Hello, this is Yasuda from the Cambodia Bicycle Project.

Starting today, I would like to introduce five children whom we visited during home visits as part of the Cambodia Bicycle Project 2024.

Phal Sophart

The first child is Phal Sophart. In the photo, he is standing on the far left of his family. He is now 14 years old and has six siblings. He has one older sister, Sophart, who is the second child, and the remaining four are as shown in the picture. By the way, the girl next to him is his younger sister, currently in 5th grade.

Sophart says he enjoys mathematics and the Khmer language. As for his dream for the future, he hasn’t found anything obvious yet. He said, “Maybe I’d like to become a bicycle repairman…” I encouraged him by saying, “Then you should practice a lot with your own bicycle you’ve received!” Incidentally, his younger sister, in the 5th grade, says she wants to become a primary school teacher.

Regarding his family’s situation, his father works as a laborer on construction sites. Of course, it is not a steady job, so his income is unstable. His mother, who also appears in the photo, works helping with farm labor.

I genuinely hope that Sophart continues going to school diligently and will be able to support his family in the future.

About the Bicycle He Received

Sophart is a first-year junior high school student at Moung Russei Junior High School in Moung Russei District, Battambang Province. He was born in February 2011, so he was 13 years old at the time of our visit; now, he should be 14 years old.

I looked for the photo from the bicycle donation ceremony.

Here it is! Bicycle No. 127. According to our records, the supporter is Mr. Yoshiyuki Hirano, who has been donating bicycles every year since 2018.

Sophart’s School (Moung Russei Junior High School)

In 2024, a Bicycle Repair Club was also established at Moung Russei Junior High School, where Sophart studies.

Here is the homepage of the Bicycle Club. With GPS information from smartphones, you can also find its location on Google Maps, so we have included a photo from there as well.

The establishment of the Bicycle Repair Club was made possible through the support of Sakiyamagumi Corporation (Ms. Hiroko Matsunaga). Ms. Matsunaga has also been a long-time supporter, generously contributing to bicycle donations, the establishment of bicycle clubs, and the provision of spare parts since 2018.