Cambodia - Day Two

The Courtyard of Bospo Primary School

I write this post with a heavy heart, because I've learned that the organization where I'm teaching, KNGO Cambodia, which helps almost 450 children with English, computer skills, and vocational lessons, will close unless they receive funding.

Yesterday was my first 'true' day of teaching. After observing the children on Day One and realizing how much they are capable of that even their regular teacher does not realize, I was eager to begin implementing my own lessons. Children in this country learn by recitation, by memorization, and formula. There's nothing wrong with that, especially when learning a foreign language, but it doesn't engage one's creativity. The first two sections of my classes, the Level 1 learners, read their first book in English yesterday. I read it to them; we read it together out loud as I traced the words; we talked about vocabulary, with me miming meaning to them--it was exhilarating when they understood and shouted out the definition in Khmer--and we read together in translation.

The children were incredibly excited to even see a book, let alone think about reading one in English. They loved the pictures and the repetition, along with the building of meaning, allowed them to grasp the whole of the book and the individual sentences with which they had trouble. Today we will be working on making our own books. But my mind is racing with dread. I have pledged to help however I can, including advising KNGO to set up a crowdfunding campaign, and using my language skills to proofread, search for, and write grant proposals. But I'm not a grantwriter and I know that these things are difficult even for native speakers. No one has any training.

The leader of the organization, Mr Sun Saveth, who has been an excellent host to me, also sent out an email to all current and former volunteers, citing what he needed to continue running KNGO. Another suggestion that will hopefully reach many. I'm not sure how many children that I have been teaching will be turned away as the school makes sad and necessary cuts to its funding. I can't describe to you where children in this wonderful country can end up when the situation is dire for them; you've seen where children in our very safe first-world countries can end up...

I'm thinking about what I can do, and there are no clear answers. I'm only one person and I don't matter so much. But the school will be closing shortly if I can't help by coming up with some answers, so it's time for me to make some decisions.

Please, if you can help, here is the link to the campaign. It's not for me; it's for them. I will be fine no matter what...but they will not.