In 2004, Khamnuon began working as a contract official with the Provincial Department of Women’s Affairs in Stung Treng, and was posted to Sesan District, where she worked directly with villages and communes. There, she helped strengthen local systems to better support women and children.
“We trained the communes on their roles and duties,” she says, including how to plan projects that responded to the needs of women and children in their communities.
Over time, Khamnuon moved from contract staff into formal public service. After sitting the State recruitment exam, she became a civil servant and was officially appointed in 2010. She later rose into leadership and now serves as Chief of the Office of Social Affairs and Social Welfare in Stung Treng Municipality, leading work across multiple merged social sectors. It is a position built not through privilege, but through persistence, trust and years of service.
“The management trusted me,” she says simply.
Today, one of her strongest priorities is helping women and girls build independence through education, skills and income. Drawing on her own experience, Khamnuon encourages girls to stay in school, but she is equally committed to ensuring that women and young people who do leave school still have pathways forward. She often promotes vocational training as a practical route to confidence and economic security.
“When our women have skills and knowledge, they will strive for their independence,” she says. “Even if they do not have higher education, if they acquire a skill, they can earn a living.”
She has seen how transformative that can be. Some young women she encouraged to attend training have gone on to open businesses and earn stable incomes. For Khamnuon, this matters not only economically, but socially. Skills and income can help women make choices, withstand hardship and avoid becoming trapped in dependence.
“We think about encouraging women to stand firm and not to rely solely on men,” she says.
Khamnuon also works to strengthen women’s leadership at the local level. In Stung Treng Municipality, she has supported the growing presence of women as village chiefs, deputy chiefs and village representatives. For her, representation matters most when it translates into real action. She wants women leaders to understand the issues facing women in their communities, track local needs, and respond clearly and practically.
“In every village, there must be one woman as a village leader,” she says. “She must know how many women have problems in her specific area.”
For Khamnuon, women’s leadership is not abstract. It is about knowing the community, following up, solving problems and helping other women move forward. Her own story reflects that same ethic of persistence and service. From selling noodles to leading social welfare work in Stung Treng Municipality, she has built a life grounded in practical change, and in the belief that when women gain skills, confidence and voice, communities grow stronger too.
