Russell and his wife Ursula had been to Vietnam before but in late 2019 they made a special trip to the country, which led them to helping a school in a remote village.
The couple from Victoria were visiting their sponsored child, 10-year-old Yen, for the first time. They had been sponsoring Yen for six years and had regularly written letters to her through ChildFund’s sponsorship program, but wanted to meet Yen and see for themselves what her life was like.
“We had always planned to visit her because it makes it more real,” Russell says.
“It was very exciting to meet Yen. It was a very nice experience. Her parents were delightful and Yen was delightful – a little shy at first, but after a little while she opened up.”
Russell and Ursula met Yen and her family at Yen’s school, where they were taken aback by the number of students.
“I was a bit surprised that the school had so many children – there were about 500 children – in such a remote place,” Russell says. “It was a big school for a place that was so remote.”
The school was in “good nick”, but Russell and Ursula noticed that the computer room was lacking in resources. “I think they had six or seven computers for a class in the entire school,” Russell says. “Given the children’s economic circumstances, I imagined they wouldn’t have computers at home.”
After returning home to Australia, the couple decided to donate eight computers to Yen’s school.
Growing up with five siblings in a small
village in Cambodia, Tey often faced discrimination and was not given the same
opportunities as her brothers.
When she was about to begin Grade 7 her
parents ordered her to drop out of school. They told her she didn’t need an
education because she would get married and become a housewife and her husband
would provide for her.
Tey was a promising student and the school
principal told her parents that she should stay in school, but they would not
change their minds.
After she was taken out of school, Tey took
it upon herself to make the best out of her situation.
“Women have to build their own capacity and
get involved in social work,” Tey says.
“Men should be open to this and recognise, support and provide opportunity to women.”
Women in remote communities in Cambodia can
face discrimination and are often overlooked for leadership roles.
ChildFund Cambodia is working to support
women and disadvantaged groups to have more opportunities in taking a lead in
their communities.
Commune councils are local government
bodies in Cambodia, which have historically had very low levels of female
representation.
Tey found ways to prove herself while
helping her father, who was a village chief. She showed she had a special skill
for conflict resolution, which is one of the main duties of the commune
council.
In 2012 she was elected as a member of the
council, the only woman alongside six men. Despite the challenges, Tey never
doubted her ability to get the job done.
“I performed my tasks well and even better
than the male members,” Tey says.
After eight years on the council Tey (pictured above) still sees gender equality as a key issue in her village. Many women from Tey’s generation were not given the opportunity to finish school and go on to higher education.
Kalyan, 24, is a commune developing officer at ChildFund Cambodia. She works in villages like Tey’s to ensure girls and young women are given chances.
“I think women’s roles in society are as important as men’s,” Kalyan (pictured above) says. “And society must say yes to women.”
Kalyan believes that a major change will
come from changing the way girls and young women in Cambodia view their role in
society.
“We, women, should think that everything
starts from ourselves,” Kalyan says.
She believes change starts at home.
“I think family plays an immense role in a
daughter’s mindset,” Kalyan says. “If you teach a daughter to believe in
herself and always be supportive, she will grow up to be an independent woman.”
Tey’s daughter is studying her master’s
degree in English literature in Phnom Penh, and more women are getting the
chance to finish school.
“I believe higher education is important
because it brings higher capacity and it will change old attitudes,” she said.
In Tey’s village, girls and young women look up to her as a reason for why attitudes are changing. Lima and Hanfy, both age 28, say that Tey’s influence is being felt by new generations of girls in their village.
“She’s a very focused person,” Lima says.
“She is our idol and she will always be our role model.”
Kalyan believes it is important that people
are able to see change because this will lead to people changing their minds.
“If we think about gender equality and we do not act on it, then it is nothing,” she says.
