The Cambodia Rural School Project
The Nicholas Palevsky School
Ky Norm is a second grade student at the Nicholas Palevsky School. She is thirteen years old. She is ethnic Laotian, one of ethnic minority groups in Ratanakiri. She has four sisters and three brothers. Her house is in front of the school and she walks to school every day
“I come to school every day because I want to learn Khmer language. Now I understand some Khmer language, but I can’t speak it. I can neither write nor read. At home or in the village I speak Lao with my parents and friends. Two years ago, my parents brought me to the provincial town of Banlung. During the stay there, I was unhappy because I did not know how to speak to the people around me. If I could speak Khmer, I believe that my visit there would be more fun and interesting.”
“I still remember when the donor of the school came to my village and distributed school supplies to the children two years ago. I got notebooks, pens and candies from him. He speaks Lao and Thai, but I forget his face.”
