thoughts from residents of the Leadership Academy

From one of the young women:

'Our family is the poorest in our village. No one in our village wanted to talk with us and even when they had a celebration they would not invite us to go.  They said that if they walked where we walked, that we would make them poor. The neighbours say that they don’t even want to touch our boundary. Even our pets they beat.

The belief of Cambodian people is that poor are bad people.  They think we cannot learn.  But now I am studying at University'

Some of the students from the Leadership Academy

From a Lucky man:

'I was 7 years old and my younger brothers were 2 and 3 years old when my Mum died. My father died before my mum. My older brother stopped being a monk to care for us all but his behavior wasn't like a monk and he used to drink alcohol a lot. He found a family for us to live with. As we were traveling in the car, I wondered if they were selling me so I looked carefully out the window to try and remember the way we were going so that I could find my way back home. I stayed there for 7 years and after that I came to live in Phnom Penh with my sister when we were in Grade 11. My sister has finished her studies in midwifery and is married now. I like her husband. I am studying Pediatric medicine at International University. 

I’m a very lucky man, I live in the Flame Leadership Academy and I have my 2 younger brothers with me now too. I am so excited to know that they also have a chance at a better future and I encourage them to take this opportunity. I can see my life getting better.'

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