Story of Change: Nern Davin (Klahan9 Ambassador)
“Dreaming of becoming a human rights activist in Cambodia is so challenging as most people think it is impossible and opposing to social norm. It is widely viewed as unsafe to be an activist in Cambodian and a young girl is not even expected to be one.”, Davin said.
Davin, 21, is currently a freshman at Royal University of Laws and Economics. Davin dreams of becoming an activist in the field of human rights and environment for intergovernmental organization such the United Nations. At the same time, she also wants to run a business at her hometown on flowers and organic vegetable.
From her parents’ perspective, Davin’s first dream is impossible as it is very dangerous to work and travel to the province and therefore her safety might be at risk. However, she still believes that she can do it and will prove her parents wrong. She has stopped accepting any support from her parents, and instead has looked for a job to finance her own accommodation in Phnom Penh. She thinks that accepting support from her parents may put more pressure on her or stop her from pursuing higher education.
Davin started following up with Dream Station when she joined the training session with BBC Media Action as an ambassador. She was assigned to watch the show, and then followed up with the content by herself. Davin remembered the Flower episode about negotiation and the story of NGOs about planning. From Sreyrong’ story on the Flower episode, she learned the negotiation skills and therefore she put into practice by trying to consult with her parents about her personal dream and what she is doing even though they disagree, especially on becoming an activist. Unlike before, she started disclosing information about herself to her parents without hesitation. That situation has also changed as now her parents understand her and are more open even though they still hold on to the idea of seeing her get married.
Davin really likes the episode about NGOs which is reflective of her experience when she first came to Phnom Penh. She felt so inspired for not giving up on her academic life. Now she has got a job and has a place to stay for free. Even though her current job does not fit with her skills, she is quite satisfied because it is the main source of her monthly finances. She now starts to break down her plan into smaller steps and keep moving towards her dream day by day, and she said it is influenced by Klahan9 training on goal setting. With a clear plan to achieve her dream, she aims to improve her English and work out her way to deal with challenges in expenses, study and work. She has also actively participated in various social activities including charity events, training and competition. She starts to build connection with people in various NGOs, involves herself in more volunteer work, and live independently in the city. She is working on her dream and these steps may help her to become a human right activist one day.
“Catch up with the opportunity when they appear in front of us, have a clear plan for our dream and learn to seek for information we need to achieve our dream”, Davin quoted.
Story of Change produced by: BBC Media Action