How I change Cambodia

It has been six years already since I left home for Liger Leadership Academy, my second home.  We follow project-based curriculum; students can do research in class and explore difference societies to further their knowledge and gain experience. Project-based learning has helped me develop as a future leader in many different areas: sports, Solar Pi, and Journeys of Change.

 

Cambodian elders’ perspective is “sports is not for women,” but I don’t think that it is a good idea. Since I came to learn at Liger Leadership Academy, I got opportunities to participate in different sports: swimming, basketball, football and ultimate frisbee. By evolving in sports, I received a lot of opportunities travel to other countries to compete.  When I came back, I helped develop a workshop for the students in Cam-kids, Kampong Speu province. Being an instructor helped me give my opinion toward sports and changed the elders’ perspective in women playing sports. Teaching them made me stronger in public speaking and also a stronger leader.

In the government school, students are having lack knowledge toward technology and having lack of technology resources. Liger got requested by the ministry to implement technology labs and English curriculum into two schools. In this project, I am working on making video tutorials about FreeCAD. By working on this project, I help improve Cambodia education, inspire more students into the technology sector, also make them think about the future. Making video tutorials I have to speak really clear so that students can understand and you need to be a great leader to inspire people.   

 

Talking about a leader, I am one of the business managers of Journeys of Change. Journeys of Change is a cultural bike tour experience that had created by 13 Liger Leadership Academy students. This business made to help spread the culture of Cambodia to tourists and expats of Phnom Penh also to find funds to support the student’s future education. The students developed the rout, scripts, marketing idea, and business plan.  I am one of the members of JOC that help develop the marketing strategies also a qualified tour guide. To be a tour guide you need to be flexible, responsible, also being a leader that lead the tourists to the insight of Cambodia. Now I employed by Journeys of Change as a business manager which render me more opportunity to be a leader. By join Journeys of Change, I can contribute some changes to my country and my future education.

 As a change agent, we can’t estimate how much our actions make a circumstance to society. By these small actions can shift elder perspective to improve the power of women. If we want to be a future change agent to our country, we prerequisite small actions from now and start developing skills. I am Cambodia, and I want to see my country grow but I always ask myself, “How can I involved in that growth.” Kevin E Bowser stated, “It is never too late to be an encouraging leader,” but it not really much to my situation so, I said to myself “It is not too early to be encouraging leader.” To all the students around the world, “Don’t let someone else drag your dream because you are too young.”

       

Gain More Experience by Sharing Your Experience!

Cambodian think that girls can’t play sports can’t join physical activity. They believed that girls should learn how to be a wife, learn house chore and protecting yourself from the sun.

 

Do you think that though perspective should change?

As Cambodian girls and young teenage who loves sports i think that this perspective should be changed. Before i come to Liger, i also loves to play sport but my parent and neighbor always said that playing sport it just a waste of time.  When come to a school that give an opportunity to involves in many sports and my perspective changes over time. Sports had become a part of my life, Frisbee, Swimming, Basketball, Football and biking. Sometimes I ignore what people said about it and focus on doing what i loves. One way that improving my skill on sport is sharing my experience to other people.     

Official Launched – Tour Guide

Being an business manager of a company it not easy like people expect. I had interviewed to be an business manager in a bike tour company called Journeys of Change. I had working in this project started in November 14th, 2017. In January 13th JOC had launched our official tour with 11 customer! That was a big improve for us! I am one of the 4 tour guides felt really happy seeing my clients enjoy our tour. It was complicated since people are coming in the different time. So as a tour guide we need to be flexible with the situation and try our best to solve the problem and did not impacts to our customers. We had try our best to understand the script and understand the situation lastly make it the best for our customer.

The tour went great! Get the best feedback from our clients and we are proud in this age that we can make some changes in our country. All the donation that we had are use for expenses during the tour and donation to supports the tour guides future education or business. We hope that JOC is success and we are willing to share our knowledge about our country to all the people that interested to learn about Cambodian.

Teaching Swimming

Since the Junior Cohort joint Liger they are starting learning how to swim. I am one of volunteer to teach them swimming. I am volunteer 2 day of my ASE ( after school extention) and spend time to teach them swimming. Since I was teaching them on the first day why were afraid of water and scared of drowning. But since I teach them 14 weeks now they are pretty good at swimming and i really enjoy and spend my time with this students. They are enjoy their time listen to the teacher and practice swimming. I know how much i love swimming but i can’t do anything with my experience but i love if by sharing my experience to the next generation. So far i’m really proud of myself that I can share my knowledge about swimming to the next generation.

