Battambang, KH – Big brother continues his studies – 14 Jul 2019

You may recognize Vannchai. We last wrote about him in December 2016 under the pseudonym “Dara”. Now Vannchai is an adult and has given us permission to use his real name.

At the time we told you how amazing he was as a student and how he had proven to be extraordinarily resilient and dependable in his role as a big brother and mentor for younger students. More than three years later Vannachai continues to impress everyone with the name of “Big brother” in his family.

After finishing primary school, Vannchai had a long journey to attend the nearest high school which is 8km from his home. He needed to take his brothers and sisters to CFI too. This was a problem for Vannchai, he realized he needed to be ready early to get himself and his siblings a ride to school.

About two years into high school life, Vannchai was struggling with money for his study and to support his family, so he decided to work part-time at night as a waiter at a restaurant in town after class. This gave him enough money to support his family and study. After working as a waiter for a couple of months, Vannchai saved some money with his older sister to buy a second-hand motorbike to ride to work. It makes it easier to take his younger brothers and sisters to CFI too. Not long ago, Vannchai became an assistant chief because he impressed the customers with his cooking talent.

After a couple of months of working, Vannchai found he was struggling with his studies. He felt sleepy in class and couldn’t keep up with the lessons well. He lost motivation and he wanted to stop attending school, but his older sister encouraged and told him to be patient and keep up his great work because only education can lead you to a bright future. So, he started to use his free time to study and ask for help from his friends when he did not understand the lesson. The result of all this hard-work is Vannchai is now proud of himself and feels confident to face any problems and finish his studies at high school.

When Vannchai was young, he really wanted to be a police officer because he wanted to ensure his family and community were safe from crime and violence. But after becoming a big brother in his family he decided he now wants to find a job that can earn money in the short term.

Vannchai says. “ I really want to be a policeman, but it’s not the right time. I have brothers and sisters to take care of, so I need to find a job that can earn enough money to support them. I won’t forget my dream job, I can be patient like my older sister suggested, but now I can focus on making sure my younger brothers and sisters can follow their dreams.”.

After graduating from high school, Vannchai’s plan is to join vocational training at one of CFI’s partners, Sala Bai, located in Siem Reap. Based on his talent, Vannchai wants to start his cooking career. He’s very passionate about cooking, he learns much faster than others and the food that he cooks is delicious. In the future, he wants to have his own restaurant so he doesn’t have to work for others and can make more money.

At the end of the conversation, Vannchai had some advice for the younger generation who will start the journey of life soon. “For young people who have the chance and support to study, don’t waste your time. Find your dream, set up your goals and stay focused. Education will make you shine ”. CFI has supported Vannchai to realise his dreams by providing him with quality supplementary education.