Spotlight on Nika and Phi Run

​There has been a positive and happy trend happening with our local Khmer volunteers and teachers in rural Siem Reap… having babies!    This joyful event certainly has the ability to cheer everyone up.  One glance into the gorgeous baby’s smile, our worries seem to fade away.  

​Congratulations to Nika, principal of Chea Smonn Secondary school, who just welcomed baby Phi Run to her family.  I recently visited Nika at their home and got into a conversation not only about her first child but also looking forward to 2020!   What an insightful conversation we had and here is to share:
 
2019 was a big year for Nika as well as PeopleStories. I  wondered what Nika’s highlights were and she openly shared, “To close 2019, I was so happy to welcome my baby  to the family!  You know, we have been trying to have a baby for almost 3 years and we finally have Phi Run now and I am so happy!”.  She looked at baby Phea Ron intensively and continued to share, “As for Chea Smonn School, I was delighted to have the support from PeopleStories.  We built a new office for the teachers where they can work on lesson plans etc and we also furbished a library for students to read.  The students really love going into the library!”.

There is no doubt that 2019 was a busy and productive year for Chea Smonn school which is similar to the role of a new mother looking after her baby.  All effort is spent to provide the best environment for growth.  I was keen to learn from Nika about the priorities this year and she thought about it for a moment then said, “ Besides the current school ground project, I would like to see improvement to the teacher’s skills.  I believe quality of learning is very important for the students and education overall.  So teachers are the critical factor to successful education.”
 
Nika is a huge believer in education (you can read her earlier story here: http://bit.ly/NikaStory ) and she already has plans to get Phi Run educated once he is ready.  On the other hand, I was interested to learn about her perspectives on education across different generations.  She shared, “Before Pol Pot, teachers were powerful and earned good salary.  My mother also went to school!”  A huge spark in her eyes when Nika was looking at her mother who is in her 70’s.  Growing up as a single parent and being the only child, I can feel their strong bond.
 
Nika continued, “The period after Pol Pot, which was my generation, education became very hard.  There were schools and teachers but the quality of education was very low. Families were so poor and they could not afford to send their children to schools.”  Personally, I absolutely could relate to her comments as I have seen first-hand so many families are still living in poverty today in rural Cambodia.  

What about education today?  Nika openly said, “The Ministry tries hard to improve the quality of learning but there is still so much more to work on!  There are also many social problems in our community such as smart phone! Children are addicted to smart phones for games, videos etc.  This is distracting them from learning at school.  Another social problem is that families in rural area still don’t understand the value of education and there is not much home education for the children.”
 
Challenge also means opportunity and focusing on our vision for 2020, I asked, “Nika, what is the 1 thing you would love to change if you have the power?”  Without any hesitation and thinking, she replied, “ I would change the teachers’ mindset from their personal gain to strongly focus on students and their needs. They are the future of Cambodia!”.

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The conversation with Nika made me think … how can PeopleStories and I add more value to education in rural Siem Reap? How do we need to evolve to ensure that everyone is working towards a shared and positive vision?

Our work is constantly changing and improving and I am looking forward to an exciting 2020!
 
What is your vision for your children?  Would you like to give Nika and PeopleStories a helping hand to advance education?
 
Click here to learn about our work: http://bit.ly/OurWorkPSF