Thul Say, a girl aged 13 years old, studying in grade 3 at Prek Tanen Primary School in the fisherman’s village, has a story to share. She is the first child of 5 siblings. As fishermen, her parents migrated to Koh Kong province to earn better incomes.
Today, Say lives with her grandparents in Ang Koul village, Ang Koul commune, Damnak Chang Eur district, Kep province, about 3 km from the school.
Before receiving a scholarship in kind (bicycle) from Aide et Action / Action Education, she and her sisters did not go to school regularly because sometimes her grandfather was too busy with his business and unable to lift her to school. However, since getting a bike provided by AEA, Say has been regularly going to school.
“In the past, I did not go to school regularly because I did not have commuting and sometimes my grandfather was too busy to take my brother and me to school,” she said, “Since the organization gave me a bicycle, I have taken my sister to school every day, and I also join extra classes every day in the afternoon because I have a bicycle, I can ride to school on my own.”
She added, “Since I joined extra classes with my teachers at school, I have become more literate and able to do mathematics.”
Say ranks 7th at the end of the 2022 school year, and she likes the Khmer language class the most. In the future, she wants to be a teacher. In her free time, she always assists with the housework of her grandmother, does the homework assigned by the teacher, and sometimes takes time to teach her sister, a first grader at Prek Tanen Primary School.
Say also faced some challenges in her studies. “During the rainy season, it was difficult for me to ride a bicycle to school on my own because of the slippery roads, so my grandfather took me to school,” she said.
Say is very grateful for the scholarship in kind as a bicycle that allows her to attend school regularly and get good grades at the end of the 2022 school year.
