From the moment we met, these were our "other daughters." To everyone who has supported these girls from afar, one can't adequately begin to convey to you how much you are making a monumental difference in the lives of these beautiful young women, who possess endless strength and potential. We brought you along with us, and told the girls about all of you.

Our six university students sat across a conference room table looking nervous but poised. The air nearly crackled with our anticipation and their anxiety. There were a few initial words from Kosal, the lovely woman at Friendship With Cambodia who has been our liaison, and Sitha, a program director who works directly with the girls and their families. Then one by one the girls introduced themselves, trying their best to use English, a more difficult task for the younger girls, with our group of older adults from a foreign country staring at them. Clearly, they wanted us to think well of them, but little did they know that while they were holding up half the sky (see Kristof's inspiring book for the reference), they were at the same time securing even bigger real estate in our hearts. They told us the facts---what year they are in, what they are studying, how many siblings they have--then shared their dreams of being teachers, NGO workers, and business women. More of their stories leaked out in their answers to questions, as they described what it had been like to come from a remote village where they were very poor but felt safe, only to find themselves in the high octane city of Phnom Penh, where their school bags were stolen, there were bars on the windows, and one girl was even conned out of her bicycle by an older woman who asked to borrow it with an intent to steal. They looked directly into our eyes and just shared.

After we also introduced ourselves, and when it seemed as though we were readying to leave, one of the girls began to speak to the interpreter. She looked at us--no, looked directly into our hearts--with glistening eyes which nearly spoke the words themselves, as the interpreter said that she wanted us to know that without us she would not have had the great opportunity of university, that she was grateful for her education and our support, and that she wished us good health and happiness forever. She conveyed such emotion with her eyes, even with someone else saying the words, that nobody in the room (even our tour guide), had dry eyes. Following her lead, the other girls also expressed their genuine, deeply heartfelt, gratitude. We told them how impressed we were by their hard work and ambition, but we were only beginning to understand their stories.

As we all piled into our tour bus, the formality of the meeting room aside, the poised veneer vanished and giggly, high-spirited, warm-hearted, and plain old fun, teenagers emerged (from the girls and from us!) as we shared photos of our families, our pets, and even photos we had just taken of them. As they felt more comfortable, they made more attempts at English, and the laughter increased as well. We even busted out a few snacks from our purses!

We visited the rented rooms of four of the girls, who took great pride in sharing them with us. The first was down a small alley, where the neighbors were very poor and our parade was a spectacle that drew them out. Our first girl lives in her 10 x12 clean room with three other girls, where they sleep on one thin mattress. There are bars on the windows, a heartwrenchingly small handful of possessions for all of them, including the small duffle bags holding all their clothes, and a small sink and electric burner on the floor as a makeshift kitchen. Leftover rice was also on a floor mat drying, as not a grain can be wasted. The second rented room involved a long walk along railroad tracks lining an impoverished community littered with garbage. There were no street lights or any other vestiges of comfort, making the walk at night haunted house scary. The room was about the same size as the first one, but three of our girls live in it with three other students, six in all! There was no mattress, and little air to breathe. Very few possessions lined the room. The floor was clean. The girls were proud, and not seeking our pity, but while standing in the space it became even clearer that their lives are very hard.

They arrive at university at a disadvantage as they cannot afford the private tutors which are routine for the city kids, so they have to work extra hard to keep up. They have jobs to help support themselves. They sleep on tile floors with no mattresses, in rooms with no air, and eat very little. They lend support to each other. They are expected to be examples for their siblings and for the younger children in their poor village who have their own aspirations. They have dreams and are pursuing them wholeheartedly.

They hold up half the sky.....and I couldn't be prouder to have met them.
Fran