University Successes

Each year, we see an increasing number of young women and men alumni gaining acceptance to Cambodian universities and choosing to major in fields that, years ago, village middle school students were not even aware of. When we first began work at the Doris Dillon School, students primarily told us that they wanted to become doctors, policemen/women, or teachers.

As many more alumni began attending university, word spread in the villages about what they wanted to become: e.g., accountants, architects, hospitality managers, nutritionists, computer ‘engineers’/programmers, etc.

As a small non-profit, we’ve been challenged to lend full financial support to all those who need help to fund their university education. The average cost for tuition and room and board is between $1,600-2,400/year and the financial aid is a four-year commitment for each deserving alumnus. Thus, we have had to limit our financial support to just a few young men and women each year.

Fortunately, the Cambodian government often grants full and partial scholarships to those in need. Many of our alumni have excelled in high school and have qualified for the government’s scholarships. Further, many university students have also found paying internships in their chosen field, experience that enhances their prospects upon graduation for employment in the field of their choice. Unfortunately, each year, we discover some who matriculate but cannot afford to pursue their dreams of attending university.

Given the ever increasing numbers of alumni applying for acceptance in university, we wholeheartedly welcome any donations you choose to make to fund deserving students with financial need!

Below are some alumni’s stories about their success achieved from attending university.

Pisey, Rachana, Vanthorng,
and Sreynea’s stories:

Our first recipients of university scholarships

We funded scholarships for Pisey, Rachana, Vanthorng, and Sreynea from 7th-12th grade and then while they attended university. We also provided each of them with donated laptops to help them in their undergrad work.

Here is a summary of their university education and how their lives are progressing today:

• Pisey graduated from Vanda Institute in Phnom Penh, majoring in accounting. Since graduating, she has worked as an accountant in Phnom Penh.

• Rachana’s university education qualified her to work as an educator. She is married and is teaching at the government elementary school next to us on the Buddhist pagoda! Her academic accomplishments were so highly ranked that she was able to choose where she wanted to work. Fortunately for her family and us, she chose to work near her village home.

• Vangthorng majored in Accounting at Build Bright University in Sihanoukville and is currently living with her sister and using her accounting expertise at her work in Sihanoukville.

• Sreynea attended AHHA in Phnom Penh, majoring in English and Computer Science.  She married and returned to her family in the village. When her children are older, she hopes to use her education to help students improve their English and computer skills.

Below is information on these former scholarship students’ backgrounds:

• Pisey: Pisey’s parents both left the family to work in Thailand. Her family owns a small plot of land that does not raise enough rice to feed them. Pisey was forced to quit school to work in other families' rice fields. Her scholarship provided enough income to allow her to return to school in 8th grade and graduate high school four years later.

• Rachana's family owns a less than a hectare of land that does not yield enough rice to feed them. Her father works in construction, so he is gone for long periods of time on projects. Her mother weaves floormats to selling the nearest market town and Rachna dropped out of school to help her mother. Rachna's scholarship provided enough income to her family to allow her to return to school and graduate five years later. One further note: Rachna was the top student in her junior class.

• Vanthorng's mother died when she was young and then her father abandoned the family. She was left to live with her grandfather, whom she loved and her step-grandmother with whom she has had a difficult relationship. Since both were in poor health she had to care for them while attending middle school and high school. When her beloved grandfather died in 2015, she was forced to live alone with her step-grandmother and care for her.

• Sreynea's family lives close to the river and their land is poorly suited for rice-growing because it is prone to flooding. Sadly, her father spent precious savings to purchase a wooden canoe after the catastrophic flooding, notably in Thailand, in 2011. The boat sits downstairs on their dirt floor in their thatched home, at the ready to rescue them. Sreynea lived the farthest from our school of any student, so we bought her a bicycle which she promptly rode home to her lunch over the rutted muddy roads faster than our moto following her. We took this picture with her family when we finally caught up with her.