Sil – Director of Engish at KVLC
“I have been teaching English around 8 years with PLF. I really love this job because it is interesting and I work with a lot of different students – young children during the day and adults in the evening. Some of my students when they first come the don’t know any English so it is good to see how they learn quickly and improve.
I became a PLF student inn 2006. At that time, going to school as difficult for me because my family were not able to support me. So I am lucky that PLF give me a nice bike and study materials. When I was young I used to spend time with my father, go to the farm under the sun and at that time it was hard and hot, but not so hard like today. My father really encouraged me to study, he said “please go to school, I don’t have anything to give you, another 10 years here no forest to cut no farm to work so if you don’t go to study you might have no job and your life might be difficult, more difficult than now”. And I remember his words until now.
Sil receiving his new bike in Grade 6
When I was in G12 in 2011, at that time in Knar there weren’t a lot of people who could speak English, so I just study English for children and I found it very difficult so I promised myself that I want to be an English teacher to help people in my village. Still I could go to university, but when I was in year 1 I had a lot of stress, I was studying but also working to help my family, on a construction site and stay also on site, which was so difficult for living. And then I was absent a lot from uni because so tired from working.
I talked to Teacher Ponheary that maybe I want to stop study. She said “If you stop what do you do next? How old is your mother, and how often does she get sick? If you stop now, how can you help your mum when she is sick?” That made me want up. And she was right, because now I can help my family more, support them with my salary.
So then PLF put me in the dorm in Siem Reap and then my life start to change because I could pay more attention on my study. I really focussed, I would study by myself, I read the book, I checked the word and listen to the news. After around 6 months, my English was so much better and in exchange for staying in the dorm, I begin to teach the other students English.
Education is really essential – it changed my life for the better, it changed my activities, and it also make my community grow up as well. I think if PLF wasn’t in this community at Knar, I think a lot of students would quit school before G12 and a lot of them would have to go to other countries to look for work. If no PLF, the community would be poorer and less developed.
If I had quit school, I don’t know where I am now. For a while, the situation was very bad but it gave me a lot of lessons, and because PLF always stand by me, it really motivated me. Now I am Director of English at Knar and I can lead other people too. I feel proud of the journey. I never expected I could do that.”
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