oleh Rudy Chandra SJ
Her childhood dream was to become a medical doctor. However, like the
dreams of many Cambodian children of her generation, it was cut short by the
brutality of the civil war which devastated much of the country. She and her
family fled to neighbouring Thailand where in the refugee camp, she met Jesuits
and lay people working for JRS.
Her longing for peace and
freedom brought her to catechism class because rumour in the camp said that a
Christian refugee would have better chances to get asylum in European
countries. How wrong that has turned out to be! Indeed she got to know the
faith but also to hear the call for service which brought her back to Cambodia,
instead of a quiet western life.
Back in Cambodia after the
peace agreement in the early 1990s, she contacted her godmother, Sr Marie Jean
Ath, who offered her to work with the newly established Jesuit Social Service
in the country. With not much to do in terms of livelihoods Srey Mom took the
offer. At first, the burden of putting food on the table occupied her but soon
she found that her life is one of unselfish dedication to the poor and the
disabled in her community in Siem Reap. In the marginalised and those maimed by
exploding landmines, she saw Jesus who once said, “As you did it to one of the
least of these my brothers, you did it to me.” (Mat 25:40) She wanted to give
thanks for the gift of life through her work with JSS and promised to carry the
cross with the Lord for the sake of Cambodians who were struggling to rebuild
the country and mend brokenness caused by years of warfare.
As the director of JSS in
Siem Reap her main concern is with youths in the country who often have very
limited options but to marry at a very young age. As often the case, the
marriage soon breaks down and leaves behind children without the presence of
loving parents. Those who have the choice leave their hometowns and villages to
work as migrant workers in Thailand or simply to have better education in the
city. Much of the school system in the village is very basic and not fit for
purpose.
Her analysis of the
situation is simple. At the root of all social and justice issues in society is
the lack of charity. The challenge is how to help people overcome this
deficiency especially among youths. Srey Mom has a weak spot for young people
because she believes that they are the key to transformative changes to happen
in Cambodia. Her own generation has endured suffering and hardship, but the younger
ones are here to build the future. This dream is often jeopardised, however, by
the terrible state of educational infrastructure and system in the country. Given
the situation she decides to commit herself to improving education in any way
she can in her capacity as director of JSS.
JSS runs several projects
in education through its education team: building schools, providing
scholarship to prospective students, bicycles for transport to school, literacy
class for adults, and training for teachers. The rule of thumb is that nobody should
stay away from school because of poverty. Srey Mom sometimes goes beyond her
duties. She would go to visit the villages and conduct the training and
teaching herself. This is true especially when it comes to extracurricular
subjects such as ethics and responsibility in the community, sex education and
care for the community. In particular, she encourages the beneficiaries of
scholarship to form study groups where they help each other and look after the
weak among them. She believes this will help them to nurture the sense of care,
sensitivity and responsibility toward their family and other people around
them.
Now, it has been 20 years
since she took the offer to work with JSS. She finds joy and pride watching her
students grow to become people with responsibility and charity. She is hoping
that her little effort will contribute to the process of reconciliation that is
still going on in Cambodia. Her prayer is that one day Cambodians will become
people who not only care for themselves but also dedicate their lives for the
betterment of the country and even beyond.
