to help Ratha.
On a dewy early morning of 05 January 2023 during the harvest season with the Northern’s cold air blowing, I rode my bicycle to Rotha’s house. In two small houses next to each other, there was an old man sleeping on the bed, a woman, and a man; all three of them were the grandfather, father, and mother of Rotha. I greeted them, sat down, and started a chit-chat with them. Later on, I started talking about Rotha’s studies. At this point, I was so sad to learn about one thing. Do you know what? That is, every night, Rotha always goes fishing with his father until midnight. His mother wanted to help her son study, but she was illiterate. I told Rather’s mother to motivate him to attend my educational activities in the community regularly. She responded to me, “Thanks, teacher, for teaching my son, and I promised to encourage him to go to school regularly.”
I continued to pay attention to Rotha, explained the benefits of education, and motivated him to join all of my educational activities, such as tutoring classes, mobile libraries, energizing games, and environmental activities. Over the past five months, Rotha has changed a lot. Rotha has good relationships with friends and has improved his reading and numeracy skills. Although Rotha is not yet able to read and calculate numbers as smoothly and quickly as other children, this is a fruitful result of my tireless effort. I am very excited to see this impact. Rotha comes to study with me regularly. I always motivate Rotha to study hard and not spend too much time on the phone. Rotha also borrowed books to read at home more often. He once said to me, “I usually read books at night, and now my reading has improved a lot!”
“As a Youth Star volunteer and familiar with life as a rural child, I understood the importance of encouragement, attention, and guidance to get a better education, which is the series of shining lights. Words cannot describe how proud I am that my presence could make a positive change, bring hope to a remote boy, and support his progress in his learning. I would like to take this opportunity to thank his parents and all relevant stakeholders for their involvement in this life-changing impact.” Mr. Utdom SVAY (Youth Star Volunteer Cohort 37 in Kratie Province) added.
