Thavy's Story
Eight years ago, Thong Lean Thavy was a young woman working in Cambodia’s rice fields, unable to read or write. Today, she stands in front of a grade one class, their teacher and role model.
Thavy studied with CARE’s Highland Community Education Program in north-eastern Cambodia. She was selected by the community to take part in the teacher training program and now educates a new generation of children at her village’s school.
“Now, I am very happy and proud that I became a teacher. Before I could not read or write, but now I have done the teacher training and study, and have come to work with CARE. I use my salary to buy medicine, clothes and kitchen materials – and to support my family. I hope the girls in my class are happy to become teachers too,” she says.
The rates of literacy for Cambodia’s indigenous children are among the lowest in the country. Most indigenous people do not speak the country’s national language of Khmer, which is also the language used in government schools.
“Because we want to keep our language and tradition it’s important to speak our native language, Kreung,” explains Thavy. “But the children need to know Khmer in order to go outside the village.”
CARE has established community-run schools, where students learn in both their own language and Khmer. CARE has worked in Cambodia since 1973. Over the years, CARE has shifted its focus in Cambodia from short-term, vital relief operations, to long-term projects in health, education and rural development.
