BY RICK FOSTER SUN CHRONICLE STAFF
ATTLEBORO - Hoeurn Somnieng's mother sent him to live with another family as a preschooler so that he could get an education and grow up away from the abusive household into which he was born.
Somnieng studied hard, but was denied a diploma when his impoverished family couldn't spare $5 for a bribe for a good mark on a national standardized test. Unbowed, Somnieng turned to a Buddhist temple in a poor province of Cambodia - the only source of a free education unsullied by palm-greasing in a land only now recovering from the ravages of the Khmer Rouge.
Now a Buddhist monk, Somnieng has spent the past several years of his life working to bring Cambodians advantages he never had by founding a growing collection of social and educational movements that include a sewing trades school, a foreign language academy and a junior high school.
Many of those who attend the schools, run by the Life and Hope Association, are victims of domestic abuse or poor young people trapped in lives of menial labor or the sex industry.
"I wanted people to have an alternative to poverty," said Somnieng, 27, who administers the school at the Wat Damnak temple in rural Siem Reap Province. About 15 students of all ages attend.
Somnieng visited Attleboro High School Thursday as part of an exchange tour during which he is studying western educational methods and attending conferences and meeting with Cambodian-American students.
During the short visit at AHS, he answered questions from an asian studies class at the school and visited with social studies teacher Tobey Reed, whom he met while Reed was visiting Cambodia as a teacher volunteer.
"He's an extremely impressive individual," said Reed, who noted Somnieng's tour is sponsored by the East-West Center. Attleboro was put on the tour partly because of the school's significant population of students whose families came to this country from Cambodia.
For Cambodian students, the visit by the distinguished monk provided a source of inspiration.
"Because of all the things he's done, I feel so very proud of him," said Pagna Eam, a senior who emigrated with her family in 2004. "His story reminds me of what it was like in Cambodia."
The Life and Hope Association is the umbrella organization for Somnieng's school, which is partially funded by foreign aid programs in the United States, Australia and Germany, pays for student transportation and meals, as well as supplements salaries of government teachers.
The major focus is vocational training, with graduates of its sewing program receiving a sewing machine, material and a microloan to start their own businesses. Alternately, graduates can go to work for large companies or remain with the temple, which markets seamstress services.
Somnieng is currently on a four-month, whirlwind tour that includes a number of conferences, visits to schools and teaching assignments stretching from Hawaii to China. While in the United States, Somnieng will also visit Vermont, Connecticut, New York and Iowa.
Somnieng studied hard, but was denied a diploma when his impoverished family couldn't spare $5 for a bribe for a good mark on a national standardized test. Unbowed, Somnieng turned to a Buddhist temple in a poor province of Cambodia - the only source of a free education unsullied by palm-greasing in a land only now recovering from the ravages of the Khmer Rouge.
Now a Buddhist monk, Somnieng has spent the past several years of his life working to bring Cambodians advantages he never had by founding a growing collection of social and educational movements that include a sewing trades school, a foreign language academy and a junior high school.
Many of those who attend the schools, run by the Life and Hope Association, are victims of domestic abuse or poor young people trapped in lives of menial labor or the sex industry.
"I wanted people to have an alternative to poverty," said Somnieng, 27, who administers the school at the Wat Damnak temple in rural Siem Reap Province. About 15 students of all ages attend.
Somnieng visited Attleboro High School Thursday as part of an exchange tour during which he is studying western educational methods and attending conferences and meeting with Cambodian-American students.
During the short visit at AHS, he answered questions from an asian studies class at the school and visited with social studies teacher Tobey Reed, whom he met while Reed was visiting Cambodia as a teacher volunteer.
"He's an extremely impressive individual," said Reed, who noted Somnieng's tour is sponsored by the East-West Center. Attleboro was put on the tour partly because of the school's significant population of students whose families came to this country from Cambodia.
For Cambodian students, the visit by the distinguished monk provided a source of inspiration.
"Because of all the things he's done, I feel so very proud of him," said Pagna Eam, a senior who emigrated with her family in 2004. "His story reminds me of what it was like in Cambodia."
The Life and Hope Association is the umbrella organization for Somnieng's school, which is partially funded by foreign aid programs in the United States, Australia and Germany, pays for student transportation and meals, as well as supplements salaries of government teachers.
The major focus is vocational training, with graduates of its sewing program receiving a sewing machine, material and a microloan to start their own businesses. Alternately, graduates can go to work for large companies or remain with the temple, which markets seamstress services.
Somnieng is currently on a four-month, whirlwind tour that includes a number of conferences, visits to schools and teaching assignments stretching from Hawaii to China. While in the United States, Somnieng will also visit Vermont, Connecticut, New York and Iowa.
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