If, as Irish poet William Yeats said: “Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire“, then humble UNE graduate Van Touch is igniting opportunities wherever he goes.
In 2012, Van came to UNE from Cambodia as an ACIAR-funded John Allwright Fellow to complete a PhD on climate change adaptation. Since returning to his homeland he has dedicated himself to improving the lot of some of the world’s poorest farmers as an agricultural researcher collaborating with Partners for Development, CARE International, Food and Agriculture of the United Nation, and the University of Sydney. Now Van’s received an ACIAR Alumni Research Support Facility (ARSF) grant to further his vital work as the country copes with the fall-out of COVID-19.
Van grew up in poverty with six siblings on a rice farm in the province of Takéo, in the far south of the country. His parents insisted he study – “for a better life” – but it wasn’t always easy.
Students and their parents, recipients of bikes and monthly allowances.
“I can remember it felt so painful to be sitting in a classroom studying, while my parents and two older brothers worked hard on the farm under the sun and rain,” Van says. “I wanted to help them, but my father told me: ‘If you want to help, you study’.”
It took many years before Van understood the reasoning behind his father’s insistence. After five years at primary school, three years at secondary school, three at high school and almost 10 years at university (including a Bachelor of Agricultural Science and Masters in Integrated Management of Agriculture and Rural Deployment), Van was able to secure a good job – and his own education is now helping to make a world of difference to others.
“When I graduated I had more financial capacity to help my family and also help other families,” Van says. “I helped my brother and sister to finish university, and then they could get good jobs and start families. Now I put some of my savings towards helping poor students. I want them to have a similar opportunity to me; the John Allwright Fellowship was a huge thing for a poor student like me.
“With two Australian friends, my former Armidale neighbour Beverley Sanders and her sister-in-law Avriel Banett, we are currently helping one student at university – we just paid for her university fees -three high school students and six students in secondary school. We give them all a monthly allowance so that they can pay for their classes. We have also bought two motorbikes for two high school students, and around 20 bicycles for students, some of whom were walking 7 kilometres from home to school and back each day, which was hard for them. We feel very good about doing that.
“One of the students that Beverley and I helped in the past, he graduated and got a job. His family had a very small house and he was able to build a much bigger house for his parents. He then married and helped his brother to graduate and his brother got a good job.
“I have moved so far in my life journey and there are so many people that I will always be grateful to for helping me, directly and indirectly. Now I am making a small contribution, but it can have a big impact on the lives of others. To me, that’s important. Even the poor can feel abundant.”