The end of September marked another first for The Sharing Foundation as our oldest Roteang orphan, Sok Pharoth, now 18, headed off for university in Phnom Penh. Pharoth, whose English is very good between all her English classes and getting practice speaking to our visitors, is entering the Bridging Program at the Institute for Foreign Languages of the Royal University of Phnom Penh. She came to us as a 12 year old, when her mother died, and Pharoth was left with her baby brother Darith. She had no place to stay, and no money for milk for him, nor food for herself. Except for a year when we placed her unsuccessfully in a boarding school in Phnom Penh at her request, she has grown up at Roteang Orphanage, as has her brother, now a second grader in our orphanage home school. Steadfast sponsors, Jeanne and Justin Starren, of Marshfield, Wisconsin, have been major financial supports for both kids.

Pharoth moved into the women’s dorm on September 26th. She needed to work hard studying for her entrance exam at IFL, the only university requiring one. She also has been learning “dorm cooking”. Most of the girls are already good cooks when they arrive, but because Pharoth is from the orphanage where we have cooks who prepare 3 meals a day for about 110 people per meal, Pharoth’s experience was limited even though she likes to help in the Orphanage kitchen. As a child she did the cooking for her family years ago when her mother was sick, but she only cooked simple things like fried vegetables, rice, fried eggs and sour soup. All the college students share cooking and cleaning duties; for the boys, in their own dorm, it is a shock to have to learn to cook, as they are used to their mothers and sisters doing all this kind of work.

When asked how she likes life in Phnom Penh, Pharoth says she anticipates there will be a lot to see and do in Phnom Penh when she has free time after classes. She is worried about studying with so many smart students at the IFL, but we know that Pharoth will work hard and continue to do well as she always has in the past. She says that she realizes she has studied with skilled English teachers in TSF’s English program, and that has helped to prepare her for the IFL. Pharoth wants to become a professional English teacher to be able to support herself and her brother in the future. She would like to teach English in our TSF English school at Roteang village and maybe eventually teach at a university.

When asked what she misses most at Roteang Orphanage, Pharoth thinks for a moment and replies that she misses her room in the girls’ dormitory. Mary Jane’s House. “It’s so comfortable. I feel like I’m living in a hotel.” TSF sends the orphanage van to bring half of the college students home every weekend, so Pharoth’s room will be waiting for her.