April 2013

CWEF works with local teacher advocates each year to put together a curriculum for the REACH program to implement in schools. The teachers themselves use this retreat time to debrief, share and uplift each other as well as prepare for the new year. Here is an excerpt of things they shared as feedback from their students:

• Teamwork: ‘Before I thought group members caring for each other and helping each other was something that happened only on TV and not in real life. Now, I am so lucky to be a part of a team.  I know that working as a team is very powerful; everyone has a good heart, and we can work together to solve our problems and create a miracle.’
• Emotions Management: ‘Everyone will have time to be sad and down and we have to develop a good way to manage our feelings.  We have to think ‘calm down. Why do I have this unhappy emotion? Why am I stressed? How can I solve this problem? Then, we can be more effective to adjust our emotion and keep a positive attitude to face our life.’
• Communication: ‘Now I know how to make friends with others. I know how to better understand what others say. For example, during communication you should listen carefully to understand others meaning well, but we also need to make sure we totally understand—we should not just hear the words they say you should LISTEN to what they say and understand the purpose.’
• Self-Image: ‘Image can be inside and outside. We can learn and educate ourselves. Our image being good or bad should not depend on others opinions or how I feel sometimes. Now we know how we can know more about ourselves and what is a good or bad self-image so that we keep the good things in mind, and improve the bad things so they become better and better.’

For more information catch our article on REACH teachers in the coming spring newsletter.

On March 24, 2013, students from Hong Kong’s Concordia International School (“CIS”) arrived at the Phnom Penh International Airport with excitement and enthusiasm for their first service trip to Cambodia. CIS worked at the Kranglovear Primary School in Kampong Chhnang province for three days. The team consisted of 14 students and 1 teacher and they were tasked with three different projects. The students conducted an English camp, painted a mural, and provided training and awareness on personal hygiene with a focus on hand washing, clean water and teeth brushing.

The English team presented lessons in English conversation along with songs and games to help the students learn quickly. The A-B-C song excited the students and they enjoyed singing the song as they learned English.

The hygiene team worked hard to introduce and raise awareness on personal hygiene which was not an easy thing for the young children to understand. As understood from our baseline survey, more than half of the Grade 1 students did not brush their teeth or wash their hands daily. The children were excited to learn and practice washing their hands and brushing their teeth. We hope the 3-day health education will encourage the students to pay attention to their personal hygiene in the future.

Last but not least, with continuous support from the CIS teacher and CWEF staff despite the burning heat, the painting team was able to finish one wall located at the entrance gate of the school. The finished mural read “once the world is without war, there will be nothing but peace, love, joy and hope for all mankind.”

One of the CIS students asked a member of the CWEF staff if their service at the primary school for three days would have a sustainable impact on the school. Although it is difficult to assess the full impact of the team’s service, the CIS students can be sure that their presence made a difference of these young Cambodian students. For example, three water filters were distributed to the school during the trip, which will provide clean water for the students and teachers there for the next five years. The headmaster said: “CIS students were the first team coming to do this kind of work in our school and what they have done has become part of the change in our school.”