Dina’s Story: A Volunteer’s Perspective
The opportunity for our students to interact with international visitors and volunteers is invaluable. Sharing their stories and learning about the volunteers’ lives boosts students’ confidence and broadens their perspectives on life in different parts of the world. Meanwhile, visitors and volunteers gain insight into the everyday realities faced by our students. Each participant leaves the interaction enriched by the experience, as illustrated by the reflections of Nancy, a volunteer from Guam, shared below.
Dina’s Story: A Volunteer’s Perspective
Dina told me her story as we walked through the neighborhood outside the Aziza school. The street was a throughway for motorbikes and tuk-tuks. It was too narrow for pedestrians and motorized vehicles, so we kept stepping to the side as we walked to let the vehicles pass. In one instance, I was so busy talking to Dina that I did not hear the motorbike behind us. She gently took my arm and said, “Step this way,” so I wouldn’t be in harm’s way. That moment, that one small gesture, spoke volumes about Dina. Those few seconds showed me her maturity, confidence, and gentle kindness.
Dina has been at EYC for five years. She learned about the school from a friend of her older sister, who is also a team leader at EYC. Dina was living in Phnom Penh with her parents, but her parents were not making ends meet in the city, so they decided to move out to the province where they had more opportunities. Dina’s father is a tuk-tuk driver, and the competition in the city was too great for him to make enough to support his family. Her mother wanted to open a salon, but again, there were too many salons in the city, so the competition and cost to start a business were too great an obstacle. With the help of Dina’s grandmother, Dina’s parents moved out to the province and started their new life. Dina stayed in the city with her grandmother while her parents got settled.
At some point during this time, Dina began attending EYC. She knew it was a special place right from the start. Dina’s aunt had previously paid for her to attend two semesters of private school, but Dina said that the teachers were not motivated to teach, and the classes felt “like a waste of time.” Though they were in class for an hour, she felt the time was not spent learning. Because of this, it did not make sense for her aunt to keep paying tuition, and Dina left after the second semester.
When Dina started at EYC, she had a very different experience. She told me about her teachers who are passionate about teaching and make the students feel like they matter and that their learning matters. She told me about the positivity at EYC. The students have many opportunities to be involved – English, computer, robotics, music, sports, and more. She told me she does not have to pay anything for these opportunities and feels so lucky.
Dina’s parents eventually did well enough in the province to ask their daughter to come live with them. She thought about how nice it would be to see them every day and be able to live together again, but then she considered that this would mean leaving EYC. She chose to stay and live with her grandmother because the opportunities at EYC meant too much to her. Naturally, her parents were sad but understood and supported their daughter’s decision. Today, Dina lives across from the school with her grandmother. She knows she made the right decision by staying. Dina is a Team Leader and is active in robotics. She excels at English and hopes to become a flight attendant, her “dream job,” she says.
My time with Dina that evening vividly illustrated the significance of EYC in the lives of many. It is filled with energy, passion, enthusiasm, and joy. Dina’s story, though unique, reflects the love and support that permeates EYC, from its teachers to its community. The students’ eyes sparkle with this shared sentiment—EYC is more than just a school. It is a beacon of hope, a gateway to opportunity, and a community within their own communities.