Look what God has done!
“The boy who played truant from literacy classes is now a teacher trainer! Having our own written language makes us happy and confident. I now help supervise a literacy project with over 500 students.”
You can help Thit bring the good news to the neglected Kavet ethnic community.
Misfortune and illness made my family even poorer than our neighbours. My younger sister was born with deformed hands and feet. We call her Kut, which means “crooked.” Someone—usually me—was always sick. The spirits were punishing us. We sacrificed all our chickens, ducks and pigs to the spirits. The shaman even told us to abandon our house.
There were no schools in our district, so when I was about eight my parents sent me to evening literacy classes in the village. In those days, we saw and heard evil spirits everywhere. After dark, they would shriek like banshees from the treetops. I cursed the spirits as I ran through the forest. I am not even five feet tall; I was even shorter then and certainly not big enough to fight a wild animal or a ghost. I was too young to appreciate the opportunity for an education. Instead of going to the literacy class I watched videos. I couldn’t pay, so I climbed a tree to see the screen.
We were empty-handed
When a primary school was built in my village, I had a second chance for an education. The teacher put me in grade 4. That may have been right for my age, but because I had not completed grades 1 to 3, I found it tough.
When I was about twelve, my older brother drowned. He had been travelling down river to the market with his father-in-law. Their dugout canoe capsized in the wake of a boat heading upstream to pick up timber. The larger boat did not turn around to help or even pause.
When a primary school was built in my village, I had a second chance for an education. The teacher put me in grade 4. That may have been right for my age, but because I had not completed grades 1 to 3, I found it tough.
After only three months, my parents pulled me out of school. I was old enough to help my uncle saw wood in the forest and earn money. Even though I had not made much progress, I was very sorry to leave school.
If you are willing, we can teach you
When I was 17, I was too old to return to primary school, so I went to the YWAM Bible school. I was taught to read and write in Khmer. I learned to read the Bible and deepened my understanding of the gospel. Returning to my village, I became a Sunday School teacher and literacy teacher.
I love teaching! I love creating workbooks, manuals and Scripture songs in the Kavet language. Both my sisters are literacy teachers. I also help with the oral Bible storytelling workshops; my mother, aunts and grandmother are the most eager participants.
Please pray that the Kavet Scripture song videos will strengthen the church and reach Kavet people who have never heard the good news.
Thit lives in Kiribasaleu Village, Siem Pang District, Stung Treng Province, northeastern Cambodia.