Vang Vorng is 26 years old.  He was born in the countryside of the Kampongspue province, where nearly everyone makes a living farming.  In the rainy season, his family would grow rice, and in the dry season, watermelon, beans, and other vegetables.  Needless to say, subsistence farming was not what Vorng had in mind for his future.  His first childhood dream was to become a doctor, but as he could not afford to spend eight years studying or to pay the appropriate officials for a position, he soon left this ambition behind him.  While attending elementary school, Vorng’s parents would sell rice to pay for his education.  When there was no more rice, they would sell whatever else they had.  During secondary school Vorng began to work on the farm as well to help pay his own way.  He would attend school between 7AM and 11AM, and then work on the family farm for the rest of the day.  With the exception of one sister who left to work in a factory, Vorng’s seven brothers and sisters have all either graduated high school or are in the process of doing so.  Despite the poverty in which his family lives, he had a happy childhood and enjoyed the support of both his parents.  After high school, Vorng was interested in studying computers or English, but it cost money that he did not have. 

            Luckily for him, an NGO called LCDI from Malaysia helped support him.  He would study at their school for eight hours every day studying English.  LCDI also provided room and board for students.  Although his time here was clearly a blessing, it was not without hardships.  The students were always hungry: they got a single ladle of porridge for breakfast, and a little rice for lunch and dinner.  A fifteen kilogram bag of rice was to last one student for a month.  The food there lacked any nutritional value, and consequently, many of the students dropped out.  In addition, LCDI also imposed a strict moral code on its students.  Any who was dishonest was immediately kicked out.  At age 22, after two years at LCDI, he left to study through another NGO for a year, called PSE, where he received some vocational training before being chosen to study in Siem Reap, where he worked as a telephone operator in the Royal Angkor Hotel.  Through a year of diligent saving, he collected enough money to put himself through his first year at Build Bright University, (BBU).  While at BBU, he saw JOWC’s announcements about scholarships, and eventually received one.  He is currently finishing his second year at BBU, and is majoring in Business Management and Project Development.  He wanted to attend university in order to be able to develop poor areas and to get a good job so that he can help his family.  As one out of eight children of a poor farmer, there were no doors open to Vorng by right of birth.  Through hard work and the willingness to try again and again, he has broken the vicious cycle of poverty that so plagues his country.

            Vorng helps with the Clean Water Project for JWOC.  First, he surveys land and speaks with the village leader about well locations.  Then he shows the workers where the well is to be built, and the well is installed.  Later he puts up a sign with the donors on it and takes a picture.  He chose this project to develop the community.  After all, Vorng is from the countryside, where many people die from a lack of access to clean water.  In the future, Vorng hopes to work as a project development manager for an NGO, to buy land for a house, and start a family.  He will be starting work as a project assistant to provide vocational training in making handicrafts to poor people within a month.  What he likes about Siem Reap is that it is a land of opportunity.  In the provinces, you have to have connections and money to get a good job, but in Siem Reap, it is possible to get a job if you speak another language or have a degree.  Vorng thinks that the biggest problem in Cambodia is the lack of health care.  At hospitals, the employees do not care about the people who do not have money to pay, meaning that the people who generally need help the most do not get it, and many children in particular die of waterborne diseases.  This form of corruption is the result of the extremely low wages the government pays to the people who work in the hospitals.  Additionally, he sees domestic violence, which is quite common, as another major problem.  If he could change one thing, he would provide free education to young people so that they can get jobs, and also punish corruption in the health care industry as well as increase the wages of hospital employees so that they do not need to solicit bribes.