Khmer Sight Foundation Volunteer

On the November, 18, 2017 some of my Liger Leadership Academy students volunteer to work with Khmer Sight Foundation (KSF) in Kompong Speu province. The KSF is help to eradicate avoidable blindness in Cambodia and improve vision and eye care and restore the gift of sight to many Cambodians. We leave Liger around 6:00 am and travel to Kampong Speu. We went to Camkids school and we saw a lot of people waiting there for eyes check. There are about 160 old people and around 20 high school students. What we did was that first is testing their eyes and if they can’t see well with distance or if they have cataracte they will to the next station to check what the problems they have with the eyes and if they can’t see close KSF will provide they glases. Then check the blood pressure. The main focus KSF is the cataract and pterygium.

My job was to help measure their eyes sight,talking with people who are waiting for their eye check, help translating their problem-symptom to the doctors and doing eyedrops. Other hardest jobs are to convince and make the people in the community trust KSF to do their eyes surgery. Most of the elders need to do the surgery because their eyes have the cataract and pterygium. Khmer Sight Foundation decide to bring the first 10 people in the community to go and do the surgery and some decided to not go. This is because some of them are busy taking care of the kids or wasted their time, they scared to do surgery, some of them didn’t feel comfortable to come, to Phnom Penh with strange people.

There were six people came with Liger students and KSF people to do the surgery. One of the grandma she 78 year old, that I had talk with felt really nervous about the eye surgery. She said, “ I felt really nervous because i scare that the eye surgery is not success and she get blind. She doesn’t have child to taking care of her. Everyday she live with her husband who also having eye problem and another 2 grand daughter. One of the grand daughter are really young and other one are have a job in garment factory to support the family. She felt scare but after taking with the doctors and volunteer she felt more comfortable with this eyes surgery.” she continue, “ Before she’s having eye problem she work as farmer with her husband. He’s 79 year old. Her family economic was worse since she was old and she still have 2 grand daughter to feed. Now her family was much worse since her and her husband got their eyes problem that the reason that she can’t afford both of their granddaughter to go to school, so one of them have to work to support the family.” Hearing this problem made my tear drop but i tried my best to hold it.
We help to change her entire life because if she not comes and did the surgery she will lose her right eye. This means her both eyes will blind. No one gonna take care the granddaughter anymore. We had told her if she does the surgery 95% she will get success, 4 percents will have damage and 1% will completely blind. She didn’t come with us on that date but she’s one of people that coming for the next day.I am so proud to volunteer with Khmer Sight Foundation to help Cambodian and share my knowledge with them also learn more about eye problem. I can help people in my country to see the beautiful nature and bring their sight back. Lastly to all Cambodian and people out there eye problem was really serious, you have to go to doctor to check it. Do not wait until it get to big trouble. Help to prevenge since it was not serious was better than doing surgery when it was serious. Also share this information to all people that you know abou eye problem.

Changing Cambodian

There are many problem in Cambodia that effect to the people and effect to GDP (gross domestic product). One of the problem in Cambodia are education and waste. I said education because as we compare our country and other country is totaly different.
The problem about education are
1.Family problem
2.salary of the teacher
3.Not good school
4.Not enough teacher
5.Not enough materials
6. Other

. Waste is the problem in Cambodia too and waste will effect to GDP, Environment soil and animal. If in our country have a lot of plastic it will effect to GDP because in our country have a lot of tourists come and visit, if they see that the rubbish all over the place they will think that our country is not beautiful so they might not come to our country again.
Solution
1 . Education
Provide a good jobs to the people in our country so that they can have more money to feed their family and have enough money for their child to go to school. Also increase teacher salary so that they can have enough money to feed their family. We want the government to build a good school for the student to learn. If we can find the volunteer from other country to teach the students in our country. Also we can find some donation for other country and use that money to buy technology staff and other learning material. Also the education system we should change it a little to make it better than now. Also to have a class that the students can go outside the school and do some experiment so they can understand more about their country.

2. Wates

The solution for trash in cambodia is to educate people about the problem when they are throw the rubbish aways. Also we can teach them the way to reduce, reuse and recycle the plastic rather than they throw it aways. Also if the government make a program or competition for the province like what province is the cleanest then they will have some price. They can make the rules like who throw the rubbish they will have a punish. WE can tell the seller to don’t give the plastic bag to the buyer until they ask for a bag.

3. Changing Cambodia.
In this year i has change cambodia a little bite. Me and my team had create a book for the Cambodian kids. That book is about Cambodia Economy. We will share our book to all government school in Cambodia. For me as the writer i think that our book is a part of helping Cambodia.