Sokea est la seule étudiante que j’ai considérée avec certitude comme étant « ma chouchou ». Je venais à peine d’arriver au Cambodge et elle était trop remarquable au milieu des autres: trop souriante, trop amicale et surtout trop douée. Elle a reçu son diplôme de PN en septembre et nous sommes restés en contact via Skype et Facebook. Quand Vandyrichat (un des profs de mon équipe) a démissionné elle avait elle-même démissionné 2 semaines auparavant, s’ennuyant dans son travail. Mon professionnalisme étant sans faille, l’offre d’emploi n’a jamais été publiée, Sokea a eu le poste directement après un entretien qui ressemblait plus à un goûter entre bons amis. Sokea a commencé à son poste de prof pour PN autour du 13 novembre. Ce jour-là elle m’a parlé sur Skype alors que nos bureaux sont côte à côte, à moins de 2 mètres l’un de l’autre. Elle m’a dit avec toute la sincérité sans gêne dont les Cambodgiens ont le secret : « you are the first person who make my dream become true ». Je n’ai pas osé tourner la tête pour voir l’expression sur son visage, elle est si émotive que je m’attendais à la voir pleurer. Je n’en menais pas large non plus. Sokea a ce qu’on appelle « la vocation », un désir infini d’enseigner. Devenir prof, c’était son rêve, son Graal. Néanmoins l’histoire ne s’arrête pas là pour elle : chaque soir à 17h15, après une journée qui a déjà duré 10h (les cours commencent à 7h30), elle enfourche son vélo pour foncer à l’université où elle prend des cours du soir pour obtenir une licence (Bachelor degree) ce qui lui laisse le temps le week-end de travailler pour son ancien employeur. Niveau travail, je pense n’avoir jamais travaillé avec quelqu’un d’aussi motivé et qui mette autant de cœur à l’ouvrage.

Voici son auto-portrait, écrit avant qu’elle ne devienne prof pour PN. Elle l’a récité devant 300 notables de Phnom Penh lors du dîner de gala de PN au Sofitel. Elle n’est pas du genre à faire sa timide devant les gens importants comme vous le voyez sur la photo ci-dessous. Quand le premier ministre demande s’il y a des questions, Sokea prend la parole immédiatement. L’auto-portrait est en anglais évidemment, mais pas de l’anglais très compliqué. Ça donne une idée brute de la vie au Cambodge, ses profs de collège et lycée qui demandent aux élèves de payer pour assister au cours (la corruption marche à tous les étages, même à l’école), les petits boulots pour gagner 3 sous, et la volonté nécessaire pour réussir à se sortir de la spirale. Je me dis parfois que s’il fallait faire autant d’efforts pour étudier en France, aucun de nous n’aurait le moindre diplôme.

“My name is **** Sokea. I come from Compong Cham Province. I was born on 5th May 1990. I come from a poor family of nine members. I am the sixth child in the family. None of my sisters and brothers finished their high schools (high school = lycée). All of them got married when they were around eighteen years old. Different from my siblings, I managed to successfully complete my study at a high-school level. To achieve this, I needed to be very determined and dared to do many impossible things. First, I went to talk directly with my Khmer teacher about how willing I was to study. I tried to convince her by telling everything related to my family’s unfavorable status. After listening attentively, my teacher was very enthusiastic in teaching me and asked other teachers not to charge me money when I came to study in their classes. Besides, I also helped reduce large amount of my parents’ work. For example, after studying, I was usually in the field, did farming and grew rice with my mother and father. Meanwhile, I also started my own business. I sold mangoes, sugar, potatoes and balloons to children in the village. Of course, I did not earn much from that, but with small profit, I could partly support my family and study. Everything went on normally till the end of 2011—the time when I successfully completed my high school degree and the time when I was informed about a two-year IT scholarship at Passerelles numeriques Cambodia (PNC) in Phnom Penh. I knew that it was another opportunity for me to continue my study at a university level—Associate’s Degree. I needed to apply for that. No one in the family knew about this. I did it silently until I was successfully selected to come and study at PNC in Phnom Penh. That was very surprising to everyone.
While I am studying at PNC, I become more and more aware of whom I really am. I can say that I am a very dynamic learner. I read all points in each lesson and try to understand them before classes. If I do not understand any part of the lessons, I will form a group discussion or ask for my teachers’ explanation. Also, I am very helpful and sociable. I like helping my friends when they do not understand the lessons by explaining and telling them how to deal with their academic problems. I also remember when I did my first internship at IT-L-Center, every staff in the company knew me. They liked talking to me whenever they were free. They really liked me and so did I. Moreover, I am highly responsible. I will accept all mistakes if they are really mine. I will try to complete whatever I am assigned to do. Still, I need to admit that I do have some negative points. First, it is related to my feeling. I might immediately cry and do nothing when getting blamed or being in exiting situations. For example, one day at PNC when the director came to give a speech about the organization and once he finished his speech, I felt too excited to express anything in words. What I did was just happily crying. I know it was not a good behavior. Worse than that, I am an overconfident person. I find it hard to give up what I think it is right. It is a very big habit that I need to change.
Besides, I like teaching and sharing ideas with different people in different communities. I have joined many activities in my community. To exemplify, when I was a high-school student, I used to be a member of Rack Organization in Soung city. That time, I came to teach general knowledge to women and teenagers in various villages. Normally, the lessons were mostly about how to live, eat and sleep healthily. I was very proud and excited when participating in those projects. Moreover, in PNC, I am currently conducting informal classes for some of my classmates. I normally teach them English and some important IT skills every weekend. Despite such small contributions, I believe that they are very vital elements for the whole society development.
There are three main reasons why I believe that education is the most important factor that can be used to ensure a new and qualified generation. First, it helps prevent exploitation. Truly, many Cambodian people who leave their families to get jobs in the city or other countries are often cheated or even tortured. This is because of their illiteracy. Second, educated people tend to be more critical. Well, before making any decision, they tend to take things into serious account. They know what to do in different contexts. Last but not least, whatever it takes, well-educated people will try their best to educate their children and send them to good schools or universities. In short, that education is the only way out of poverty and ignorance, education is the key to guarantee one strong generation.
After my graduation, I believe that I will find a good job, earn much money and help reduce my family’s poverty.”

ps: Sur la photo du repas chez nous avec mes profs, j’avais mis la table dans le salon, en arrivant les profs m’ont dit: « on peut manger par terre dans la cuisine ? Ce sera plus confortable.. » Je n’ai pas osé leur dire qu’ils étaient fous.