In Cambodia, poor people can’t afford to have big dreams.
Thear, who began catch-up classes in the 4th grade on November 27th, sat across from his 2Five2 teacher in the newly renovated classroom. He looked ashamed as he whispered, “I want to be a doctor. I want to help and heal people.”
Until recently, Thear spent his days holding a large umbrella over the sellers at the local fish market. It was monotonous and tiring work, but earned $12.50 per month; a lot of money for his family of seven. His father died of alcoholism five years ago, when Thear was nine. Now his mother and siblings do whatever work they can find to earn enough money to eat each day. They do not survive month to month, but day to day.
Like many of the poor children of Prek Pneu village, school attendance for Thear has been sporadic. He dropped out of school at the age of eleven after completing third grade. His mother could no longer afford the fees charged by the teachers and she really needed him to go to work to help support the family. But Thear has always longed to go to school, to read and to write. It is one of Thear’s impossible dreams.
Thear’s story is all too common in the village of Prek Pneu. He and countless other children are stuck in a cycle of poverty from which there is no escape. One must work to survive, which means dreams of school and a better future are left like the trash in the street.
But now, Thear has new hope because of Asian Hope’s 2Five2 catch-up school. “2Five2’s catch-up school aims to help at-risk or highly vulnerable children to attend school again or for the first time. Our hope is to provide these kids with the tools necessary to create a new and brighter future,” says Leanne DeRemer,
Program Manager of 2Five2.
Apart from being a student, Thear must still work to help support the family. That means he must get up at 4:00 am every morning to work on the fishing boats. He works all morning and then walks the thirty minute walk to 2Five2’s building in the heart of Prek Pneu village for afternoon school. He is driven by his dream; a dream he previously kept secret. Many would laugh at him for even thinking of it.
We at Asian Hope would like to see Thear’s dreams come true. With commitment and hard work by Thear and assistance from Asian Hope, his dream is possible. We want all of the children of Prek Pneu
village to dream big. That is why Asian Hope works so hard to assist them as they make those dreams become reality.
Thank you for helping turn dreams into realities for Thear and the children of Prek Pneu!
To see the entire February Newsletter, click here
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