By Hayley Steinbauer, Program Impact Coordinator, Cambodia
Interview with Navin, CWEF Scholarship Student studying Public Administration
Navin climbs the steep stairs to show me where she and the other students sleep. The room is large and has around three bunk beds. There is a bathroom unattached from the bedroom. She lives in a Christian dorm with six other girls while she studies in Phnom Penh. Most universities in Cambodia do not have housing options on campus; students either live with family or rent out a single, windowless small room big enough for a bed and a few belongings.
Those from rural areas may not have family living in Phnom Penh and renting a room may be too expensive. It’s a roadblock for many students. On top of that, young believers are leaving their church communities back home. In a country that is 3% Christian, young Christian believers, who are often first-generation Christians, are thrust into a new environment without their usual support systems.
Can you imagine living your whole life in a village with less than 115 families and then moving to a city with 3 million people where you don’t know anyone? Can you imagine being a new believer and having to leave your church community? It sounds like a recipe for leaving the faith and dropping out of school, doesn’t it? But it doesn’t have to be that way.
CWEF recognizes that graduating with a degree is one achievement but also growing in character and faith is vital. We care about who they are becoming, not just what they know. So, we connect our Cambodian scholarship recipients with vetted dorms that can also be spiritual communities.
That is Navin’s story. As a recipient of a CWEF scholarship, we connected Navin with a Christian dorm in Phnom Penh. The dorm is safe, clean, and provides her with continued spiritual and emotional support. The Christian community further develops her faith while she is attending university.
Navin enjoyed her first year studying Public Administration. She participated in many group projects and trips that allowed her to grow professionally. And she also had a lot of chances to build relationships in her dorm.
None of this would be possible without your donations. Thank you for supporting new believers as they grow academically and spiritually. By giving to the scholarship program in Cambodia, you are helping to make disciples of all nations!
Q&A WITH NAVIN:
- Tell me about your family. How would you describe your hometown? For girls, what is the norm in your hometown – do girls get married young, drop out of school, graduate from high school? My name is Navin. I have 5 siblings, 2 brothers, 2 sisters and me. My father passed away in 2013. In the last few years my mother was not sick. She went to the rice field in seasons to do farming. When she has time free and is not working in the rice field she does housework. My village is a remote area. It is not far from district, but it is not too big. There are only 115 families. People know my village because we have a lot of children there who do not go to school. The majority of girls stop studying at the age of 15 years old and are then up for marriage. Other girls work outside the country.
- How many people were in your high school graduating class? Six hundred people have graduated from my high school. My class had 33 students, 19 girls and there were only 5 girls that continued onto university.
- How many of your family members have been to university? In my family, I’m the only one to study at university.
- How has your family reacted to you wanting to attend university? I told my mother, I would continue to the university. She allowed me to attend, but she did not have enough money for me if I continued. So I needed to find someone to support me because she was not able to support me.
- What will this university degree do for your future? After I graduate, I am going to apply to a good job.
- Is it easy or hard to get a job with the degree you are getting? Why or why not? When I get my graduation certificate it is easy to apply for jobs. Recently, they need people who have graduated with degrees in public administration.
- How much does a someone in public administration make in a year? The income for working in public administration is $3160 to $5600 a year.
- Why did you want to go to university? I went to university because I want to help myself, family, and my external society through my special skills and resources that I have, especially in learning the Bible from Jesus.
- Would you have been able to attend university without this scholarship? I continued in the university without a scholarship, but I was troubled with finances between studying and working together.
- If you could say something to one of our donors, what would you say? If I met with the donors, I would like to say thank you for supporting my study in the university.