Chhoun Sarneun, director of The Elaine And Nicholas Negroponte School
(standing with Douglas Schlemmer, program director of the Cambodia Rural School Project to his right)
(Dec. 1999)
The Cambodia Rural School Project
The Elaine and Nicholas Negroponte School
Chhoun Sarneun, director of The Elaine And Nicholas Negroponte School
(standing with Douglas Schlemmer, program director of the Cambodia Rural School
Project to his right)
(Dec. 1999)
Chhoun Sameun is the director of The Elaine And Nicholas Negroponte School. He is 44 years old, and is married with six children, three of whom attend his school.
Chhoun Sameun has had a long history with the Trapeang Village where his school is located. During the Khmer Rouge regime under the guidance Pol Pot, he was forced to labor in the rice paddies of the village from 1975 to 1979. He became a teacher at the school in 1979, when the new government encouraged and selected new teachers. Despite the former government's mistreatment of the Cambodian people, Chhoun Sameun says "I was not afraid to work with the new government in 1979."
| on why he became a teacher: | "In 1979, 1 saw the Cambodian culture sinking, and I wanted to help my country." |
| on being school director: | "I enjoy being school director, but I miss teaching the children." |
| on the future of his students: | "My kids will grow to serve the nation of Cambodia." |