Category: News

 Building a New School

We are really excited about our new project – building our own MHC school!  A recent meeting with the parents confirmed they are happy with the idea and want to be involved in the construction of the new school.

The design will be Khmer style with bamboo walls and thatch roof which will be sourced from the local community.  The school will measure approximately 5m x 14m, divided in the middle which will give us two classrooms, and have a concrete floor.  Each classroom will have room for 35 students.  Library facilities and storage for school supplies will be included in the plans.

New School Project For MHC

Start date of the project is set for March 2016, subject to funds being available.  Stage 1 will involve filling the land (approx. 27m x 15m) which will eliminate flooding during the wet season.  The new school will be located close to MHC Home Stay accommodation for Volunteers which will be more convenient and has the added benefit of being able to connect to electricity.

A Block of Land for Filling Soil 

While exact figures for building and land fill are not totally available, projected cost is US$1200 all up.  As mentioned above, the students’ parents and other village locals will be involved and supply labour and materials where they can.  Involving the community in this new venture will increase their interest in education for their children.  The school will also be a meeting point for the community when the need arises.

How can you be involved in our project?  By breaking the costs into small packages, it gives you the chance to be part of the build and provide necessary materials.  For instance, 17 poles cost US$110.  You can offer to buy whatever you like from our materials list or make a donation:

Posts, Timber, Bricks, Mortar; Cement; Small Stones, Roof capping, Soil for filling; Heavy Equipment hire, Electricity connection.

With the support from our past volunteers, friends and family, providing an independent school offering free education for the disadvantage children in the countryside, will become reality  and prove that dreams can come true.

For further information or any queries, please check www.motherhomecambodia.org    Donation information can be found there.  Or contact Kosorl on Facebook: Oun Kosorl Angkor.

 Email: kosorl@motherhomecambodia.org  (Cambodia)

If you are resident in Australia contact Ms.  Gail Black:  Email: gail@motherhomecambodia.org

  Thank you for caring and making a difference.

Children’s Party – International New Year

1 January was Mother Home Cambodia’s New Year’s party for its students.  The celebration took place in the grounds of the school at Tatoukandal community, decorated with hundreds of baloons.  Students, teachers and friends joined in the games and enjoyed traditional noodle soup lunch, along with soft drinks, shaved ice cones and very loud music.  Prizes and goodies were part of the fun day which finished around 5pm.  Kosorl did a great job keeping the children busy with various games, handing out the prizes and making sure everything went smoothly.  He was assisted by teacher Vey and Mr Chhorvy who runs MHC II School further up the highway.  Plans are being made to hold a Games Day to celebrate Khmer New Year which will take place in April.  If you are in Siem Reap during that time, please contact us and help us celebrate out in the countryside.

Children’s Party – International New Year (01-Jan-2016)

Sep 2015 – Environment Picnic Day

Our Environment Day started with a bike ride towards teacher Vey’s community.  Kosorl, teacher Vey and the students had fun riding along the dusty road which took them to an area where many trees grow.  Here Kosorl explained to the kids the importance of saving the trees, the effects of climate change caused by cutting down the trees and what can be done to protect the environment.  The children understood the lesson and promised to look after their land and to spread the message to their parents and older people in the village.  After a picnic lunch out in the natural countryside, small trees were planted by everyone to make the area more beautiful and to replace some of the trees which had been cut down.   This is an important lesson for the children to learn and will be an ongoing project for the future.

Off to plant baby trees

Why not volunteer during Green Season?

The wet season changes the face of the countryside from dry and dusty to green and lush.  It’s a wonderful time to be in the village, surrounded by rice paddies, watching the community helping each other get their crops planted.  Or maybe even giving them a hand to plant the rice.  Best time to experience this – August through November.  It normally doesn’t rain all day and the last two years have been relatively dry seasons.  When Tonle Sap is full it’s the best time to visit the Floating Villages for a totally different experience.  See how the people live in their stilt houses.  Mother Home Cambodia looks forward to welcoming you as a volunteer or, if time doesn’t permit, visit us on a day tour.  Please contact us or see the Volunteer’s application form.

