Dear Friends,

Firstly, I would like to thank you for your sponsoring me and giving me the opportunity to study, to share my culture and experiences in this wonderful community. I would like to say that your support is very valuable for me and my country.

I would like to share some of my stories with you. My full name is Oudam Meas, from Cambodia. I was born and brought up in one of the poorest countries in Asia. Fortunately my parents realized the value of education as a stepping stone to a better life. My parents always encouraged me to study by any means possible; however, the quality of education in my country is very substandard and limited in scope. The quality of education and political problems in society urged me to struggle more in my studies. Through my childhood, I suffered a lot under the horrible communist regimes in my region, not physically, but spiritually, and their policies left a horrendous legacy on my family and my nation. Cambodians alone know about the real situation in Cambodia nowadays, as this remains a region mired in neglect by the outside world. Though we remain a ‘peaceful democracy' in official terms, we continue to suffer a lot from vestiges of the former regime, and corruption is rife, affecting the peaceful life of my fellow citizens. These problems always stay in my mind everyday. I really want to make a change for my country and this entire world; and the only one way to success is education. Thanks for the kindness and the benevolence you showed by bringing me here as the very first Cambodian UWC student, and enabling me to share this story, my experiences, my culture and empowering me to set forth on my vision to relinquish atrocities and change the world.

Life at UWC is something that people from the outside world could never imagine. I am learning, and at the same time teaching others a lot through this experience. Moreover I can get the highest quality of education compared to the rest of world. One more thing, culture and experiences exchange is one of the great things here. Needless to say, crossed culture and nationality friends always keep my face smiling everyday. The spirit of caring for each other and sharing personal, local and global issues is very important for this community.

All I can say for now is that this community is uniquely important in order to find a better way to change the world. I would like to thank you again for giving me a new role in the world by giving me this opportunity. I promise to do the best I can and put in the maximum possible effort to attain your expectations.

Thank you very much,

Yours truly,

Oudam Meas '08