Thul Kunthea

Date of birth: August 18, 1990
University: Chenla University
Major: Nursing

In Her Own Words

My name is Thul Kunthea. I was born on August 18, 1990 at Pkoim Village, Seung Commune, Ochrov District, Banteay Meanchey Province. There are 5 children in my family, and I am the third. My father’s name is So Thul, a farmer, and my mother’s name is Nuon Ra, a farmer.

When I was 9 years old, I saw many students going to school. I really wanted to go too, so I asked my mother to enroll me. My mother then enrolled me in Seung Primary School. When I was in 6th grade, my family living situation was very difficult because my mother was alone with 5 children to take care of. My father left us to be with a new wife when he was working in Thailand. When my mother first found out, she was very depressed because she had just delivered a baby at that time, and she couldn’t think of how to raise 5 children alone. She then decided to take me out of school to work along with my sister and brother to help support the family.

Later on I heard about a scholarship program for poor girls, and I was selected to be one of the beneficiaries. I was extremely happy that I could continue school, and so was my mother. The scholarship package that I received consisted of a bicycle, school bag, shoes, hat, books, pens, pencils, school uniform, rice, $2.5 monthly stipend, and tuition money for 3 subjects. I studied hard and passed to Chhouk Lower Secondary School. After studying at Chhouk Lower Secondary School for 3 years, I passed the national exam to move on to Koub Upper Secondary School. When I was studying at upper secondary level, I always dreamed about becoming a medical practitioner. With that dream in mind, I continued studying hard until passing the high school national board exam in 2011.

My family then decided to send me to study in Phnom Penh at Chenla University. There are 3 majors for medical study at Chenla: midwifery, nursing, and laboratory. Among the 3 majors, I chose nursing. The reason that I want to study nursing is because I want to do social work to help my family and take care of people in my community.

When I first came to study in Phnom Penh, I faced a lot of difficulty because I didn’t have enough money to buy documents, study materials, and a laboratory uniform, and to learn computer skills and rent accommodation. But then I got support from donors to cover expenses such as rice, monthly stipend, accommodation, and money for extra classes. I am very grateful for the support I was given from since I was in primary school all the way until now. I had never thought that I would have the opportunities I have today because my family is very poor. I will study hard and do my best to not disappoint you.

Finally I would like to wish all the donors success in everything you do, good health, and to get all you have wished for. Once again, thank you so much for your support!