Makara, Age 18
Mengthong, Age 18
Sopheak, Age 17
Vuthy, Age 18
Soliday, Age 18
“At Liger, I fell in love with marine biology. Last year, I created my own year-long project called Artificial Reef in Cambodia to provide a habitat for marine ecosystems, establish an anti-trawling reef, restore marine species populations, and increase the local knowledge of the marine environment. We have designed two types of artificial reefs and one of the designs was deployed off the island of Koh Seh Kep. I am very honored and proud to have the ability to make changes happen.”
Sovannary, Age 17
At Liger, everyone has freedom of speech and adults and students encourage each other to communicate and share opinions no matter the age difference. Liger is like a bomb that destroys the barriers of gender roles in Cambodia and strongly encourages myself and others to be outside the limits of culture and gender.
Venghour, Age 17
“I don’t define Liger as a school, I define it as my second home filled with all my beloved people from around the world. My favorite exploration has been Preventive Health which promoted health to kids in rural areas of Cambodia, especially the islands. In this project, we went to Song-Saa Island, Koh Rong Island and Koh Rong Solemn Island. We did a skit about dental health to share information with the local kids. I want to help people to the best of my ability.”
Rithy, Age 17
“The drone exploration has been my favorite because it is where I started to love engineering. As a beginner, we did a lot of research to become a pilot. It was unbelievable to fly the drone. We got to see the views from high in the sky. My dream is to create something new in Cambodia. Liger helps me be who I am today and who I am in the future.”
Mengthong, Age 18
“The only way we will make changes that will cause an improvement in Cambodia is through education. In my fourth year at Liger, I used the knowledge that I learned from Liger to help my own community through education. I had the opportunity to create my own exploration and my team decided to create a local library which allowed local students or anyone interested in reading to borrow a book to read. We got donors willing to give books and by the end of the exploration we had created libraries in many of our provinces. Liger is more than a school. It is a small community where it isn’t just about learning, but it’s also about life.”
Makara, Age 18
“I want to change Cambodia by alleviating poverty. I believe poverty is the root of most of the problems occurring in Cambodia right now. If people have better income, they will take the risk of sending their children to school rather than telling them to beg for money. The first step is to provide job opportunity. The next step is to introduce project-based learning into our government schools because the students will be more engaged in their projects. Education is the most powerful tool to improve our country.”
Kangnaneat, Age 17
“Sometimes I am speechless about how to describe Liger and how much it means to me. Within five years, my life has changed. Liger has given me so many things – and some of those things I never thought I could get. Since I arrived, my family does not worry about my future like they did in the past. The second we arrived at Liger, we could already see our future from a distance.”
Vattey, Age 17
“I believe nothing is impossible with technology. I love learning about random conditions or diseases even those that are complex and mysterious. After Liger, I want to attend university and become a doctor and discover a new condition or disease or become an app programmer. Then, I feel I will be who I want to be and do what I want to do and, most importantly, I will create change in my country. I hope Cambodia’s education will improve so everyone has access to it. I also hope more people will be interested in technology (including coding and programming). Liger gives me self-esteem, responsibility, and courage. It helps me learn things that I never thought I could do.”
Ratanak, Age 14
“My favorite subjects are technology and engineering. I want to be an Engineer and make the tallest building in the world. I want to use my ideas to be a change agent in Cambodia I want to use what I learn at Liger to help my community at home and share my ideas with everyone in my village.”
Panharith, Age 14
``Art is my favorite subject. It is a way to express your feelings. I find art inspiring and it helps me to feel refreshed when I draw. I hope that in the future, Cambodia will be a developed country. Liger gives students in Cambodia big opportunities to change their country.”
Mariya, Age 13
“I want to be a fashion designer and help Cambodia by reducing poverty. Cambodia needs new ideas to develop our country. For example, I have created an app that helps craftspeople sell their product online. My hope for Cambodia is to develop our economy and reduce poverty.”
Bopha, Age 14
“My hope for Cambodia is gender equality, education equality and no more poverty. I love Liger because it was made to create a brighter future in Cambodia by realizing the promising child and it practices equality between girls and boys.”
Samady, Age 18
“My favorite exploration was on the Khmer Rouge. As a citizen of Cambodia, I should learn about its history. Before I learned about the Khmer Rouge in class, I didn’t realize how complicated it was for my nation to suffer from such a horrific war. I thought it was a normal thing for a country to face. Visiting the Cambodian Genocide Museum, it made me think deeply about my country. I made a documentary about my classmates expressing their feelings toward the museum and the Khmer Rouge regime. It makes me happy that the documentary impacts audiences when it is shown in different places. I really want to become a filmmaker and impact people’s perspective.”
Vuthy, Age 18
“After I graduate, I want to start my own business. It would be a challenge but I would start with an internship and gain experience on how to run a business. Tech support is my favorite subject. It taught me programming and lead me to create new things. Technology can help a lot of people and I felt satisfied when our tech support exploration was about to help other organizations in Cambodia. When I am not in class, I love to work on my computer, coding, making websites or designing apps. I wouldn’t know who I am and I wouldn’t have found my passion without Liger.”
Sopheak, Age 17
“I want to be a psychologist because it is one of the jobs that is most needed for Cambodia. A lot of people are facing mental issues, such as depression, but not a lot of them are educated enough to understand that having mental problems doesn’t mean you are crazy. As a change agent, I want to become a psychologist that can help people understand about mental issues and give them the services that they need. What I love most about Liger is that it isn’t focused on who is the best or who is the worst. It is about working together. Everyone is different and we all have the potential to learn and grow.”
