Laza is 10 years old and a student at Seametrey Children’s Village, a school set up to provide quality education to children living in poverty in the south of Cambodia. Laza’s mother died when he was still a baby, and his father, Ponleu, was left to raise him alone.

Until the age of seven, Laza attended a local government school, where he was taught in classes of 60 children. This made it very difficult for Laza to learn, but he studied hard during the day at school and even took extra study sessions at home in the evenings with his father.

Despite their best efforts, there was still very little opportunity to learn English. Ponleu worked as a driver but wanted his son to have more opportunities, so he decided to move to Cambodia’s capital in hope of a building a brighter future for his family.

In 2013, Laza became a student at Seametrey began to see improvements in his performance at school. Laza has gone from having a basic level of English to being one of the top students in his class. “Learning English will benefit Laza in our society,” says Ponleu. “He knows more [English] compared to other people his age, so he has a chance of getting a better job.”

Laza’s progress isn’t restricted to the classroom. The sports facilities at Seametrey have allowed Laza to take part in new activities like basketball, table tennis and swimming. He says: “My favourite lesson is sport, because I love football more than anything. I have much more fun here than at my last school.”

When asked about his dreams for the future, Laza says: “I think want to be a football player. I support Real Madrid and my favourite player is Ronaldo. Every time he scores, he winks. I’d like to be like him.”

Seametrey provides free, high-quality education to 165 children, like Laza, who would not otherwise have access to early education, giving to create a better future for themselves and lift themselves out of poverty.

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