There has been a lot of activity at the school and orphanage this period. Since April school enrolments have soared (we had to buy 20 new desks) and at the Savong Orphan Centre (SOC) a new health clinic has been opened, a fish farm has been filled with 500 fish, and a new skills programme fro unemployed local women has begun.

JUNE/JULY 2010 NEWSLETTER - Click this link and allow your computer 30 seconds or so to download.

 

Following examination in January and personal interviews with the families four students have been selected as university scholarship recipients beginning October 2010.

• Ngan Sochun is a student at Savong School. She is 19. Sochun has been a student here for 3 years. She also studies at Government School. She is in Grade 12. Sochun has 6 siblings. Her father works as a farmer and her mother is a housewife. She aspires to be a university trained teacher.
• Preoun Sarat is a student at Savong School. He is 22. He has 3 siblings and he is the oldest child in the family. His father works as a farmer and his mother is a seller. He stopped studying after graduating at Government School 2 years ago. In the future he would like to work in tourism.
• Neng Ty is a student at Savong School. Aged 22 he has 5 siblings and he is the oldest child in the family. His father works as a farmer and his mother is a seller. He has completed high school. In the future he would like to be an English Teacher.

 

 

April 3rd, 2010 - we have the latest newsletter right here as a PDF file. CLICK HERE When you click on it, it will take several seconds to open so be patient - there's a heap of news squeezing its way through the internet to reach your computer!

April 12-14th is Cambodian new year - so we wish everyone a very happy new year.

 

February 10th, 2010 - we have the latest newsletter right here as a PDF file. CLICK HERE When you click on it, it will take a few seconds to open so be patient - there's a heap of news squeezing its way through the internet to reach your computer!

 

Steph Palti has led her family on a second expedition to Cambodia - revisiting the orphanage and school, and connecting once more with the students. Updates and new photos are here on her blogspot.

http://www.steph-cambodia.blogspot.com/

Below - Steph and the children heading to market to buy new clothes. Later the party dined like kings at a local restaurant.

The hard work by everyone in 2008-2009 to develop the orphanage was recognised with the registration of the Savong Orphan Centre as meeting local standards laid down by the Ministry of the Interior. Registration was introduced in part to help eliminate less scrupulous operators from opening orphanages as a front for scooping tourist dollars. 

Two Singapore High Schools visited in November, and both made an big impact - getting the study room completed at the orphanage was a mighty effort.

Chung Cheng High and XinMin School made an enthusiastic contribution, and there were tears when these students left for home.  Below: XinMin students taught dental care and completed the study room, while earlier in the month Chung Cheng High students put in slavish hours, formed a human chain and moved metres of sand, earth and rock to form the foundaton of the study room. A brilliant effort that's made a real difference. The orphan children now have a place to spread out (rain or shine) and do their studies. Savong plans to hire a tutor to provide more one on one teaching and care for these students.

For the full PDF version of the  Nov-Dec Newsletter - click here. (It is 1MB so it may take a few seconds to load.)

Typhoon Ketsana ripped through Vietnam and Cambodia in late September with winds hitting 145 kph and bringing heavy rains, flooding and destruction to large swathes of rice farming. This is an economic catastrophe in the making for many poorer families. The school survived, high and dry and since then construction has resumed on the computer classroom and of the rainwater tank at the orphanage.

For the full PDF version of the  October Newsletter - click here. (It is 1MB so it may take quite a few seconds to load.)

Below - for a while it looked like volleyball was off in favour of swimming at Savong's School.

 

Steph is a 15 year old from Melbourne and she was really keen to get to Cambodia and volunteer teach. With her energetic family coming on the same journey (and loaded with lesson plans, and creative ideas,) this crew has taken the school by storm. Activities have included:

• Creative activities including mural painting, photography and music.
• A fabulous day for the orphans who were taken out to the Angkor temples, then to Tonle Sap lake on a chartered boat. The journey ended in an inpromptu swim and later dinner at a local-style restaurant.
• Read Steph's blog and you'll see how wonderfully everybody connects.http://stephcambodia.blog.com/

Meanwhile the economy continues to deteriorate in Cambodia, with two trends really hurting the educational opportunities for rural children. Inflation has made the cost of living soar, and many more families are below the poverty line this year. An outcome of that is the strategy by many families to take their children out of school and put them into the family business to help earn an income. Understandable perhaps - but many children as young as 7 or 8 are now part of the workforce.

For more September News - click here for the PDF version: SEPTEMBER 2009 SAVONG SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

• Paperwork continues for the licensing. Stamps, ID, forms...! The Ministry of the Interior is widely developing a register of all schools and orphanages which will enable informaiton gathering (and planning) and the capacity to oversee the standards of all organisations. Good move. Among the conditions is that each organisation show it has a credible bank account.
• New motorbike. What's red, quiet, more powerful and great to ride. On August 7th Savong and a group of advisers selected a new (second-hand actually) motorbike for the orphanage.
• Alan Crombie a teacher in a really good international school in Malaysia has visited Savong and is looking to organise a major visit by at least 27 students and 5 adults from his school to Siem Reap. They've raised funds and Alan contributes a lot of educational expertise also.
• August is holiday season for much of the nothern hemisphere, and peak time for tourism to Cambodia - and for volunteers to the school. This month Savong has had a busy, enjoyable time meeting volunteers from Japan, UK, Australia and many other countries.

• Sponsorship was found for one of the orphan boys Seyha - thanks to a kind Singapore family.
• Savong has completed the kitchens at the school and at the orphanage. It's great to have a floor above ground level during the rainy season.
• Paperwork has begun to License to school and orphanage under new Government regulations.
• We have an excellent volunteer from Japan staying at the school.