Paving the way to a brighter future

2 years ago we started to work with Chea Smonn secondary school in rural Siem Reap including teacher Kim Song who has been one of our strongest supporters. We have achieved a lot in building a new class room, establishing a library, sponsoring students and introducing programs such as I Love My School.

It is always easy to look at tangible achievements but what we are equally proud of is the friendship and how for example teacher Kim Song have grown as individuals and professionals!

During our last trip we observed the students making concrete tiles and of course we asked, “What are these for?”. The students, led by teacher Kim Song proudly exclaimed that they are going to rebuilt the school ground, tiling what was previously only dirt ground. 

It is absolutely amazing to see the change in mindset over 2 years! All the discussions we had about taking initiative, needs based planning all the way to drawing up project budgets start to fall into place! We are chuffed to see teachers like Kim Song discovering his leadership potential as a teacher, inspiring students to take initiative and pride in their school. All it needs is a bit of support for material.

The end of a year is always time to reflect and I am very happy to see what we have achieved.

Our goal to stop student dropout sounds simplistic but the change we instigate runs much deeper!

We help teachers and students to grow as responsible individuals and to take accountability. We can only be the catalyst for change but the true champions are people like teacher Kim Song!