Life Together - Mike's Story

Let’s hear from Mike Kershner, our volunteer who has been helping to make the dream of completing school come true for our students since 2018.

When Mike first heard about PeopleStories in early 2018 through a mutual friend, he was not actively looking to get involved in a charity. Mike shared, “I have donated money to a number of different causes, but I have never really got involved in any charity at a personal level.” 

When Mike met with Vic and Olli and heard what they were working with poor students and schools in Cambodia, he was immediately taken by their passion and decided this would be a great chance to jump in. He was eager to get involved personally to provide some support to a group who may not have had some of the fortunate breaks he has had in his life.  

Mike and his wife visited Chea Smonn with Vic and Olli in April 2018 to see the community, meet many of the students, teachers, and parents. They also participated in the School for Life ceremony where they awarded scholarships and bicycles to several students. They were blown away by the hospitality and warmth they received from the community. 

​The most inspiring moment for Mike on that trip was making a student home visit, one of the School for Life scholarship recipients from Chea Smonn. Mike was especially touched by how she continued her studies outside of the classroom and how she shared what she learnt with her sister.   

​He recalled, “She showed us a whiteboard where she and her sister practised her lessons every day. It’s a tiny detail, but we loved that she had written on the whiteboard the day of the week so that she knew what lesson she had learnt that day!” 

Nearly all the students and teachers they met made a deep impression on them. Mike explained, “Personally, I can forget sometimes, when I get caught up in my life, to contextualize that I came from place in the world with an abundance of resources and opportunities available. Then to visit a community in Cambodia like this, where those resources are so scarce and so difficult to come by. Yet the community carries on so optimistically despite the immense challenges. It’s just incredibly inspiring, and really provides such critical perspective on everything and what really is important and that we’re all in this big thing of life together, no matter what our background is or where we came from.” 

For anyone considering whether or not to join a charitable effort, here’s what Mike has to say, “I would say just jump in and do it. My only regret is I didn’t do it earlier.  I always thought of this as something I should do, but then came up with a million excuses why I was too busy to get involved.”  
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He added, “However, even a small percentage of our time can make a big difference for some communities and people who benefit from that support. The personal sense of gratitude I get in helping others who face steeper challenges than me is the payoff. There isn’t a material asset, or bigger number in the bank account, or any nonsense like that that could even come close to the satisfaction and deeper understanding of people I gain from working to support someone along life’s journey.” 




Want to empower underprivileged students to complete school and help them uplift themselves from the poverty cycle? You can support them by donating to this new school year scholarships - 100 Dreams for 100 students. ​