One day Sinek heard people say “We do not have time to learn, we are not rich like you”, whilst he was training a family, being helped by the NGO for which he was working, in silk making. “The statement was a shock. I explained to them that I was not rich. I told them about my background and they understood.”
The year 2020 started with my moving encounter with this former student of PSE. Now employed at the French Embassy in Cambodia, he was one of the first children helped by the charity. “You know I am a good friend of Papy and Mamie’s daughter Laekhéna. We are both from the first intake at PSE. In 1995, we were only 10 students.” he told me whilst introducing himself.
Between the dumpsite and school, a childhood unlike others
Sinek was born in 1983 in Stueng Mean Chey, the neighbourhood PSE started in. It held the massive dumpsite of the capital, this area had long been undeveloped and only inhabited by the poorest Cambodians.
The young boy lived there with his sister, his three brothers and his parents. Their family situation was complicated, his father tried to support the family working as a motorcycle taxi driver “My father earned between 5,000 riels and $2 a day. We could not live on his earnings.” Victims of their alcoholic father’s despair, the children were often abused. “He was very violent because we were poor, and he had no education.”
Sinek dropped out of school despite his efforts to succeed. “My parents could not help me, and I did not have time to study at home. I could not read and write in Grade 3, it was not normal!” Discouraged, he decided to help his family by becoming a scavenger. “I wanted to help my family by picking up plastic. At the time, we only thought about food. We wanted to feed not only ourselves, but also our family and the other children in the community. We were told that it was not useful to study, you just had to eat.”
From schoolboy to scavenger, everything changed from one day to the next. He started going to the Stueng Mean Chey dumpsite every day with his brothers to collect garbage. There, people worked, ate and survived. Sinek and his brothers were not the only ones to go, day in, day out, to that infernal place. Hundreds of adults and children came to rummage through the rubbish, hoping to earn some money by the end of the day. Actually, there were so many people that their work was not profitable.
“We did not earn enough from the dumpsite, especially because more and more people started to work there. With my siblings, we chose to move to the City Centre of Phnom Penh. We walked the streets ceaselessly, from 4am to 12am, but no one wanted to help us. In their eyes we were just thieves, when all we wanted was to eat.”
In 1995, the lives of many children changed, including Sinek’s - thanks to Christian and Marie-France des Pallières, the NGO PSE For a Child’s Smile opened its door. At the time, Sinek’s family met a friend of Papy and Mamie’s who told them about PSE.
« One of my favourite memories was when Papy came to my house. He was so tall and he offered to let me come to study at PSE. »
But Sinek refused. “My father had died, and my mother was raising us alone, so I had to help her.” Papy explained that if he accepted to join the school programme, PSE would help his family so he would not have to work anymore.
Indeed, since the start PSE had set up a rice compensation system to convince hundreds of families to send their children to school. Papy’s words eased the boy’s worries and Sinek agreed to return to school.
PSE, a springboard for the future
More than 4 years behind in his education, the young schoolboy started at PSE’s remedial school. Thanks to the programme, which still exists to this day, the student quickly caught up. Sinek also became a boarder at PSE. “Even though my house was not far away from the PSE Centre, I think Papy and Mamie made the right choice by giving me a home at PSE. At least, I could receive the education I needed, and I was able to see my mother during holidays. ‘’
Still, life has not always been easy. Sinek did not realise straight away that he was in good hands. “I was being told that we were like bamboo sprouts, that I would succeed, and maybe I could become a leader one day. Obviously, I could not believe it, especially since I was not a big fan of school.” Nevertheless, Sinek tried his best. He knew he had to make it for his family.
« I started enjoying going to school after Grade 9, when I could do a vocational training course. »
He first turned toward the Arts. Sinek wanted to go to the Phnom Penh Academy of Arts, but he soon discounted it as an option when he realised the cultural sector is very closed. In 1997, he did a two-year vocational training course in Secretariat and Administration at PSE.
The course taught him essential management skills and allowed him to develop himself. It was also at that time that he took his first steps in a business environment, at Phnom Penh’s airport. “At that time, there were a lot of French volunteers at PSE and I was getting along with them. One of them encouraged me to gain this experience.’’ His internship lasted 10 months and his manager offered him a position, but Sinek refused. He wanted to go further with his studies. ‘’PSE Certifications were not yet recognised by the State.’’ He then continued his studies with a bachelor’s degree in management at the Royal University of Phnom Penh. A great outcome for a student who did not like school!
In 2000, a big professional adventure started for Sinek. From PASS (Silk Sector Support Project) to France Volontaires, including Artisans d’Angkor, Avocats Sans Frontières and Aide à l’Enfant Réfugié, the former scavenger from the dumpsite dedicated his life to NGOs. Fluent in Khmer, English and French and having received a good education, Sinek occupied several high-level administrative positions. Since August 2019, he has been working at the French Embassy as an administrative assistant.
Education, a tool essential for success
Today, his family has a better life too. All of his siblings have been helped by PSE, except his eldest brother who decided to stay with his mother. He has been working as a motorcycle taxi driver since he was a teenager. His sister still works at PSE as an assistant at the School of Business. One of his little brothers is a security guard, and the other one works in an import-export business.
Sinek has two children that he educates as best he can. “For me, the most important thing is that they to go to school. I try to help them so they can succeed. In the next few years, I would like to enrol them at the French Institute of Cambodia so they can learn French.” Indeed, education represents a lot for Sinek. He thinks that if he is in a good place now, it is thanks to the experience he has acquired during his life.
“For me, classes where you are passive are useless. The reason why I enjoyed school later is because I could finally get some work experience” He is very grateful to the former volunteer who pushed him to work at the airport. He is also grateful to Papy who helped him discover his hidden talents. “One day, he asked me to sell old calendars. I thought no one would buy them but surprisingly I sold every one.” After this experience, he realised he could succeed like everyone else.
“My various professional experiences also taught me a lot about pedagogy’’. In his career as a trainer specialised in silk work, as a manager in the organisation Aide à l'Enfant Réfugié, or by being on the road throughout Cambodia everyday with Avocats Sans Frontieres, Sinek met a lot of people. “All the discussions I had made me think a lot about the person I want to be, but also about the future of my country."
« I love Cambodia, and I want to do my best to develop my country and give my children a good future »
Sinek is truly a role model for the future generation, but also knows that more work needs to be done.