By Wesley Samms | Grants Manager
Vuth grew up in the rural Kondal Province which surrounds Phnom Penh and serves as a major agricultural and economic belt for Cambodia’s capital. She is the second oldest of eight children, of which six are girls and two are boys.
Vuth dropped out of school at the sixth grade because of the economic needs of her family which had made her attend very irregularly. Not knowing much math, nor how to read or write very well, she moved to Phnom Penh where she found employment as a waitress in a Chinese noodle restaurant.
So much of Cambodia lives below the international poverty line that Vuth’s very slight income from waiting tables was a sad step up from her family’s earnings.
Twenty-eight percent of Cambodia’s population lives on less than $1.25 per day, and Vuth’s new job landed her an income of $50 per month, or about $1.67 per day.
The area where Vuth works is surrounded by Phnom Penh’s infamous karaoke brothels, which promise incomes twice what Vuth makes, but come at a much greater cost.
After just one month at the noodle restaurant, she succumbed to the temptation of earning up to $100 per month at the Karaoke bars nearby. She worked in this environment for one year before deciding that she could not continue and wanted to move up and out.
Vuth knew she needed to learn to read and write better, and she looked to the NFE program to help build the basic skills that would help her get out of poverty. Khemara’s staff welcomed her into the Borei Kamakor class in January 2014.
From the very beginning Vuth studied very hard and excelled in her NFE class. She asked to be enrolled into the Sewing Skills class, and was quickly accepted based on her superb performance.
Now at age 23, Vuth is working hard to avoid the pitfalls which loom over so many young women in her neighborhood. Thanks to your support, she hopes to someday open her own tailoring shop!
Thank you for supporting Vuth and the Non-Formal Education Program!
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By Wesley Samms | Grants Manager
By Wesley Samms | Grants Manager
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