Sok* is the only child of a family of eight to have the opportunity to attend school. Due to extreme poverty, Sok’s parents weren’t able to afford to send their children to school but thanks to ISF’s Education Programme, Sok started school for the first time at age 10 in grade 1 back in 2012.

Today, Sok is thriving in state school, consistently achieving excellent academic results. Out of all the subjects he takes, English is his favourite. He never dreamed he could pick up the language so fast and credits his English teacher at ISF for developing his ability and passion. “She motivates me to only speak English in the classroom and encourages me to ask questions on anything I’m not sure of” he explains.

In the year he’s been taking this particular English class at ISF, he describes his confidence and self esteem as having sky-rocketed. He’s noticed improvements in his pronunciation and self-confidence in speaking and is delighted and proud to be able to greet visitors to the school in English.

Although English classes rank highest on his list, Sok also speaks highly of the other facets of ISF’s Education Programme such as the provision of school supplies and monthly food parcels: “My family is so happy to receive the supplies every month –  I don’t go hungry to bed and it helps my parents so much”.

Sok recently attended a talk on ISF’s Employment Project where past pupils shared their experiences and spoke about their careers. “I felt motivated to study harder and my wish is to share a story like this of having my own successful business or working as an employee for ISF” he tells us. Sok dreams of “motivating other students to work hard and to achieve their goals”. We think he’s already on his way by sharing his.

*Names of children under 18 have been changed