About Us

I am from the Korm Ping Pouy Village, Phnom Dey Commune, Phnom Srok District, Bantay Mean Chey Province. I was born on September 11, 1985. I was a big baby so my father gave me the name Thom, so everybody called me Thom until now (Thom is the Khmer word meaning BIG).

My father is a 63-year-old rice farmer; my mother is a 62-year-old housewife. We have a 2-hectare farm. It provides enough food for the nine members in my family. This includes my two brothers, two sisters, grandmother and a cousin according to the weather. My oldest brother, who is 37, is a teacher of primary School. He teaches general subjects in my village. My other brother is a tuk-tuk driver in Siem Reap. One sister has not got a job so she stays home with my parents. And the other is staying with me and she wishes to continue her studies to be a nurse.

When I was young, I attended school in my village: primary school for six years, secondary for three years and high school for another three years. In my secondary school, I had to walk 5 km to school so my mother bought me a used bicycle. Daily after school, I had to take care of the family cows and find the food for eating everyday from fish and vegetables in the fields. The high school I attended was 36km from home, so I had to stay with my relatives and I had to find the food for eating by myself on Sunday or public holiday. At that time, I studied Math, Khmer, English, Geography, Physics, Chemistry, Art and Morality. In 2004, before I finished my 12^th year of high school, my mother asked me to get a job to help support the family.

When I was 21 I went to Samot Peakan, Thailand, a fishing town on the Gulf of Thailand. My job was a fish handler transferring fish from a boat. The boat was large, weighing more than 1000 tons and had a crew of 25. After a little time the captain saw that I was responsible and intelligent, so he let me work on the bridge as a helmsman, steering the boat. During the 13 months that I worked on the boat, I spent my spare time studying English and Thai, so I can now speak both languages well.

In 2005, I returned to Siem Reap and finished my 12^th year of high school. Later I attended High Q Centre International School and earned the basic, intermediate and advanced certificates. The subjects were English (speaking, writing, reading, and listening) and also we learnt by computer.  I then got a job of dishwashing at Apsara hotel where I only earned $25 a month, so I had to live for a year at a pagoda.

I then got a job at the Angkor Century Resort & Spa as a swimming pool attendant. The management saw that I was a dedicated and responsible employee, so they promoted me to a bellboy and after that promoted me to receptionist, earning $55 a month. Because of daily living expenses, it was impossible for me to continue my education at university.  That is why I tried to apply for a scholarship at Journeys Within Our Community (JWOC) three times, but for the first time and second time I failed. Luckily, for the third time I passed the interview and I got a scholarship to study at university for two years.  I was happy.  I graduated in 2010 in Bachelor of Arts in Teaching English as a Foreign Language. After I graduated I had a job at Build Bright University in the office of Audit and Quality Assurance from January 2011 to December 2012.  The manager then changed me to work in the office of Academic Affairs. I was responsible for providing certificates, transcripts, and provisional certificates.

In 2014 I graduated with a Masters Degree in Education at Build Bright University in Siem Reap. I was also working as a part-time lecturer there. With my spare time I was a volunteer with JWOC from 2006 to 2016 as an English teacher, mentor, fund-raiser and on the local advisory board.  I have been a volunteer for the National Federation of UNESCO Association for almost three years. I was a mentee in the first International Mentor Program in 2012 and been a volunteer facilitator, management team member and local mentor in the program since that time.  I learned that a lot about poor students’ needs for support with their education. Thus I have talked with my friends to create this tour company to help support them. Our major focus in on the students in rural areas and we aim to provide them with school materials and to inspire them to build a good future.

I hope travellers who come to visit Cambodia will help support me and I believe visitors are important for the future as they help the poor students. I think only education can change people’s attitudes and their situation of living.