By: Mr. Ros Bunthoeum, Inspired Perspectives Series

Thorn Monin Sovan Meta was born in 2011 in the village of Anchagn in Nokor Thom district, one of the remote, less populated, forested areas, and a neighboring region of Siem Reap town, Cambodia. She is the third child of four siblings, and she comes from a loving, middle-class family. Her father works as a staff in a five-star hotel in Siem Reap, and he is a strong supporter of his daughter’s education. Her mother stays home and takes care of the household chores and the kids. Although the family is not rich, they are happy, and that is the reason why Meta has been able to concentrate well on her studies and has made it to the sixth grade, about to move up to the middle school level.

Meta is always doing her best in her academic performance and there are a couple of subjects she is brilliant at – social studies, Khmer language studies, basic science and specifically English language. Not only is she good at these subjects, she is also passionate about drawing. In her free time, Meta does so much drawing just for fun, and she is always looking for any opportunity to take part in any drawing competitions.  A few months ago, she participated in a drawing contest called National Federation of UNESCO Associations in Japan Award. There were young contestants from 15 schools in Cambodia and 24 countries around Asian Countries participating in the contest.   Contestants were supposed to produce an original drawing; they were not allowed to copy from the others, neither from coursebooks nor from the internet. Because of her extraordinary talent, Meta made it to the final round and earned Fourth Place out of hundreds of young contestants. Meta’s drawings were about Cambodia’s finest culture and civilizations. Meta dreams of becoming a teacher when she grows up.

We are excited to share a new series of articles written by our Spitler School Foundation Cambodia staff member, Mr. Ros Bunthoeum. In addition to teaching classes himself, Bunthoeum oversees the English program at both Stephen Mazujian Middle School and the high school, and assists with all the English programs.

In this series we call “Inspired Perspectives,” we want to share informative and inspiring stories about our schools from someone who works with our students, staff, and community every day. Bunthoeum has been a great addition to our Cambodian staff, and we value his perspective and excitement to share—in his own words—the impact SSF has in rural Cambodia.

We also thank Spitler School Administrator, Sineth Korn, for providing photographs for this and many newsletters.

An Awesome Year!
This has been an awesome year: students back in the classrooms; teachers going the extra mile (both literally and figuratively) to bring knowledge to rural villages; no major Covid sicknesses on any of our campuses; tourists return to our schools to learn about the amazing work of our staff and donors; and bringing fresh life to tired campus areas through some needed repairs.

A Difficult Year…
This year has also been a financially difficult one in Cambodia with higher inflation where poor households are likely to bear the brunt of rising costs. SSF is also starting to see a pattern of decreased donations. This trend is causing us to make difficult choices and priorities for our schools. But, you can still make a difference!

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