When you are happy, you must be careful.
Kandal was the last of the three village visits. We had had a full and fun-packed day the day before, and because Kandal is so close to Phnom Penh, we were able to leave a bit later. We left Villa Langka around 7:30 AM, and the van ride took about an hour. Four of the university girls accompanied Fred, Shawna, Kimna, Lanie, and myself.
After a quick introduction and welcome from Fred, we sat down and interviewed each of the four CASF girls. They are all in the 9th grade and in the top percentile of their class. The girls explained that their days started in the early hours of 5 AM, with about an hour of housework, before they biked to school.
The girls had varying dreams. One wanted to be a doctor, one a banker, one a math teacher and one a tourist guide. After the interviews were over, Fred taught them the saying "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." To Fred's encouragement that their dreams can come true, they all sported shy but big smiles.
To wrap things up, Kimna suggested that Fred share the story of how CASF was started: With a dream, and then a single step. His dream was to help and educate young girls in Cambodia. He explained the difficulties of pursuing this dream, and told the girls how sometimes he was so sad and discouraged, he cried. He paid a visit to the bird lady at Wat Phnom, who has a cage of small birds that people buy to set them free, with a wish or a dream.
Fred set his dream free with a caged bird, and slowly his dream grew into a reality. His dream to educate young girls in Cambodia has made many other dreams come true. Fred started to jump up and down under the mango tree to show the girls that he is no longer sad, but happy. The girls all pointed to the branch just inches from his head and said "Be careful, grandfather." He replied quickly, "Oh, that's okay, thank you. When you are happy, you must be careful."
Kandal was the last of the three village visits. We had had a full and fun-packed day the day before, and because Kandal is so close to Phnom Penh, we were able to leave a bit later. We left Villa Langka around 7:30 AM, and the van ride took about an hour. Four of the university girls accompanied Fred, Shawna, Kimna, Lanie, and myself.
After a quick introduction and welcome from Fred, we sat down and interviewed each of the four CASF girls. They are all in the 9th grade and in the top percentile of their class. The girls explained that their days started in the early hours of 5 AM, with about an hour of housework, before they biked to school.
The girls had varying dreams. One wanted to be a doctor, one a banker, one a math teacher and one a tourist guide. After the interviews were over, Fred taught them the saying "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." To Fred's encouragement that their dreams can come true, they all sported shy but big smiles.
To wrap things up, Kimna suggested that Fred share the story of how CASF was started: With a dream, and then a single step. His dream was to help and educate young girls in Cambodia. He explained the difficulties of pursuing this dream, and told the girls how sometimes he was so sad and discouraged, he cried. He paid a visit to the bird lady at Wat Phnom, who has a cage of small birds that people buy to set them free, with a wish or a dream.
Fred set his dream free with a caged bird, and slowly his dream grew into a reality. His dream to educate young girls in Cambodia has made many other dreams come true. Fred started to jump up and down under the mango tree to show the girls that he is no longer sad, but happy. The girls all pointed to the branch just inches from his head and said "Be careful, grandfather." He replied quickly, "Oh, that's okay, thank you. When you are happy, you must be careful."
Elise
