Anlung Pi School

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I've volunteered for 6 weeks at VDCA school in Siem Reap. This is a very well established school with lots of funding and support from a number of organisations and the school is fortunate to receive a number of volunteers. The school has recently extended creating a partner school in the rural countryside about 1 hours travel by tuk tuk outside Siem Reap in an area called Anlung Pi, an area of remote countryside, where the school has been introduced in the middle of the local village.

The people here are very poor with exceptionally large families, sometimes as many as 12 children. The first thing I noticed was how different they were to the children I have had the pleasure of teaching in Siem Reap. They were considerably smaller, many without shoes and their clothes were really dirty, however like all the children I have worked with in Cambodia had broad welcoming smiles!

The school in Anlung Pi was small but a replica of that in Siem Reap with 3 newly constructed classrooms with strong concrete bases and colourfully painted wooden windows. The classrooms were all connected with gaps at the top so the teachers had to battle with noise from each others lessons! There were only 3 classrooms to cater for a staggering 300 students!



Mr Togh used a microphone to speak to the youngest children in Khmer he gave simple instructions like close your eyes, raise your left hand etc. The pupils stood in straight lines and hung off his every word.



They were then provided with baskets and instructed to collect litter from the surrounding area. A task which all children took really seriously! The significance of this task I learned was for the children to understand that they had to work to be provided with food or money, so once they had collected a sufficient amount of litter they returned to their lines and were rewarded with two minuscule packets of crackers! I was amazed how they all stood patiently and waited their turn, no pushing or shoving and each one thanked me with clasped hands saying 'acun'.



My job for the day was to paint the exterior an interior of the lunchroom a lovely shade of orange!! A worthwhile task as a bright learning environment creates a positive atmosphere and is welcoming for pupils!



School here runs <a>from 8.30-10.30am</a> then a 4 hour gap in the day and again <a>from 2.30-4.30pm</a>. There is little air circulation in the countryside and it can get stiflingly hot. The school is not as developed as Siem Reap and does not have electricity for fans! Sweltering would be a good word to describe how I felt!

Togh took us for a walk into the rural countryside to show us where the village locals lived and came from! All around were beautiful green rice fields and many of the homes had cows and chickens.



Togh took us to his family home to meet his mother. She lived in quite a big well developed house made out of bamboo sticks with quite thick poles for foundation! On the ground lay a sheet of newly picked rice laid out to dry! There was an outhouse with a big pig and in a separate one enclosed by bamboo sticks 3 piglets! Running around were chickens followed by chicks. All of the animals were for eating and selling! Two of the dogs had just bore a litter of puppies, I asked would these be sold and was told they would be kept!! Why on earth does anyone need twenty dogs?!? Lol!!! There were three children playing with a empty beer can tied to a stick, amazing what can be made into a toy!



We were led through another house where a number of children followed us, from behind I felt a little girl grab my hand, and instantly the little boy hold my other hand and they walked with us towards to dump where waste from the city is deposited! They could speak no English but were happy to join us. These children had no shoes and walked in the mud, through dirty ground and grass alongside us. They were laughing, giggling and joking with each other! The two little boys walked arm in arm.



The dump was horrifying, it took up so much of the land and I am told depending on what direction the wind blows the smell can be disgusting and spreads across the local area as far as school! It was saddening to see women wading through the rubbish, voluntarily looking for food, and anything of worth like plastic or glass which they can sell! It really highlighted how desperate people from rural areas are, many children do not go to school and instead help collect rubbish to provide for their families. What a sobering thought! The children we were with were walking through dirty areas of rubbish in their bare feet, and hammocks were hung off trees for people working in the area to rest from the hot sun! I can't imagine what a day in their shoes must be like.



Upon return to school, the female teachers were busying themselves preparing lunch (while the men relaxed... Some things will never change!)

Water came from a well and we had to wait to help prepare lunch as a women from the local community was bathing as we approached, she was sitting by the well covered in soap!

Beside it, was a small outhouse which was the kitchen! It was not protected from flies and they swarmed everywhere! Despite having little the Cambodian people have always really looked after me on day trips and we received a feast of plain rice, a onion and garlic omelette and fish soup! Really tasty!! After lunch I enjoyed some relaxation time with the two female teachers Savoi and Srielem playing UNO.

After proudly completing my labour of painting the lunchroom, I assisted in the last few lessons of the day!! Class sizes were very big, and many children had only been learning English for as little as 5 months! We covered the basics of 'hello how are you?' I was particularly impressed with Srielem's teaching capabilities, at only 18 she was the best Khmer teacher I had seen, demonstrating the ability to teach a lesson which offered good pace, different activities and a clear focus!! She did really well!! She works such a long day <a>from 8.30-4.30</a> at school then heads off to study herself at University <a>from 6.00-9.15pm</a>. We saw her completing her homework while on the back of a moto!



I feel really glad I had the opportunity to visit this school! Again, believe it or not it is one of the lucky ones which is supported and receives funding! Many rural schools do not, and a lot don't even have basic sanitation like wells, toilets or provision of mosquito nets let alone the ability to offer education!

The constant focus for these children is developing their future.... What that future will be I do not know! The more provision they can get from projects such as this to learn English the greater a chance they have of earning money to support their families!

When asked many children have the ambition to be a teacher, some even doctors which is fantastic. In the future I would like to set up a charity within whatever school I find myself working in to support children in Cambodia to have a better education! They deserve it, they have nothing and still manage to make me smile. I don't see how anyone could come and experience the 6 weeks I have and just turn and walk away and forget it!

In England, you give pupils an inch they take a mile! In Cambodia you give pupils a little bit of love and enthusiasm and by the end of one lesson they are high fiving you and smiling broadly as they walk out the door! How great is that?

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