Happy School Scholarship Program
The Scholarship Program
The aim of the Happy School Scholarship Program is to support disadvantaged children through to the completion of Year 12 and help them pathway into either university, vocational training or employment. Our focussed model recognises that this longer term scholarship educational support has a greater potential for longer term educational and employment outcomes.
How we determine who receives the support of a Happy School Scholarship is judged against two criteria:
– Highest economic need, indicated by their family income and situation.
– Highest potential, indicated by their academic results, motivation and attitude.
CBF currently have 10 students of various ages engaged in the Happy School Scholarship Program. 7 of these students are supported in primary or secondary education via The Westline School, which is a high quality independent private school in Phnom Penh, while 3 students are currently engaged in further studies at local Universities or Vocational Skills Training Colleges.
Some of our senior Scholarship holders are in fact products of The Happy School and have been a part of the CBF family for well over 10 years.
YIN Chandavy
YIN Chandavy, aged 14, is one of our youngest CBF students, currently studying in grade 7. Given consultation and advice from CBF, she is now showing interest in pursuing her higher education in aviation to become a flight attendant. She has been with CBF for over 5 years since she started her primary school. She currently lives with her parents and siblings in a rented house in an underdeveloped community way down from a major highway. Her mother works as a janitor and her father is a community guardian.
SEN Monysela
SEN Monysela, aged 13, is one of our youngest CBF Scholarship recipients who is currently studying in grade 8. She does not have much of an idea of what she wants to do in the future after she finishes school. She has been with CBF for over 5 years since she started her primary school. She currently lives with her mother in a rented room in an underdeveloped community adjacent to a major primed area Toul Tompoung. Her parents got divorced and her mother is a mobile food and drink vendor.
HEANG Heat
HEANG Heat, aged 16, is another current longer term CBF student. He, at the end of 2024, decided to move from The Westline School to a TVET College for vocational skill training. This college has a focus on Automotive Technician training which has him excited about his future. He has been with CBF for over 5 years since he started his primary school. He currently lives with his mother, his siblings and niece in a rented rooftop room in a community in Toul Tompoung, a major primed area in Phnom Penh. His father passed away a long time ago and his mother works as a janitor.
PHORN Mithona
PHORN Mithona, aged 17, is currently studying in grade 9. He is not sure yet of what he wants to do in the future after he finishes school. Given consultation and advice from CBF, he is considering attending a TVET school, learning a technical or vocational skill for his future career. He has been with CBF for over 5 years since he started his primary school. He currently lives with his parents in a rented house in a narrow underdeveloped community adjacent to a major primed area Toul Tompoung. His mother is a garment worker and his father is a driver.
PHEOUN Pheapbotey
PHEOUN Pheapbotey, aged 18, is currently studying in grade 11, and will sit the annual nationwide high-school graduation examination in the 2025 academic year. She dreams of becoming a good singer as she loves singing. She has been with CBF for over 5 years since she started primary school. She currently lives with her father and her two other elder brothers and their families at their own house in a narrow alley and underdeveloped community way down from a major highway. Her mother passed away a long time ago, and her father is a TukTuk driver.
SORN Visal
SORN Visal, aged 18, is a CBF Scholarship student currently studying in grade 12. He intends to sit the annual nationwide high-school graduation examination in the 4th quarter of 2025, with hopes to pursue his higher education abroad, majoring in architecture. He has been with CBF since middle school and currently lives with his parents and his younger sister in a rented house. His parents run a motor repair shop along a major highway.
ON Sokseyha
ON Sokseyha, aged 16, is a CBF student who has recently taken the annual nationwide high-school graduation examination, which determines if he qualifies for university admission. He plans to major in law at a state-run university, with hopes to further his tertiary education overseas as well. He has been with CBF for over 5 years and is forever grateful of the opportunity it has provided him. He currently lives with his parents and his younger brother in a rented house in an overcrowded neighbourhood in Phnom Penh, where his mother runs a local grocery store and his father works as a driver for a local business.
ROM Piseth
ROM Piseth is aged 18 and is currently studying in grade 11. He intends to sit the annual nationwide high-school graduation examination in the 2025 academic year. He aspires to study Electrical Engineering at university, with hopes to pursue his tertiary education overseas, given a good scholarship opportunity. He has been with CBF since his primary school years, starting his education journey with The Happy School in grade 2. He currently lives with his grandparents, his aunt and his other 3 siblings in a rented house in a narrow alley and underdeveloped community next to a local wet market.cUnfortunately his mother passed away when he was a little kid, and his father works and lives far away, finding it hard to provide for him and his other siblings.
“I cannot believe that I attend a privately-run high quality school, called the Westline School, which is a school where students from relatively wealthy families attend – while I am just an orphan. This is all thanks to all the donations and sponsorships from around the world, giving me this privileged opportunity to study at this private school.
I am thankful for all the other experiences also, the visits from Ivanhoe Grammar, meeting and spending time with students from Australia, the field trip to Siem Reap, which was amazing, and all the continued support I get from Sareoun and the CBF team.
I promise to commit myself to studying hard to get better grades and to realize my dreams, and I will bring about success to show to my CBF teachers and sponsors that “I did it!” I am very grateful and I wish everyone good luck, happiness in your family, and good health.“
THENG Channa
THENG Channa, aged 19, is our second eldest student who is currently furthering her higher education as a sophomore, at a Phnom Penh university. She is Majoring in Management where she was awarded a state-sponsored scholarship, that part funds her tertiary education. She hopes to become a young female leader in a good institution after graduation in the next couple of years. She has been with CBF for over 10 years – since her primary school years and is a shining example of how some outside assistance can produce immense outcomes, changing the course of a person’s life. Currently she lives with her mother, who works full time in a garment factory, and her stepfather in a poorer underdeveloped suburb in Phnom Penh, where numeracy and literacy rates are low.
“I am very grateful to CBF Happy School for providing me with an education that makes me become a good person with ethics in society. I will do my best to study hard because I want to establish a factory, enterprise, firm or bank in Cambodia to help raise the livelihood of the Cambodian people and to help society to prosper further. Thank you for helping me grow!”
SOK Seyha
SOK Seyha, aged 22, is our eldest student currently pursuing his tertiary education as a junior student. He is studying Financial Banking at a local Business School in Phnom Penh, and on course to graduate in two years time. After graduation from university, Seyha aspires to be a banker, and his dream is to establish his own local bank. He has been with with CBF for over 10 years and was a previous student of The Happy School and Westline. Currently, he lives with his parents and his other two younger brothers in a rented rooftop room, in a crowded underdeveloped community adjacent to Toul Tompoung. His mother works as a janitor who supplements her income by recycling collected objects, while his father works as a sometimes gardener and motor taxi driver.
“I am very happy to have joined The Happy School and later the Scholarship Program. I am very grateful for the continued educational support through to my university study. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the donors for providing me with the support and I promise to commit myself to studying hard and obtaining a good academic performance, so that I will not disappoint you and I can realise my dream career.”