We hope all is well with you and yours. K.I.D.S. has quite a few projects on the go this year. One of these projects, that we are pleased to tell you about, is a floating middle school. Last year Lion's Club Norway contacted us and asked us to partner with them to build one of the few if any floating middle schools out on the Tonle Sap Lake.
As some of you may remember K.I.D.S. built a floating primary school on the lake 8 years ago, thanks to a very generous donation. Life on the lake is extremely difficult and it is hard for children to get an education.
When we visited a primary school on the lake many years ago we could not believe how the little, overcrowded school was literally sinking under our feet.
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The villagers were happy to have a well built and safe primary school for their community. Since building the school more and more children have been able to get an education, however, after grade six, there is nowhere else that they can go to further their learning.
Lion's Club Norway generously offered to donate through K.I.D.S. to build a middle school and we are pleased to be able to manage the construction of the school. Thanks to our partner Compassionate Eye Foundation we will also be installing one of the lakes first clean drinking water systems at the school. Children and families on the lake have little to no access to clean drinking water and suffer from illnesses due to drinking polluted lake water.
We have started the project, the builders are now building the steel barges that will support the school, at the port near Siem Reap (where we live) and once the school is built we will have it towed to the village. Needless to say, the students, families and teachers are excited to have a higher level of education in their community.
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The five teachers, who live in one room on the elementary school year-round, work very hard to educate the students.
They too live difficult lives and sacrifice comfort and privacy to better the future of the children in these villages. K.I.D.S. plans to improve their living conditions at the elementary school. We will keep you posted.
With gratitude and best wishes,
Adrianne and Rick