Sunday, September 13, 2020

Back to School

 Dear Friends,

We hope you and yours are doing well. This week in BC, as in Cambodia, kids went back to school. For so many children who live in poverty, school is a safe haven, where instead of playing in the dirt or having to work in brick factories or in farm fields, or by fishing, to help their parents earn money, they can go to a place where they can learn, play and change their futures - and, in turn, the futures of their children. Thanks to K.I.D.S. donors, we continue to assist these young people to get an education and to improve their lives. 

In rural villages many people lack electricity and running water. Many large families live in small one-room houses, often without a bathroom, and have to cook outside.
Recently we reopened the ECE Centre funded by K.I.D.S, which provides a full-time preschool/kindergarten for 50 to 60 children at the Stung Treng Women's Development Weaving Centre. The children attend school from 7:00 am until 5:00 pm. For parents having their children be able to attend kindergarten is both a relief and a gift. The program offers a standard pre-school curriculum, as well as instruction in hygiene and nutrition, crafts and songs, creative free time and storytelling.
Children receive two healthy meals a day and have access to showers, toothbrushes and toothpaste. Some of the children's mothers work on site at the weaving centre. Other village children can attend the school if their families are struggling with poverty. The healthcare for the children and their families is provided free at the in-house clinic at the Centre. We cannot tell you how happy the kids and families are to have their kids in school.
Over 100 K.I.D.S. children who study English are currently back studying in extracurricular classes, now that the COVID school restrictions have been lifted.
Occasionally we have to update you on the girl named Sopeak! She took full advantage of the generous support of K.I.D.S. donors and pulled herself up from being a dirt poor and hearing-impaired village girl to graduate from both elementary and high schools, then university, eventually becoming a teacher in the same elementary school that she had attended as a child in her village. In the ten years that we have known her, she has pedaled her one-speed bike back and forth thousands of kilometers in the dusty hot season and rainy, muddy wet season. Having excelled in English, she graduated at the top of her class in university.

The determination and focus she put into her education are now being applied to her classroom, where she makes sure that the children have masks, remember to social distance, and wash and sanitize their hands in her classroom. She is also working at refinishing the school desktops, as you can see in the photo, so the desks are easier to sanitize and keep clean.


 We hope that all students both here and in Cambodia have a successful and safe school year and everyone's live return to more normal levels.

Thanks for your support and changing lives for the better!!
Until next time,

Adrianne and Rick