The Cambodia Rural School Project
The Rom Chek Nippon
Foundation School
Tes Sokhin is a fourth grade student at the Rom Chek Nippon Foundation School.
Out of the thirty-six students of his class, he was ranked seventh
| On himself: | I am seventeen years old. I have eight siblings; two of them are at this school. My parents are farmers and grow rice, jackfruit and papaya. I live five minutes away from the school (walking).
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| On the new building: | I am very happy with the new school. It is new with new desks. It also has better teachers—new teachers and new books. At the old school, it was very difficult to study because of the rain. The rain would disturb the class, and I would get wet. So would my books. Whenever it rained, everyone would just stay at home.
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| Favorite Subject: | I like Khmer the most. I want to learn how to read and write well. My favorite story is “Male Mountain and Female Mountain”. When I was reading it, I wanted to know why some mountains were female and some male: Long time ago, there was a man and a woman. They were arguing about who should ask who to marry. So they decided to settle it over a contest. They would compete to see who could make the highest hill. Eventually, the man saw that the woman’s hill was taller than his, and he lost. The story is related to Khmer customs: since the man lost, all men must ask the women to marry them, not the other way around.
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| On his spare time: | After school I take care of my younger brother. I also help my father carry water and chop wood. When I have the time, I like to go for a walk. I go to the jungle to hunt animals, like doves and other small birds, with my slingshot. On a good day, I can catch anything from three to ten birds.
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| In the future: | I want to be a teacher. I want the next generation to understand what I understand.
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| If he could do anything:
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A policeman. A policeman educates the public. |
