She had never gone to school until she turned 11.

Sophy Ron spent her days wading through Phnom Penh's pungent garbage dumps, breathing in toxic fumes, just to scavenge for scraps. Years later, she completed her foundational year at Trinity College in Melbourne where she was named valedictorian.

The turning point for Sophy came when the non-profit organization Cambodian Children's Fund (CCF) rescued her from a garbage dump where she was made to work seven days a week in order to earn money for her parents.

CCF runs an education programme that includes educational facilities and satellite schools serving impoverished communities. According to CCF, these communities, some of them springing up around garbage dumps, were once deemed "unreachable". Today, the education programme helps over 2,000 students work towards a better future. One of them is Sophy, who became the first CCF student to win a coveted full scholarship to Trinity College. She finished her foundational year at the college last month, and looks forward to enrolling at the University of Melbourne to start her undergraduate studies.

Vocabulary/Expressions:

1. wade through something - to spend a lot of time and effort doing something boring or difficult.

2. pungent - (of a smell or taste) very strong, sometimes in an unpleasant way.

3. scavenge - to look for or get food or other objects in other people's rubbish.

4. turning Point - the time at which a situation starts to change in an important way.

5. coveted - strongly desired by many.

Questions:

1. Who is Sophy Ron?

2. How did a big change take place in her life?

3. Are there organizations like CCF in your country?

4. What lesson can you get from the life story of Sophy?

5. Many people say that “Education is the key to success”. How far do you agree or disagree with this?