Chum Seedeth is 24 years old and was born on Dec. 15th 1984. He lives in a small farming community in the Banteay Meanchey province. In his free time, Seedeth really enjoys reading books, especially history books that he can teach to other students so that they learn more about their history and the history of the world. He also likes to read scientific books, such as books about helpful herbs and plants that he can also teach to others so that they may benefit. On the weekends he enjoys visiting the temples surrounding Siem Reap with his friends.

      Seedeth has two older sisters, one that is 29 years old and another that is 26. The older sister works as a house wife in Thailand; although she does not like it, she needs the money to help support herself and her family. Seedeth’s other sister is married and currently works as a cook in the Sofitel hotel in Siem Reap. His father also works in the same hotel as his sister as a driver. His mother died seven years ago from a serious illness.

      When he was born, Seedeth’s parents left him to live with his grandparents in Banteay Meanchey province. At the time, war was raging throughout the country, and his parents felt it best if they left him to go try to establish their own business on the Thai border. A few years later, Seedeth moved out to live with his parents. The family then decided to move back with their grandparents due to their economic hardships at the time. It was at this point that Seedeth had to learn to be independent.

      His father left his family shortly after returning to marry another woman that he had met while they had lived on the Thai border. After leaving her, Seedeth’s mother found a job as a housewife in Thailand. His mother wanted the best for him and believed that that path to success lay with obtaining a good education. Because the education system was very poor at the time, Seedeth’s mother sent him to a local orphanage.

      Seedeth led a very busy life at the orphanage. Every morning, Seedeth had to wake up very early in order to plant crops. He then had to bike 20 kilometers to go to class. While in high school, he worked as a tutor for computers, teaching other students how to use such programs as Microsoft Word and Excel. He finally graduated high school in 2003 and had aspirations of pursuing higher levels of education. After speaking with the head of his orphanages, Seedeth was granted the funds to attend Angkor University in Siem Reap and study management for two years. At the end of the two years, Seedeth applied to JWOC for a scholarship to continue and finish schooling. Seedeth is currently a senior at Angkor University.

      Seedeth volunteers for two JWOC projects. He has helped to install nine wells in several poor areas as part of the well project, and hopes to help install many more in the future. He has also helped provide poor Cambodian with low interest lows to help start small businesses as part of the loan project. He really enjoys helping the poor population and feels like these projects are some of the best ways to do so. He really enjoys seeing other people happy and knowing that he has had something to do with it.

      Seedeth believes that his university education will help him gain the knowledge that he can pass on and use to help all Cambodians. He always wants to give them the knowledge so that people can help themselves and make a better life for their family. Along with this, Seedeth thinks that the biggest problem facing Cambodia today is the lack of proper schooling for all Cambodians – he feels that the quality of life of the people and the entire country will improve and benefit greatly from a more educated population.

      Throughout his life, Seedeth has been independent and has had to learn how to be independent from a young age. His biggest obstacle was dealing with this and the difficulties that independence entails. Currently, he works as an assistant administrator at Integrate Institute, a primary school in Siem Reap. He has been working there since June of 2007 and plans to continue there until he graduates. Following graduation, he plans to work at any number of places with administrative positions, such as hotels. He would like to move to another province, depending on the job availability.