Through her work at Cambodian Children’s Fund (CCF), Sokmala — known as Mala — encourages students to stay in school, even when life feels overwhelming.
It’s a message she carries not just as a staff member, but from lived experience.
At 18, Mala was forced to make a heartbreaking decision. While in Grade 12, she left school to support her family after her mother fell ill.
“I didn’t want to stop studying,” she says. “But we needed money more than I needed an education.”
I said, ‘No — I will not allow this to happen again
For six years, Mala worked to help her family survive — putting her own dreams on hold.
But the desire to learn never left her.
In 2010, she decided to reapply to sit her Grade 12 National Exams. She passed — and not long after, joined CCF as a mail translator, helping connect sponsors with the children they support.
While working full-time, Mala began studying management at university in the evenings with CCF's support. It wasn’t easy returning to education after so many years away — but an even greater challenge was to come.
During her studies, Mala became pregnant and later gave birth to twin girls.
“Only three months before I finished university, my girls were so young and cried a lot,” she recalls. “My family said I should stop studying and fully take care of my babies.”
But this time, Mala refused to give up.
“I said, ‘No — I will not allow this to happen again.’”
Determined not to repeat the past, she pushed forward through exhaustion, pressure, and responsibility — caring for her newborns, supporting her family, working full-time, and continuing her studies all at once.
“Sometimes when I was studying, my babies were sick and crying. I had to drive my motorbike back home to see them. It was very stressful, I was struggling very hard at that time,” she says.
“But I told myself, ‘I don’t want that old story. I won’t give up again.’”
In 2014, Mala graduated from university — becoming the first in her family to earn a bachelor’s degree.
It was a big change to start working at CCF, but I wanted to be doing something where I was contributing to my society
Today, as a Sponsor Relations Coordinator, she works with a team of 10 to connect sponsors with the children whose lives they are changing. She reviews letters, photos, and videos, ensuring each message carries encouragement, care, and connection.
Life is still busy - working full-time and being mum to her twin girls, now aged 13 - supported by her husband, who works in the private sector.
But Mala is certain she is exactly where she should be.
When she first joined CCF, Mala swapped a job as a shop assistant at the luxury five-star Raffles Hotel Le Royal Phnom Penh for working in the most impoverished areas of Cambodia with the most needy children and families.
“It was a big change to start working at CCF, but I wanted to be doing something where I was contributing and passing on what I learned to my society. Especially the kids. I want them to know that education is very important,” explains Mala, 40.
“When I see the students, I see myself,” she adds. “It’s easy to give up. That’s why we must keep encouraging them.”
“When you have education, your life is stable,” she says.
After almost 15 years with CCF, Mala has witnessed firsthand the transformation sponsorship can bring — children growing up, graduating, finding jobs, and supporting their families.
“I can see the difference,” she says. “The children grow up, and they can take care of themselves and their families.”
For Mala, the mission is deeply personal.
Because she knows what it means to lose the chance to study — and how powerful it is to reclaim it.
That’s why, every day, she continues to stand beside CCF students, reminding them not to give up.
And helping ensure their story ends differently.
“That’s why I just want to tell every student, don’t give up on your studies," says Mala.
“Education can lift lives out of poverty. Some of the students who were at CCF when I first started in 2011 have now graduated, gone to university, and are now working. That’s what inspires me every day.”
