I have met a few people in my life who, in an incredibly short span of time, have changed the direction of my future. This time it was truly unexpected, and I hope the result is that I teach 100,000 illiterate Khmer of all ages to read and write their native language - 100% FOR FREE!!!
How? With technology.
First, the quick story. The way I first cut my teeth singing Vietnamese was in bars singing karaoke. First to Vietnamese classics, then to Vọng Cổ. What I came to expect was that everyone I was with could read the words and sing along to the classics. And if they were from the Mekong Delta, to the Vọng Cổ.
When I moved to Phnom Penh and started to sing, I was going the same route. (Slightly ironic because I don't drink alcohol anymore.) But I never judge people, and I'm always happy to chat in Khmer and buy people drinks, so I headed to bars with karaoke.
I love hearing people's stories no matter what their background or what their job is. The first thing you gotta know is bar work in Cambodia is rough. "Rough" is not difficult enough to describe it. There is no way to sugarcoat it. You probably understand.
So when I started to sing, I would try to get the girls involved and sing with me. But many couldn't. I realized it was because they were illiterate. I learned very quickly that it was not a good thing to do as it put someone a fraction of my age who was already in a terrible spot in a WORSE SPOT because I was forcing them to expose their illiteracy.
They were always ashamed, and I could see it on their faces. Let that sink in. We are talking about girls who will do anything for money, and I could see them just sink to a lower depth because of the situation I put them in.
This was happening coincidentally with me learning to read and write Khmer as fast as possible with a huge technology stack behind me. However, one thing the girls and I had in common was that every one of them had a smartphone. They use them to communicate with voice messages and emojis. They use them for entertainment, TikTok, YouTube. They learn how to navigate to get the job done.
So I thought, what if I created a website that was specifically designed for illiterate people to get information about how to learn to read and write? Exactly the same way I was learning. But the navigation had to be with no words.
This is a prototype of what I came up with https://readwritegood.org/. It's a start and, as far as I know, it's the only website in the world specifically designed for illiterate people.
I've got miles to go with this project, but it's where I will eventually spend the remaining years of my life.
If you live anywhere and you are illiterate, you are at a huge disadvantage. If you live in a developing country and are illiterate, you are even more disadvantaged. If you are an illiterate female in a developing country, you are basically a slave. Literacy is freedom.