Kids Enjoying the green Season

Meeting with Parents – Jan 2016

Kosorl met with students’ parents to let them know about MHC’s latest project.  While classes are currently held in the Government School, a new classroom building is planned.  This will be built on land donated by Kosorl’s parents.  It will be a simple structure, made of bamboo and thatch.  Parents were asked to be involved by supplying the bamboo and palm leaf and to assist with the construction.  It is hoped the project will start by mid-year, after the land has been filled.  Parents though the project was a good idea and are happy to be part of the new adventure.  If you would like to be part of building the new school, providing much needed funds by sponsoring a wall, floor, or any part of the building, contact us by Facebook: Mother Home Cambodia Organization.  More information will be available once plans have been drawn and an estimate of cost has been done.  Sample of how the school will look is shown here.

Parents Meeting 2016

Let’s learn the alphabet

A news article about Mother Home Cambodia and interview with Manager of Education, Chhorvy,  recently appeared in both the Thai News and Russian News.  To read the report, written by a Russian journalist, please go to http://newsthai.land/moya-mama-kambodzha/

You might want to click on “Translate”

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Happy Students

Classroom

There was great excitement this week when English classes started at Tatoukanda Primary School. Mother Home Cambodia distributed Let’s Go students’ books to 70 children who will attend between 2pm – 4pm, Monday to Friday.   In charge of the classes are two local teachers, Mr Vey and Mr Vanna, who live close to the village.

Director Kosorl met with the students and emphasised the importance of attending classes regularly, studying hard and practicing their English whenever they can. For the first month, classes will concentrate on learning the alphabet, reading, writing and speaking the letters, so that all students are fully prepared to move on to the next lessons.

Kosorl and volunteer, Gail, enjoyed assisting the teachers with the first class and were delighted to see some of the students already have a good knowledge of the English alphabet.

Director Kosorl and Manager of Education, Chhorvy, met with parents of students attending Tatoukanda Primary School yesterday. As a result of the meeting, 65 students enrolled for English classes which will commence 9 February.

Smiling parents join meeting

On its wish list, MHC hopes to purchase electronic equipment (such as a DVD player) which will enable classes to enjoy educational audio & visual English lessons. Two young men from the village have volunteered their services as teachers and, hopefully, in the near future, MHC will find sponsors for a small salary for the teachers.

Parents, students and Mother Home Cambodia are excited about the opportunities that this new class offers for a brighter future for the countryside children.  It is Mother Home Cambodia’s goal to provide equal opportunities for all children, believing children living in rural areas deserve the same educational opportunities as city children.

Tatoukanda Village, Chansor Commune, Sout Nikum District, Cambodia.

Warm Welcome

This month Mother Home Cambodia staff teamed up with visitors from Australia and the UK to visit Tatoukanda Primary School which is 30 kms from Siem Reap. Getting there by tuk tuk involves travelling south on very busy Highway 6 for part of the journey, then heading off the highway onto a very bumpy, dusty country road for several kilometres. This is all part of the fun of supporting Mother Home’s Countryside program.

The children and teachers were gathered at the entrance to the school, holding signs, to greet the tuk tuks. Everyone enjoyed the excitement of the occasion as the school rarely has any visitors. Peter, from England, kindly donated books, pens & pencils for more than 100 students. These were distributed during the morning and were gratefully received by the students as most families struggle to buy new materials for school.

Students, Teachers & Visitors

Tatoukanda Primary School is one of Mother Home’s Countryside programs, offering English classes for the children. Director of Mother Home Cambodia, Mr Kosorl, spent time talking with the students, discussing the importance of education and the advantages of learning English. Questions and answers took place between the students and the visitors with the help of a translator. A popular question from the students was why the visitors want to help their school and the people in their community.

School Veggie Patch

A vegetable garden has been created at the school which the children look after and share the crop. Now that the rice has been harvested, market gardens are being planted and tended by the farmers. This is a beautiful rural area and a trip to the countryside is well worth a visit. The day ended with lunch at a local family’s house. Thank you Tatoukanda for making everyone so welcome.

What a smile