Nhes Ron, or Ron, 12-year boy, is living under the poverty line with his 2 boy siblings, a 16-year girl cousin, and unhealthy mother, who could not do anything beside lay still on the mat. All of them are living at Peareang village, Tuek Phos district, Kampong Chhnang province, Cambodia. His eldest brother is 16 years old and the second one is 14. His father passed away since he was a baby.
Without the breadwinner, the four children have to struggle to survive by their own. They do any kinds of odd jobs such as rice cultivation or any jobs that they ccould earn money for survival.
His second brother normally goes to find shell, fish, or bird for meal and sale; additionally, Ron and his big brother always go outside at nighttime from 7:00pm – 9:00pm with small torch to find frog, bull frog or fish in the rice field for the meals in the next morning and also for sale ain the market. They could earn 1,500 riel ($0.37) from selling fish, bird, crab or shell. His big brother will keep the money and use it to pay for any necessary household things and also for their schooling. His eldest brother is the only person who is the true breadwinner of the family and his girl cousin is the only one that cook and do the household works ion behalf of their disabled mother.
Even they have faced many problems in their daily lives; they still connect themselves with the school. Ron nowadays is studying at Mittapheap school, located nearby his house; and his big brother and cousin are studying at Anuvat Lower Secondary school.
Ron also told us that
”We could not go to school regularly, because we have to go to the field to find food and to find job to get income to survive our lives”. He added that “I want to be a teacher at school in my village”.
Ron’s big brother also said that
“Recently, my family has got difficulties more and more, bird or finish that we found from the stream is for our meal only. I could not take it to sell at market. I have not gone to market since the early year 2010. I want to study more and higher and have a good job too, but I do not know what and how to do to get that”.
The principal of Mittapheap School said that
“I found that this young family gets many problems in living, their father died because of disease since they were so young and their mother also passed away in few years later; Ron has never seen his father face in real, because during that time, he was just a baby. I am also poor; I do have little help for this family, because I have own family waiting for my support as well”.