Just Keep Trying
Cambodian Women’s
Education Group
Just Keep Trying
Cambodian Women’s Education Group
Copyright © 2012 by the Cambodian Women’s Education
Group:
Bovathana Pen, interviewer and project coordinator
Sophea You, Khmer writer
Monirith Ly, Khmer editor and project assistant
Vitharin Chan, illustrator
Sophara Pen, translator
Ann K. Brooks, project director and English writer
Sophie Brooks-Ames, development and fundraising
Illustration copyright by Vitharin Chan
Published by the Cambodian Women’s Education Group
This book, or any part of it, may not be reprinted,
photocopied, or shared in any form or by any means
without written permission by Dr. Ann K. Brooks
([email protected]) or Mr. Monirith Ly
([email protected]).
Printed in Cambodia
Contents
Preface……………………………………………………………
iv
Saret’s Story……………………………………………………
1
Sophea’s Story ………………………………………………..
21
Pheara’s Story ………………………………………………...
33
Vantha’s Story ………………………………………………..
53
iii
Preface
The stories in this book are based on life
history interviews with young Cambodian women, in
which they told about the struggles and the joys they
met as they insisted on staying in school and
continuing on to university. When the four women
told their stories, two had already graduated and
were working and two would soon graduate. They
continue to help their families and encourage others,
who are poor like they were, to stay in school.
Both the Khmer language edition and the
English edition are the fruits of a collective effort by
Cambodians and non-Cambodians, all committed to
the education of girls and women in Cambodia.
Bovathana Pen, a recent graduate herself, and a
current graduate student in women and
development, carried out the interviews and
coordinated the project. Sophea You, a professor of
Khmer literature at the Royal University of Phnom
Penh, converted the life history transcripts into
iv
engaging biographies for Khmer girls and their
families. Monirith Ly edited the Khmer stories.
Sophara Pen translated the Khmer transcripts and
stories into English. Vitharin Chan, a professor at the
Royal University of Fine Arts, created the front cover
illustration. Ann Brooks, a professor of adult
education at Texas State University, edited the
translations into the English edition of the book and
directed the endeavor. Many others contributed and
continue to contribute labor and funds to produce,
distribute, and educate using the book.
All of us see the talent and promise of young
Cambodian girls to contribute to their families, their
communities, the nation, and the world. We hope
these stories provide a window into their lives and
educational challenges as they themselves experience
them.
June 2012
The Cambodian Women’s Education Group
v
Just Keep Trying
Even though many in the world are coming to
recognize the importance of educating girls,
countless girls still struggle just to stay in
school. For these young women, attending a
university seems unimaginable.
In this book, four young Cambodian women
tell how they managed to continue their
educations, in spite of their families’ often
grinding poverty and the doubts of their
families and communities. They recount how
they convinced their parents to let them
continue their studies in Phnom Penh. They
describe how they persevered to attend
university, how they supported themselves
while studying in Phnom Penh, and how their
educations are changing their own and their
families’ lives.