Here is another success story. CUSP was started in 2006 with the goal of helping poor but bright rural Cambodian youth escape poverty and reach their full potential as adults. Theam is another CUSP student who has made that journey and now passing his success on to the next generation.
THE JOURNEY BEGINS: Theam as a toddler in rural Cambodia far from high school and college.
Theam was just like so many other village students who are waiting for someone to give them a chance to go to high school and college.
Theam’s dad died when he was 4 years old. Rice farming is the main occupation of rural Cambodians. Losing a parent often plunges the family into deep poverty.
Theam started 10th grade in 2009 as a CUSP scholarship student and lived in the boys’ dorm. He’s in the middle with a white shirt. The dorms are in Kampong Thom which has a high school.
Theam writes about his time living in the dorms and going to high school “that it was the most joyful of times, especially being with his good friends in the dorm and from school. We ate meals together, studied together and worked in the church together.”
He graduated from high school in 2012, went to college in Phnom Penh and graduated in 2016. He is now Vice Principal of the Asian Hope School’s Village Development Program, located at the Prek Phnov campus. https://asianhopeschool.org/
Theam writes about his time in college that “I worked hard studying and also had a part time job. This was a tough time and made me stronger, ready to get a job. I really enjoyed living in the dorm in Phnom Penh and sharing with fellow students.”
Theam and Sokorn were married in 2019.
The family is growing. Here is Theam and daughter Sethana. She is almost 4 years old.
First grade
The swimmer
2nd child: Sethanon, a boy, was born November 28, 2023
Theam’s wife Korng Sokorn teaches kindergarten. Here she is with Sethana and Sethanon.
Theam and Sokorn at Angkor Wat
Theam is seen here driving Sethana and the neighbor kids to school. He is an example of a gifted rural student who has excelled. Now he is taking his success and passing it on to the next generation.
