Former Garbage Dump Worker Receives Full Scholarship to University of Melbourne

Rags-to-riches stories are almost always good to hear and read about.

These stories can remind us that with determination, grit and a bit of luck, almost anyone can overcome their predicaments and achieve extraordinary success.

Source: CCF

If anyone can inspire us, it’s Sophy Ron, whose journey began at the Phnom Penh garbage dump in Cambodia as an 11-year-old child worker who had never attended a day of school, and now has hit the first high of many by becoming a valedictorian at Trinity College and securing a full scholarship to the University of Melbourne.

Source: CCF

Among the first to be rescued by Cambodian Children’s Fund (CCF) from the notorious garbage dump of Phnom Penh, Sophy can now hold her head up high with the incredible success that she has earned.

Source: CCF

Looking back, Sophy would spend seven days a week sifting through trash and breathing in the toxic fumes to help her parents earn enough money for a living, surviving mainly on discarded food scavenged from the filth. 

Sophy now stands on a stage in front of her peers, giving her speech in fluent English, far away from her painful past. 

Photo: CCF

Sophy hasn’t forgotten her roots, however, as she has returned to Cambodia to celebrate her accomplishment with friends and family until the next semester begins.

Netizens couldn’t help but be impressed at her miraculous journey.

Source: Facebook

Another commended the efforts of CCF for giving a helping hand to those who need it the most.

Source: Facebook

Helping children in need should be a global commitment. We should always strive to ensure that no child be denied the right to education.

We want to congratulate CCF on a job well done and hope that this effort will inspire others to lend a helping hand to children in need. 

Also read: M’sian Billionaire, Vincent Tan’s Rags-to-Riches Story Teaches Us 8 Inspiring Lessons