Hang Ratha

University: Regional Health of Battambang University
Major: Midwifery

In Her Own Words

My name is Hang Ratha, I am 19 years old, and the second daughter in a family with 6 children (4 girls, 2 boys). My father (53) is Puth Leang, and my mother (48) is Srey Ny. We live in Bot Dangkor Village, Somroung Commune, South Nikum District, Siem Reap Province, Cambodia.

When I was in Bot Dangkor Primary school, I hardly ever missed school and I was at the top of my class, always scoring the highest on monthly exams.  During free time from school, my mother asked me to help do a lot of seasonal work on other people’s farm such as weeding, preparing land, planting and harvesting rice.  My family’s living conditions were sometimes too difficult, and my mother often asked me to drop out to help her earn a living.  I resisted, however, and I also explained to my parents sometimes about value and importance of education.

Luckily in late 2006, Cambodian Women’s Crisis Center (CWCC) announced it had selected poor girls to be the beneficiaries of a scholarship program.  At that time I was 13 and studying in 6th grade at Bot Dangkor Primary School in South Nikum District, and I applied for the scholarship through my teacher, who is a member of Local Education Working Group.  After that the program staff came to my home to interview me.  Because my family was very poor, I qualified and was selected into the program.

After getting the scholarship, my family and I regained some hope. My mother also started to understand better about the importance of education for girls and she encouraged me to study hard and advised me not to drop out.

In 2011 I graduated high school with a B+ average (99.20% ). I wouldn’t have been able to  achieve such a good result without the support of Lotus Outreach and CWCC.  After graduation, I applied to 2 universities: (1)-Royal University of Phnom Penh and (2)-Battambang Regional Medical School.  I was offered a full scholarship from both universities, and initially decided on Royal University. However, the program at Royal University in Phnom Penh was for a four-year bachelor’s degree, plus another year of pedagogy studies afterward.  After two months, I decided to leave that program (because 5 years was too long for me as I didn’t have much money to support my studies while living in the capital).  I opted instead to continue my education at the medical school in Battambag, majoring in midwifery.  That program is three years long (associate’s degree) and then I can start working and making money to support my family. With a full scholarship from the university, I don’t have to pay school fees, but I still need help with money for food, study materials, accommodations, documents, and exam papers.  Fortunately, Lotus Outreach continues to support me at the university level as well, so I have no more concerns about not being to finish my degree due to financial constraints.

I am very much grateful to Lotus Outreach for supporting me from lower secondary school up through my university studies. I would like to wish Lotus Outreach and its donors prosperity, health, and success in everything.