Dear Sponsor,

CUSP supports both high school and college students in Cambodia. The high school students typically leave their families and travel many, many miles to live at our dormitories in Kampong Thom. The school year begins in October and ends in June. While in our charge, the students are kept very busy with their responsibilities at the dorms and their schooling. We thought you might like to know a little about a typical school week and what it is like to be a CUSP high school student in rural Cambodia.

A week in the life of a CUSP high school student…

Let’s start with their housing which is provided by CUSP.

Sundays begin the week with church services at the Thmar Kole church located on the same grounds as the girls’ dormitory. The rest of the afternoon is spent relaxing with fellow students and friends as families live in villages located many miles from the dormitory.

A typical school day starts with the students awakening before dawn. There are early morning chores followed by the students preparing their own breakfast. Classes run until 3:30 with a break at 11:00 to allow students to provide for their lunch, a noon rest period and another shower before heading back to school. Those students with extra money can purchase additional English and computer classes that are attended during times when school is not in session. Some students have been known to skip meals in order to purchase these extra classes.

Once dinner is finished and evening chores, classes and homework are completed; another school day draws to a close. The school week consists of classes Monday through Saturday with Thursday and Saturday afternoons free.

The meals consist of primarily rice and fish and supplemented with vegetables when available. At the girls’ dorm, the students have planted a vegetable garden which provides bok choy, mint, garlic, kale, carrots and other vegetables.

The students learned cooking skills at an early age and think nothing of fixing their own meals. We have found that for their age, the teenagers of Cambodia are much more independent and resourceful than US students.

These Cambodian teenagers would still be in their villages and trapped in poverty without your support. On their behalf, CUSP’s Board of Directors thanks you for your continued generosity and wants to assure you that we are doing everything possible to ensure that our students can break the bounds of poverty and live Christ center lives.

Thank you.