Haway Dum
Current Course: Masters Degree
Haway comes from a poor rural family. She is the oldest of 9 children. To support their growing family, every morning starting at sunrise she sold vegetables door to door. She was often punished for being late to school, but still showed up every day.
Haway was supported through high school by the Room to Read Girls’ Education Program.
Upon graduation, she moved to Phnom Penh in search of a better future. She is the first girl from her village to attend university.
Haway’s graduation day
Haway’s parents at their new home
Haway with her family upon her departure for University
“They used to laugh at me for being poor. Today, they all want their daughters to follow my example.”
Accomplishments
Earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Science
Took an office job in Sihanoukveille; used her salary to pay for her younger siblings to go to school
Today, three of those siblings are attending university and/or working in Japan, Korea and Thailand and are becoming fluent in the local language.
Haway is currently living in Cologne, studying German and starting a Masters Degree focused on wastewater treatment, solid waste treatment and climate change.
