“Generally I’m known to be a serious person, and therefore serious persons are generally pessimistic. But at the same time, I’m simple and practical… and from that point of view, I’m optimistic… I basically come to the point that I would not be able to change the world, but I should do whatever I can, no matter how small, just to give meaning to my life, and also to pay back the society which I have taken from to attend school… Giving back is a pleasure.”
Sombath Somphone in Great Men and Women of Asia: Ramon Magsaysay Awardees from Southeast Asia 1990-2005.