Sreymom never thinks of dropping out of school.  Although her two closest friends have left school to work in a factory, and are now earning money for their families, Sreymom is not willing to do so.    

"Men and women have the same rights to education because we all want to be knowledgeable," emphasizes Sreymom.

Men in Cambodia like to use the old saying "Women cannot move far from the stove" to denigrate women who want to work outside of the home.  But Sreymom believes this proverb is out of date in modern Cambodia.

When asked what she would do if her parents stopped her from going to school in order to help them with housework, she pauses a while, then responds "I could spend more time to help them after class, but I cannot quit school."   

Along with her education, Sreymom has acquired better knowledge about her rights as a girl.  Once she reached the seventh grade, she gained the confidence to discuss and debate these rights with anyone who treated her unequally.

"My friends used to ask me why I dared to approach the chalk board although I could not do the exercises well. I told them 'Even though I do not understand well, I'll try to do it because the teacher will explain to me later'," says Sreymom.

Interestingly, being shy is no longer in Sreymom's mind.  "I do not care whatever people say.  What I have to do is to study hard," adds Sreymom.

"Unlike some of her female friends, Sreymom always volunteers to go to the board when teacher needs someone to do exercises or to answer questions.  She is one of the outstanding students.  I appreciate her performance," says 16 year-old boy Un Sambath, who is Sreymom's classmate.

"Sreymom strives to study.  I am happy to see her progress.  I will encourage both my sons and my daughters to go to school as long as possible," says LachChin, sitting on a wooden bed near her small palm leaves and tin roof house.    

Holding a neatly handwritten letter in English she received from her sponsor living in Singapore, Sreymom feels keen on studying the English language.  She wishes she could write and speak English fluently.  Now she spends two hours studying English per day.

Sreymom became a sponsored child when she was in the sixth grade.  Being a sponsored child, Sreymom constantly gets school materials such as books, pens, and pencils from World Vision.  

"My sponsor congratulates me on my achievements and encourages me to study harder.  She is a teacher of History in Singapore.  I will try to follow in her footsteps," says Sreymom.

In the next two years, Sreymom will finish high school.  Speaking English hesitantly, she says she would like to work as an English translator and interpreter one day.