Kea Eng is JWOC's
Free Classes Program Manager and a former Scholarship Student. Now he coordinates the Free Classes teachers and ensures over 800 students access quality
learning opportunities! We caught up with him to find out his story...
What does education
mean to you? Why is it important for our community and Cambodia?
Education is
interaction, freedom, experiences and sharing to others. It is important
for our local community and Cambodia because it means everyone is getting
proper, quality and equal education that supports morals and growth. If we gain
the knowledge and experience from school and society we can share with others
and develop ourselves without violence, changing people’s mindset, awareness
and courage to think, grow and to reflect upon one's community and/or country.
How has your
education impacted your life?
I am a JWOC former
scholarship student and now Free Classes Program Manager (managing 40
scholarship teachers within the program). The reason I’ve reached this level is
because I have received a quality, equal and proper education from others and
from JWOC.
I was born in 1992 in
my hometown - 30km from Siem Reap town to the east. There are 5 members in my
family including me, an elder brother, a younger sister, and my parents. I am a
second child in the family. My elder brother and younger sister stopped
studying when they graduated from primary school because of our family
situation, so their education is very low. I was the only sibling that was able
to continue studying until, through JWOC, I graduated with a bachelor degree in
Teaching English as a Foreign Language. I am currently pursuing my master’s
degree in TESOL and my family situation has improved as they’ve come back from
Thailand (where they were working) to live closer to each other.
Before I became a
JWOC scholarship student, my parents could not afford to pay for my university
as they were farmers and did not own any land. My father became a builder or
day labourer in a farm and often lived away from home. Through this job he could
just receive a small salary to support the family so asked my brother and
sister to stop studying in grade nine; he kept me in school because he knew
that I loved to learn. After that, my elder brother and father went and worked
in other provinces to make money to support the family; keeping me, my sister
and mother at home alone. We started to grow the vegetables and plants to sell
and support my learning, but it didn’t work well.
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| Kea cycles in JWOC's 2016 Race4Education |
Their continued
support and encouragement helped me to succeed in my studying. They helped me
until I graduated high school and passed, despite many obstacles. To pay them
back, I wanted to earn money to support my family, but I thought that my
knowledge from school and my teaching experience (from volunteering) wasn’t
enough to get a steady job to work and well-paid. So I decided I wanted to go
to university; however, I didn’t have the money to pay for the school fees. I
was given information from one of my friends about JWOC scholarships so I
decided to look and apply as soon as I could. After I received the scholarship
at JWOC I could still not find well-paid job so part of my family moved to
Thailand to find a better income, leaving me alone in Siem Reap.
When I was in the
first year at university, I became a receptionist in a small guest house which
supported my living and food. Six months later, I had become a part-time
teacher of English in an international school (for a year). When I started my
third year at university, I became a caretaker and teacher of English at JWOC before
being promoted to be a full-time Free Classes Support Officer at JWOC. Finally,
I become a Free Classes Program Manager after I graduated in September 2015,
now I’m able to offer everyone the opportunity of a quality education through
my program.
The story of myself,
my family and how I have worked to help my community has, in turn, hugely
impacted and influenced my education. I hope that through this experience I can
inspire scholarship students and others.
What do you believe the future of education is for
your community and Cambodia?
I believe that the
future of education is going to gradually improve to be more interactive and of
a high quality for my community and Cambodia. If we can build many scholars to
understand education and its practice, then we can apply effective strategies
to the current system in Cambodia. This process will need time but is worth the
investment.
My last message to
parents and students:
“Parents have to send their children to school to receive
education and knowledge for a better future. All students must learn through
school and other experiences to develop ourselves, our families, communities
and our country.”
