People of Seametrey: Laza and Ponleu's Story

Laza is 10 years old and a student at Seametrey Children’s Village, a school set up to provide quality education to children living in poverty in the south of Cambodia. Laza’s mother died when he was still a baby, and his father, Ponleu, was left to raise him alone.

Until the age of seven, Laza attended a local government school where he was taught in classes of 60 children. This made it very difficult for Laza to learn, but he studied hard during the day at school and even took extra study sessions at home in the evenings with his father.

Despite their best efforts, there was still very little opportunity to learn English. Ponleu knew that if Laza continued to study at the local school it would not be good for his son’s education. Ponleu worked as a driver but wanted his son to have more opportunities, so he decided to move to Cambodia’s capital in hope of a building a brighter future for his family.

“Raising Laza as a single father was a big challenge for me,” explained Ponleu. “Normally in Cambodian society it is the man’s role to earn money for his wife, so she can look after the children. For me, I had to work a full day to earn enough money to survive, but also find time to take Laza to school every morning at 7am, cook for him every lunchtime, and then come home from work to do the household chores too. It was very hard to raise Laza on my own.”
 
As he grew older Laza worked hard at school, but overcrowded classes, irregular timetables and a limited subject range made it difficult for him to create opportunities for himself. Seeing this, Ponleu moved to live with his sister close to Seametrey Children’s Village in Phnom Penh. Since moving, Ponleu and Laza are able to spend more time together and Laza receives more support, both emotional and physical, from his auntie and cousin. “He doesn’t feel lonely anymore,” says Ponleu. “He doesn’t question why he only has a dad and not a mum like the other children.”

In 2013, Laza became a student at Seametrey and Ponleu began to see improvements in his performance at school. Laza has gone from having a basic level of English to being one of the top students in his class. “Learning English will benefit Laza in our society,” says Ponleu. “He knows more [English] compared to other people his age, so he has a chance of getting a better job.”
 
Laza’s progress isn’t restricted to the classroom. The sports facilities at Seametrey have allowed Laza to take part in new activities like basketball, table tennis and swimming. He says: “My favourite lesson is sport, because I love football more than anything. I have much more fun here than at my last school.”

When asked about his dreams for the future, Laza says: “I think want to be a football player. I support Real Madrid and my favourite player is Ronaldo. Every time he scores, he winks. I’d like to be like him.” Then he considers a little more and says: “I want to help my country, but I am still thinking about how.”

Seametrey provides free, high-quality education to 165 children, like Laza, who would not otherwise have access to early education, giving them a chance to lift themselves out of poverty. “I like that about the school,” says Laza. “Teacher Muoy [Founder of Seametrey] knows that everybody wants their child to learn a language even if they can’t pay, so she doesn’t take their money from them. She helps everybody, so they can come to learn - even the workers and parents can learn English once they’ve finished their day.”
 
Just as Seametrey empowers children to take charge of their own learning, the school aims to be financially self-sufficient in the near future. Whilst Seametrey Leisure Centre, a social enterprise that launched in April, brings in an increasing amount of money for the school each month, like all new businesses it needs time to grow.
 

There is a real risk of downsizing, or even closure, for Seametrey if funds are not raised to sustain the school through this next academic year. “If the school closed I would feel sad, because we have come so far and it would have a huge affect on Laza,” says Ponleu. "I would like to thank everyone who has supported the school, and for giving my son and the other students in the village the chance to continue their education.”

Without Seametrey, many young children will return to work in the fields or will help their parents to sell food on the street and look after younger siblings. With your help, students like Laza will have the opportunity to stay in school where they belong, and build a better future for themselves and for Cambodia. Please consider making a generous donation to give children like Laza the chance to fulfil their potential and chase their own dreams.

The $32,000 target is calculated based on the cost of $50 per student per month, for all 165 non-paying students, for four months. Here's what your investment could achieve:

• $25,000 could educate Laza's year group for a whole year.
• $10,000 could educate all 165 students for a month.
• $5,000 could educate Laza's class for a year.
• $3,000 could teach all 165 students to swim for a year.
• $1,000 could educate all Nursery children for one month.
• $750 could clothe and educate a student, like Laza, for a year.
• $500 could educate Laza's class for one month.
• $250 could teach all 165 students to swim for one month.
• $100 could educate two students, like Laza, for one month.
• $50 could educate a student, like Laza, for one month.
• $25 could buy two sets of school uniform and sportswear.
• $10 could educate for one student, like Laza, for one week.

One-off payments are great :) but you can also spread the cost of larger sums with regular monthly/quarterly/annual donations, for example $1000 (£580) is just $83 (£64) a month when spread over a year. If you are based in the UK, please consider setting up a direct debit, as regular income will give our staff and students added security, allow us to plan further into the future and make an even greater impact on the lives of the children at Seametrey.

With heartfelt thanks,
Muoy, and the staff and students of Seametrey

+855 (0)12235962

seametreyleisurecenter@gmail.com