Hope you all had a good
Christmas. We were up in the north east where KIDS is involved with the Stung
Treng Women's Development Center (SWDC). They produce high quality silk scarves
and fabric. At SWDC the weavers make a good living wage in pleasant working
conditions and can also bring their children to the onsite daycare/preschool
that KIDS provides funding for.
We also built and fully fund a
pre school for 2 to 5 year olds in the village behind SWDC. We built the school
7 years ago. It is a wooden building and has served its purpose well. In the
compound of SWDC the Allen Foundation, from the UK, recently completed an
addition to the original small onsite daycare. It is a much larger and brighter
building with two classrooms and a large open area in between the classrooms as
well as a covered playground out front. As we support the two teachers at the
SWDC school and three at Srey Poh, we have decided to close Srey Poh School and
move all the children, teachers and resources into the SWDC on site school. The
village school is only a five-minute walk from SWDC so it is not a far distance
for the children to attend the new building.
When we built Srey Poh School we had the piece of
land donated by a family and in exchange KIDS built them a new wooden house, as
they all lived in a small shack covered with rice sacks and tarps. We also built
five wells for the community. Some of their land was given to Srey Poh School on
the condition that it would be used for the benefit of the community. So we have
donated the land and building back to the community and it will have several
possible uses including: a library, community education and training center and
a venue for weddings, funerals and community events. The assistant Governor of
the area thanked KIDS for our donation and all the parents are happy to see
their children attend the new school, which is much more secure. The teachers
will be able to share resources and work together as a team. They are all doing
a terrific job and when the children go on to primary school they are both well
behaved and very well prepared for learning and are often the top of their
class. The teachers work hard to teach a holistic curriculum including: social
skills, cultural awareness, hygiene, creative play, and of course reading,
writing and math. KIDS provides the children with a great meal every day with
all the food groups and one healthy snack so they are thriving. As well SWDC now
runs a health clinic funded by Kindred Hearts Canada and so all the children
receive free healthcare. Children that came to the school with health,
nutritional and failure to thrive issues are now singing, dancing and are
healthy...it is wonderful to witness the difference.
As this New Year begins, the children have a new school, the community has a new community centre and each child has a new and improved opportunity for a healthier and happier future.
We wish you all a happy, healthy and meaningful new year!
With appreciation,
Rick and Adrianne