Veasna Nguon

Since August 2017 Veasna Nguon is the director of the Tani children’s village.

In 1990 a boy named Veasna Nguon was born in the Kampot Province in Cambodia. Veasna was born in a very poor family. He lived in a very small house with his Grandparents, Parents, uncle, one elder sister and him. Veasna’s house didn’t have enough space for six people to sleep at night. Sometimes, Veasna’s parents decided to ask their neighbours for a space to sleep.  When Veasna was about three months old, his father decided to leave their home in the Kampot province and go to the economically better situated city Phnom Penh, to work as a building construction worker. Veasna was still too small to realize the difficulties that his family had to face every day. His mother acted as the head of the family and worked as a farmer and saleswoman to gather some money to support her family.

Because the workplace of Veasnas father was so far away, they could not spend much time together until he was five years old. Education was very important for Veasna’s parents and so he and his sister got the chance to go to Primary School. The school was four kilometers away from his house, they had to walk to school two times a day. Because they put so much effort into school they passed the sixth-grade examination and were able to attend Secondary School.

When he was 15 years old, he had to work on the farm, raise chicken and pigs, plant rice and sugar canes, and work as a salesman every day. Even though he had little time, he was an excellent student. While he was in secondary school, his father changed his job to be a chef in a restaurant in Phnom Penh. When Veasna was 18 Years old his grandmother got a severe illness, so Veasna’s father decided to stop his work in Phnom Penh and come home to work as a farmer. Veasnas sister had to stop school in order to help their family, too. Because of his positive mind and his love to study, Veasnas parents still allowed him to keep going to school. In August 2008 Veasna succesfully graduated from highschool.

While Veasnas father decided to become a doctor, Veasna never quit his ambitions and dreams and asked his parents to allow him to go to Phnom Penh to study at the Human Resources University. His parents worked hard to support his studying. Veasna succesfully graduated from university and earned his Bachelor of Education. Sadly, while he was in his second year in university, his grandmother passed away. He was employed as a Deputy Director at the Asean Youth Development Organization (AYDO) five months after he graduated. But he still kept studying and started doing his Diploma of Upper Secondary School. While he was doing his Diploma, he was teaching at the English Training Centre in the Kampot Province for one year. In this position, he achieved a lot of experience in teaching the English language. Transferring knowledge to other people is one of his strengts.

While studying to took part in the First International debate Championship Competition 2012, as the First Speaker for The Youth Environment Debate program and also got experiences as Translator support at an Education Fair. From March 2014 to June 2017 Veasna finished his Master of Arts in English at Norton University (NU) and was working in Phnom Penh until then.

Veasna will never forget his past life and he loves working with children. This is why he applied as Director of the Children’s Village Tani.