Thank you Lynbrook Primary!

Recently we had the fantastic Teachers Donna and Laura here, sent all the way from Australia, to help train our teachers in teaching phonices and class management.

In the week they were here they imparted so much of their knowledge, leaving our teachers confident, wiser and happier.

They also sent us some great resources including phonic cards, posters, teachers guide and Youtube videos.

It wasn't just the teachers who got a treat - all our students were made a bookmark by the students from Lynbrook - so thank you all for your great gifts and check out the photos below!

The kids studying the excellent drawings on the bookmarks

Our Beginner Class holding up the gifts proudly - Thanks!

Medical care for the community

On the 4th January we were visited by an American Doctor Mission to provide health education, student check-up and paint many faces. In fact it seemed the face painting was far more popular than seeing the Doctors for some reason!

After the mission had ended, the Doctors left us small first aid packs to distribute to the families in villages where we work and to distribute the vitamin tables for children.

Vitamin tables and vitamin drinks were also
left to give to our students regularly

Plasters, medication, antiseptic creams and
much more were left for us to distribute

Well finished!

Two weeks ago, when we visited Kok Thnoat village to give out seeds and check out the water situation (A new well..), workers were still drilling through the ground for fresh water. It looked like a long and laborious process, but last week when we visited again, it was finished! 

Four families in the village now finally have access to a sustainable supply of fresh water, something we take for granted everyday.

If you wish to donate a well or something similar, visit our Donations page 

Before and after - our worker digging away
and the final well installed!

Fresh water from underground reservoirs are vital for living,
especially for farming and growing crops

Parents Afternoon

Once a year we invite all the parents to the school for an end of year update.

Last year 40 parents turned up however this year we saw an amazing 117 parents! Fortunately we had planned for this, we hired a marquee, planned for rain (none came thankfully) and even got the students to show off what they have learned this year. It was a great day, the parents are now updated and know how best to support their children at home!

The seats are ready - 100 in all, we ended up needing more!

The dancers were made up, and made up.

A quick pep talk before the parents arrive

The girls braiding their hair for their performance

Kanha making sure the flower arrangement is spot on.

Not bad for an amateur flower arranger!

The meeting begins with the national anthem

The girls then sing some other songs about rain and winter

Following 90 minutes of speaking, we are treated to the fishing dance

 

Finally, the students sing songs that FKC have written and composed
ourselves. All the songs are about the importance of education

www.khmerchild.org

Pchum Ben

This weekend sees the climax of Pchum Ben, a Cambodian festival that remembers the dead. The festival lasts for 15 days where families visit Pagodas (place of worship) across Cambodia to make offerings of food to the chanting monks. It comes to a climax in the final 3 days, this year on the 3rd, 4th and 5th of October.

Offering food to the monks in turn feeds the ghosts of the dead and benefits any deceased family member. The ghosts of the dead are the souls that have been sent to hell for how they lived their previous life, they are able to be free for one day when the gates of hell open up. Occasionally families will throw balls of rice around the fields of the Pagoda in hope of feeding these ghosts directly, rather than through the monks.

Ambitions

At FKC we have many ambitious students. We always encourage them to think about their future and how they can shape it. Quite often they will have to save after completing their secondary education in order to pay for their university education, which is why quite often students have more than one idea for their future careers. We are starting a number of vocational training courses to try and give our students a step up, and provide them with real experience that can help them in their job search.

Here is what one of our students says about their ambitions:

Pha Sany - Female - 13

In the future I will be a tour guide because my father tells me that a tour guide is a good job. You can find money to help my family. When I am a student I should learn English and learn how to be a tour guide so I can speak with tourists very well. A tour guide is a good job for me. I would take tourists to the restaurant so that they could eat traditional Khmer food. I would take them to Angkor Wat Temple because it is a good place and the tourists want to see Angkor Wat Temple too.

In the future I will be a nurse because my grandmother tells me when she’s hurt she has me. I can earn money to help my family and I can help people in Cambodia. This is a good job for me. When I am a student I should student all subjects such as Khmer, Maths, English, Korean and Tour guide so in the future I can be a nurse. I can help people in Cambodia.

FKC, meet Blogger.

Welcome to the first post of FKC, Siem Reap, Cambodia!

We've set up this blog to share our news, our students' work and any other inspirational ideas we come across on the World Wide Web.

We are a grass roots NGO based in Siem Reap Province, Cambodia. We run education and community projects and hope to further expand over the coming years to provide future generations of Cambodians basic things previous generations may have missed out on - education, training and access to healthcare.

Visit our main website for more information www.khmerchild.org and stay tuned for more posts. If you have any questions please direct them via the website contact details.

FKC Children singing and dancing in a Physical Education lesson