Dear Friends,
Hope all is well? Many of you may remember the story of Sopeak. We first met Sopeak in the countryside outside of Siem Reap 11 years ago. We were delivering food, household supplies and clothing to her village, where some of the families were so desperately poor many kids did not have clothes.
While in the village, from the edge of the circle which formed around us, a woman pushed her daughter forward and told her to speak to us in English. Sopeak was very small and shy but spoke to us in very clear and accent free English, which was quite astonishing as she lived so far out in the countryside. She had learned some English from an American teacher who had taught her while in her village.
The short version of the last 11 years is that K.I.D.S. sponsored Sopeak's education from that point on to complete elementary, high school, English classes and university. Sopeak rode many, many kilometers in her 12 hour days to and from school on her bicycle through the choking dust of the dry season and the muddy, rutted, water filled potholes of the rainy season. After high school K.I.D.S. sponsored Sopeak to live in the the city, in a rented room, and we provided a small living stipend for her while she attended university. Through elementary, high school as well as university Sopeak received top marks in all her classes; all the while struggling with a 50% hearing loss, due to infection that was left untreated, as the family could not afford medication.
Last year we attended Sopeak's wedding, she married a gem of a man, they love each other very much and they now have a beautiful and happy 4-month old boy.
When Sopeak was young, being the eldest child, she
and her father would hunt frogs and fish to try to feed the rest of the family
through very difficult times. We are so happy to see the outcome of Sopeak's
dedication to education and fight to improve her lot in life. She and her
husband have bought a small piece of land behind her parent's house and are
working on a simple basic house and have planted fruit trees to establish a
future home.
We recently went out to visit her family, the family has improved their lot in life by working together. Inspired by Sopeak, in her quest for education, her 4 younger sisters have learned or are in the process of learning English and the two older ones have good jobs as well.
But the best thing of all is that Sopeak is now a school teacher in the very same village school that she went to as a child. She has truly come full circle in her life and is now passing on both the goodwill that all of you have shared by supporting Sopeak and the knowledge that she has received through education to other children. As well Sopeak hopes to teach English to village children.
We hope that Sopeak's story will bring some joy to your hearts and a smile to your faces at this time of year.
From Sopeak and the many students and families, under your collective wings, and ourselves we thank you and wish you all the best this Holiday Season and may you be surrounded in a circle of love of friends and family.
Till Next Time
Rick and Adrianne
