Sao Sika

Sika is one of the poor pupils living in Tasork village, Kampong Ampil commune, Romdoul district, Svay Rieng province. In 2025, she is studying in grade 10 at Samroung High School, which is a target school in Romdoul district. She is 18 years old and a hardworking student.

She lives 5 km away from school and takes about 50 minutes to get there by bicycle.

Sika’s family is very poor. They are farmers living in a small house with only 0.40 ha of land for growing paddy rice. Her father passed away 17 years ago, and her mother, Phany, is a single mother who take care of Sika, as well as she raises the buffalo, chickens, and ducks. Their family consists of only two members:

1. Un Phany (female, 58 years old) – her mother
2. Sao Sika (female, 18 years old) – a grade 10 student

Their only income comes from raising chickens and ducks, totaling just $16 per person per month. This is not enough to cover their living expenses, especially the costs of Sika’s education.

Every morning, Sika wakes up early to help her mother with housework before having breakfast, usually consisting of leftover rice and food from the previous evening. She is determined to study hard but struggles because she cannot afford to pay teachers for extra classes.

Despite their hardships, she never misses school and remains dedicated to her education. Recently, she received a bicycle from CAO, which has made it much easier for her to travel to school. Both she and her mother are very grateful to CAO for this support and sincerely thank the organization for their generosity.

In addition, they have requested financial support of $20 per month to help cover the cost of extra classes, which would greatly benefit Sika’s education.