Charity Cambodia

Thursday morning The Goodwill School had an appointment at a ear doctor, who is coming approximately every third month. They have a temporary station by an organization called M'Lop Tapang. This organization works with street children and you can read more about their work on the homepage.

As the rainy season has getting more noticeable it was raining heavy when I was about to leave for The Goodwill School in the morning. Luckily I live across from a supermarket and was able to run over and buy a raincoat. Taking the bicycle was out of the question and instead I took a motorbike taxi.

Finally at the school we took a tuk tuk to M'Lop Tapang. In the tuk tuk we were 13 persons, probably the record for me so far. Since many were children it was actually not so bad.

It is not only the children at The Goodwill School who are welcome but also the families living in the surrounding area. As you can see on the pictures there was a wide range of ages joining the visit.

This morning I went to The Goodwill School planning to take photos of the Khmer boxing class. The instructor, Pov, has been quite busy lately and therefore I made sure he was able to come this day. What I though missed was that he had promised the children in the class (10 children joined) to take them to the Independence beach. Therefore the attached pictures are from a short beach trip instead of from Khmer boxing as I planned. These kind of misunderstandings happen from time to time due to the language and I have also already learned not to take any plans for granted. Although, the beach trip was very nice and much appreciated by the children and photos from Khmer boxing will come another time.

After our daily meeting today I went for a walk in the area surrounding the Goodwill School with one of our teachers, Nain. I was invited in several homes and it was very interesting to see how they are living in a poor area such as this. The language barrier was of course big but Nain made it work by translating and I am glad she was along helping me. Since it was lunchtime they also invited me for a meal but I politely had to decline the nice offers since I wasn't willing to test how my stomach would react. The hygiene in this area is most probably a bit lower than what my stomach is used to.

I hope the attached pictures give you an idea what this area looks like and a view over the standard of the houses. The area doesn't have any running water but instead they all are collecting water from the well you find on one picture. By this well some of them are also taking their showers.

Last week The Goodwill School received a bag full with stuff left by the guests at the backpackers place Monkey Republic here in Sihaoukville. It contained some hygiene products but mainly female clothes. Today we sorted everything out and the older children could pick a few things that suited them. However, when 12 years old Khmer children are trying clothes left by several years older backpackers everything might not fit perfectly =) But everyone looking today found something they liked and as you can see were they really happy to get some new clothes.

A big thank you to Monkey Republic as well as everyone who left/forgot their stuff!

Hey,

Another week is passing by and I can feel that I have adjusted well to my new routines. As mentioned, I have switched my routines this week since I am covering a bit for Sabine at The Goodwill School meaning I am there in the morning instead of the afternoon. Must say this suits me quite well actually and keeps the rest of the day more open. Should continue like this even when Sabine is back!

I am enjoying the daily meetings and it is interesting to take part in what happens at the school regularly. The number of children are shifting and this week it has been between 27 and 47 children at the same time.

There are a few children who has problems with reading and writing Khmer and therefore some extra focus is set on them to help them improve their skills. Unfortunately do the children sometimes need to help so much at home that they don't go to public school and therefore have this kind of problem. It is an important issue for The Goodwill School to identify these children and try help them. First to help them and the parents to understand how important the public school really is and then to help the children to catch up what they have missed.

Regarding the Khmer language am I not satisfied with myself. I must getting started to learn the language much better.

Apart from the school, the week has been quiet. A few friends and I were up at the local brewery, Angkor, Wednesday afternoon and had a look. There are a few pictures from there below along with some pictures of Sihanoukville as well as some from The Goodwill School.

Have a nice weekend everyone, I will do my best to have the same here!

The School started in 2004 for children in the area surrounding the school and is mainly funded by the English organization Help the Cambodian Children. Today everyone is welcome and approximately 110 children are attending the school altogether. Even if the name of the place is school I think day center might be a more correct description even if there are several classes as well. The center is a compliment to the public school where all children should be attending as well. When the children have public school in the morning they are welcome to the center in the afternoon and the other way around.

Responsible for the daily operation at The Goodwill School is Sabine from Germany. She has the overall responsibility for the activities, securing the quality of the education as well as making sure the available funds are used in the best possible way. Then there are also three Cambodian teachers working daytime leading activities such as painting, dancing classes, computer classes, health information, support with homework from public school etc. Most of the children have no possibility to do similar things at home since there is shortage of items to use as well as lack of support from the parents for such activities. These are some pictures from a regular day at the center taken Monday May 2^nd:

In the evening two English classes of different levels are held by a Cambodian English teacher, which are free for the children to attend. Saturday morning a teenager is class held which aim to help the participants to learn about their work situation, how they can plan their future etc.

Beyond the activities at the center children are supported with school uniforms for the public school, notebooks, pens and medical care along with similar needs. On special occasions, for example on Khmer New Year (where the pictures below are taken), the center makes a celebration for the children.

I hope this gives you an idea of the concept of The Goodwill School and how the center is supporting the community surrounding it.

Today I am invited to a wedding here and have already been to the morning ceremony, which started at 07.00 AM. In my opinion perhaps not the best time (you know I like to sleep in the morning) but tonight there will be a party and I am really looking forward to a good evening!