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ho yeah I feel really proud of myself
well eleven-year-olds, as you know are not very forthcoming about their day
usually have to wrench it out of them. One day Leon came home and he said
you know Mom we had a visit from some of the kids at school.
from a high school student
and they told us about growing up in war time and situation in their country
they were from Sierra Leone from Cambodia
from timor-leste. he was obviously very very moved by this whole experience
and he was obviously a very attentive
As your teacher introduced me, my name is Miguel
I'm from Timor-Leste
I am going to talk about my life experience
at the moment we had to move out from our house because of the conflict and war
so me and my mom and my siblings we
went together in the jungle and left everyone behind
including my dad also
so we hoped that someone could help us
to bring him back to us
we were really worried about his safety at that moment
When he went to boarding school for
opportunities
because if he stayed in the school in his own town village
then he probably would not be at school be on the aged 14
so he went off to boarding school
and from that boarding school he was selected to take part
in a peace conference run by UWCSEA
in Dili in east timor
he joined that as a participant and then he met lots to the students from UWCSEA from
view to see who were taking part in that conference
for the first time he met people from all over the world
with an attitude which he said he hadn't you just haven't experienced before
up to your time in team I'll este when you actually
came to you WC can you just give us like a few words
I'll to describe the first grade 8 scholarships that we all want it worked
said
to orphans who spent their formative years scavenging on the rubbish tips and
Phnom Penh now you can imagine how powerful it is
for the other students the Cornish to have those sorts of people
sitting in the classroom extort what is fascinating when you talk to them
is values that they place upon education
and that's something I think many the students take for granted
anybody who has been through war
or a violent situation is a survivor
in any survivor is a hero
any survivor is able to overcome that
and this be a smiling giving percent which the scholars are
is a superhero so freely on
and my daughter who's in school here also day
the feel proud they feel like the star
they're walking amongst heroes so
it was just very different after reading it out of a book to scratch Lucy
people who experience that and actually talked wasn't sure the expense
and in would have been much different if they were just as there's in its
much more inspiring and much more meaningful
and powerful that they're actually going to the same school Zayed
children from all over the world deserve and education just
as they do just as our children do and when they interact with the scholars
hearing hear their stories
then that gets the wheels turning that gets them thinking well
course this education this wonderful school should be open to all how can we
do more so that more students can calm
and that we can have you know even more diversity and we can offer this
opportunity to even more children
and once you start abolishing
entitlements than everyone becomes entitled
after going to Cambodian hearing about the Scholars Program
carrying from the scholars first-hand inspires me a lot to do
for service and to increase my commitment to
service components here and and I think
because these these guys come and they've been given this amazing
opportunity
they are there they're not going to waste it and so
they approach everything with such as above such
life and energy that rubs off on other people
so even even somebody who is sending cynical com failed to be
you can partly lifted by having people by having guys like that around
well I feel so happy when I inspire someone with my story
and be a good opportunity for me to study
in UWCSEA with friends I
and I hope one day I'll get a better future compared to the past
and especially I hope one day I'll go back to my country and then
bring a positive change for them