Send Kimsray To College

The reasons that I travel (which I will elucidate for you in due time) largely centers around the people I meet. Even in a place that I hate I am guaranteed to meet at least one person who makes the trip worthwhile. Sometimes, I meet a person who needs help with something that seems too big for that person or even both of us to handle by ourselves. Enter: Kimsray. By now I have told you all about her, that she's smart, hardworking, super sweet, and my Cambodian tour guide. I told you about how we got her a passport and are trying to start studying for the SAT and the TOEFL so she can try to get to college. Wait? Did I tell you that? Oh well, now you know.

Unfortunately, I don't know if you remember applying for college, but it’s expensive. And it’s even more expensive for international students. Not only does Kimsray have to pay for the SAT and TOEFL (at over $100 each) but she also needs study materials, application fees, shipping costs (it cost me $38 to mail six pieces of paper to UNICEF from the states and $11 to mail 15 postcards from Phnom Penh to the US. Imagine how much it will cost to send application materials), internet café, printing, and copying fees (Kimsray doesn’t have a computer), phone cards for interviews, and a host of other fees and costs. And this is before she even finds out if she gets in. Considering that the average annual salary in Cambodia is $290 and that Kimsray’s mother makes $120 as a cook (making her almost well-off by Cambodian standards), how long do you think it would take her to save up enough money?

Once Kimsray is accepted, we’re hoping to apply and help her get as many scholarships as possible to pay for the actual schooling. Luckily, American and Canadian universities are pretty phenomenal about helping international students pay for school once they get in, but we have a lot of work to do before we get there.

I know it’s corny, but I really do believe that we can change the world one phenomenal woman at a time and I think Kimsray has the potential to be a positive force for Cambodia and the world. If girls get the educations they need, they will be the ones who make their countries into great nations. It is only once the women in developing countries have the opportunities that they deserve that we can erase the corruption, violence, and poverty that are keeping them down, and finally succeed in making the world just that much better. Kimsray is just one step out of many, but she is a big step, and a step we can all take. Some people may say that helping just one girl in a country struggling as much as Cambodia is like spitting in the wind, but I think it’s more like lighting a fire in a barn house. All you have to do is light one girl with education to watch a whole village burn. Light enough villages and you can set a nation on fire. And with your help, I think we can collect a lot of matches.

I say all of this to say that we need your help. Helping Kimsray get her passport, although totally worth it, was the last straw of a lot of unexpected expenses that have left me unsure of how I will provide for myself for the next two months. It was worth it and I would do it again, but the fact is that I have to recognize my own limitations and I simply cannot help Kimsray by myself. However, I am committed to do everything I can to at least give her a chance to change her life. In that spirit, Kimsray and I have started a blog (soon to be a website once I can figure out some of the technical difficulties) at sendkimsraytocollege.blogspot.com. Please visit the site, read more about what we're trying to do, and if you're moved to help (even just $5 would make a huge difference, that's like 10 hours of internet cafe time!) just click on the link to the PAYPAL account on the left.

We would also love any emails and comments on the site to keep us motivated! Applying to college is going to be hard work for Kimsray. We're going to have to spend every day and weekend in July studying and then she's on her own when I go to Africa. I know it would help her to know that there are people out there who believe in her.

As we accomplish our goals we’ll let you know about it. Of course I'll be writing about it here and Kimsray will even be writing a blog of her own on sendkimsraytocollege.blogspot.com about how the process is going (it will also be good practice for the essay portion of the SAT!). Our goal is for Kimsray to apply this fall to start school the fall of 2010! This is a BIG GOAL but we accomplished big goals all of the time in Teach For America and I have no less faith that we can do so here.

If everyone who reads this donates $5, or more if you're ballin', I know we can make it.

I know this sounds a lot like an infomercial and I'm sorry. I'm just really excited about helping my friend. Please go to sendkimsraytocollege.blogspot.com and help us out just a little bit.

Thanks so much!

Travel well, travel smart, travel with a heart,
kat & kimsray