It has been awhile since my last article. The internet at my office seems to be broken. It didn’t allow me to get into my blog. Oh maybe it is not the internet, but the virus in my computer. Whatever…hehe..
Good news, I was just elected as a president of Initiative of Change Association (ICA). I Was made aware of ICA at the 11th Asia Pacific Youth Conference in Siem Reap back in 2004. I was touched by the mighty concept of Quiet Time and the four absolute standards. I can still recall the excitement of seeing this young active group discussing what changes they could make for the benefits of themselves, families, communities, and the world. I was 18 years old at that time, and my inner voice asked, “How could an 18 years old girl change the world?” “This is too unrealistic,” I said to myself. There are just too many problems in Cambodia. I am too powerless to change any of them.
As time passed by, I began to realize that what I heard during the conference were true. Young people in Cambodia, no matter where we come from, have so much potential to change and to make Cambodia a better place to live in. Many of my friends immigrated to other countries, expecting better lives. I asked myself, “Should I move out too in order to have a better life? Or why don’t I make my country a better place and have a better life here?”
If I change, my family, my community, and my country change. So does the world.
Make the change for the better.
I'm glad you are back and congrats to the new president of ICA.
ReplyDeleteYour thought on how you could change the world you live in is absolutely inspiring. The fact that you were asking the question is a sign that you care about your community and I deeply believe that it is the first step in the right direction. I acknowledge that our country has so many complex issues, but you must not underestimate the power of a young girl's actions.
Ghandi once said: "You must be the change you want to see in the world." But more importantly I want you to remember that inside each Ghandi of this world, there is a young 18 years old girl who began by asking this question: "How could I change the world?"
By the way, immigrating to other countries is synonymous with running away from the problem, although you can't really blame them for wanting a better life. There are pros and cons for living abroad and it does not necessarily mean that they will have a better life. In fact, they might have things that we don't have in Cambodia, but there are many little things that we can do here that they can't do over there. Next time you see your friend living abroad, ask her how often can she go eat "lort chha" with her boyfriend? :-)
Now, I'm hungry...
Yeah...lort chha...i missed that. After my throat was damaging, i have to quite lort chha which i like alot. My ex-boyfriend immigrated to US several year ago. He is deeply believing in having a better life in US. We are still contacting as friend and debate about how better his life is over there? well, payment was good..but of course hard work too. You are right, we cannot complain people for wanting a better life.
ReplyDeleteI watch "Gandhi" for more then 20 times now. I used in my leadership training, and also made khmer translation for this film. Quoting his sentence fits very well here because I do strongly believe in personal changes.
By the way, would you have any interest in joining some of my activities ?
Nana
it is true that, in the US, the pay is good relative to Cambodia.
ReplyDeleteBut the expense is also a lot higher. People are more stressful. 12% of the US population are poor, while the majority (65%) are poor in Cambodia. i'm not sure that people work harder over there, but definitely they have more opportunities.
The only thing that bugs me badly is that, in Cambodia, if you are born under a bad star, you are pretty much sure to live under the bad star for the rest of your life, while in the US you are the master of your own destiny.
Keep me posted on your activities.
Pros.