Cusp has sought out bright students from remote areas – students who live too far away to attend high school. We have told some of their stories: how they have thrived in high school and college and are now building careers.
This is the story of one of our most remote students, Somsan. She lives in eastern Cambodia, on the other side of the Mekong River. Her family is so poor that when she arrived in Kampong Thom she had only the shirt on her back. Our manager, Pa Soeurng, gave her one of his oldest daughter’s school uniform shirts. Somsan has 5 siblings and 5 cousins that also live with her family. She is the first in her family to graduate from 9th grade.
Her father and mother are rice farmers. Her mother also works at a cashew farm.
Here is her father driving her mother to work at the cashew farm – she will stay at the farm for 3 months during the harvest.
Here’s her mother working at the cashew farm.
While her mother is working at the cashew farm, her father cares for the other children and manages their rice fields.
Somsan’s mother earns $7 a day at the cashew farm. Her mother must work nearly 5 days to pay for a round trip to the dorms. This van is typical of the public transportation that Somsan takes to travel to Kampong Thom.
Here she is saying goodbye to mom at the dorm.
The new students and parents
Somsan’s dream is to become a teacher in her village. She is now in 10th grade.