Thy Seang Haiy
Date of birth: August 6, 1991 My name is Thy Seang Haiy and I was born on August 6, 1991 in Chrey Village, Changha Commune, Ochrov District, Banteay Meanchey Province. My father Bun Thy and my mother Lach Ny are both laborers. Our current address is in Teuk Thla Village, Teuk Thla Commune, Serey Sophoan District, Banteay Meanchey Province. I have 4 siblings (2 girls), and I have been in the scholarship program since 2006. Before getting the GATE scholarship, my family had trouble supporting my education because we couldn’t afford study materials, school uniforms, and transportation to school. Because of this, I was about to drop out to work to help support my family. Luckily, however, I saw an announcement on the school bulletin board about a scholarship opportunity through the Cambodian Women’s Crisis Center (CWCC) for poor girls. I was extremely happy and told my parents to go ask for an application form from the school principal at Chhouk Lower Secondary School. Shortly after submitting the application, a teacher (who is a member of the local education working group) came to interview me and my mother at home. Three weeks later, I saw an announcement at school that I had been selected to join GATE. I was indescribably happy and couldn’t believe my dream had come true. After getting a GATE scholarship, my family’s burden was greatly reduced as everything was provided by the program including school uniforms, shoes, a hat, a raincoat, study materials, bicycle, bike maintenance, a monthly stipend, money for tuition, health care, and accommodation. During my three years at upper secondary school, my parents migrated to work in Thailand as construction workers so they could afford to support the schooling of my other four siblings. In 2011, I was in the last grade of high school (12th grade) and I was very worried. First, I was afraid that I couldn’t pass the difficult national board exam. Second, I was concerned that I wouldn’t be able to continue to university after finishing high school. When attending GATE workshops and orientations, I always listened carefully the advice of the program staff and teachers who told us how to go about applying for university scholarships. On their advice, while I was still in high school, I applied for scholarships to the Royal University of Phnom Penh, the University of Battambang, and Mekong Cambodia University in Phnom Penh. I got a 75% tuition scholarship from Mekong Cambodia University, but I didn’t have money to pay for the other 25%. I also applied for teacher training for lower secondary level at Battambang Province and police training, but didn’t get through. Finally I applied to Meanchey University and won a 100% tuition scholarship for bachelor’s degree in English literature! This outcome made my family and me very excited and happy. I was still worried even after getting the tuition scholarship though. My family couldn’t support the bigger expenses of attending university, such as accommodation, food, documents, utilities, and extra required language classes as well as skill trainings. This situation forced my whole family to migrate to work in Thailand to support my studies. Now with the support from Lotus Outreach for these things, I am very happy. I really appreciate your support since I was in lower secondary school until university. I will study hard to graduate from university and I one day hope to join the staff of the Cambodian Women’s Crisis Center (CWCC) because I want to help other women and children in Cambodia while supporting my family at the same time. Finally, I wish Lotus Outreach and its donors good health and successful in everything. |
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