Sophy – Driver, ULC Security, Chess Teacher and all-round superstar!
I started work with PLF during Covid. I knew Ponheary already and sometimes drive guests for her. But during Covid, we don’t have tourists anymore in Siem Reap. So when I get job from PLF, it’s very good for me, I can support my family. I helped with food drops first and deliveries, and I help with different jobs to the team, whatever they need I help.
Then when PLF opened ULC in 2022, Lori asked me, ‘do you want to stay here like security and sleep here with the small house?’ First, I’m not sure because maybe I will miss my home but then I think it is good for me because when I stay here, I don’t need to spend gasoline, go back home every day when I finish work. My home is in the countryside, like around 30 minutes. So I agree with Lori, and I can save some money. Now I really like living here, it is quiet and peaceful at night for me.
I also help a lot with the bike clinics every year. It’s quite a big job, it takes a lot of time because we go to all the schools to fix the bikes. It’s important because some students when they use the bicycle, it always broke because the bicycle getting old and it’s difficult to use.
Now also I start to teach chess every weekend at ULC for secondary students. I’m very happy to teach to the student. For me, chess is my favorite. Because it is a game that can make me think alot, it is good for our brain. We have a big competition in July, for all the students come together.
I feel good when I’m teaching. When I was very very young, my dream is a teacher. To teach English. I love English, and PLF support me with English classes. It makes me very happy, because when I was young, I don’t have money to study a good school like that.
I just study at the public school, but only like two hours a week for English. So I go to pagoda also and study English with the monk. And sometimes I eat lunch at the pagoda too because I don’t have money to buy lunch outside. I just have to help clean the dishes, and then I can eat and get English class.
The pagoda and my public school both in Siem Reap, a long way from my home. I ride a bicycle every day, and it’s far, one hour. My strong memory from that time is I used very old bicycle with no brake, because my family very poor and could not pay to fix the bicycle. So when I go to school, I need to go fast because need to be on time. So I need to ride fast on the busy road to the city and when the car and motor go close to me, I feel like a bit dangerous because no brake. It’s very difficult for me but I never have an accident because I’m carefully fast.
So now when we do the bike clinics, I feel happy for the students. It means we can help them to have a good bike, make them safe and easy to go to school. That’s really important.
I love my job because it can help me and my family. And the second, I can help to the PLF students. I am happy when I see they have chance to study like that, because when I was young, I don’t have chance to study a lot.
Education is very important, because if we don’t have education, it’s difficult to live, difficult to work. And we don’t have high ability to communicate with the people. I would like to say thank you to PLF that help many poor students to get education.
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