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ADOPT-A-VILLAGE PROGRAMS:
VIET NAM | BURMA/MYANMAR | CAMBODIA | THAILAND
CAMBODIA
SIEM REAP/TONLE SAP LAKE
Ton Le Sap Lake adjoins the Mekong River and
is located in central Cambodia near Angkor Wat. Ton Le
Sap swells from 3,000 sq km to over 7,500 sq km in size
and can go from 2.2 meters to over 10 meters deep. Families
in the local area live on and around the lake. When the
lake floods, people cannot stay in their houses nor can
they grow enough food for subsistence. A farmer with a
typical small plot of land can grow only enough food to
feed a family for about 3 months of the year; the family
must purchase the rest of their food. Currently, only
35% of the population can read and write and 50% is under
age 17.
| Siem Reap/Angkor Wat:
Orphanages and Schools: Educational sponsorships and
volunteer opportunities
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Near the luxury hotels and fantastic monuments of the Angkor Wat World Heritage
Site, many local families endure a subsistence
level existence. Because education and medical
services are so costly, many children cannot go
to school or get proper medical treatment. Parents
unable to care for children suffering from HIV/AIDS,
epilepsy and other maladies leave them at the
doorsteps of orphanages with the hope that the
child will have a future. Other children are left
entirely on their own to survive.
GCSF cooperates with orphanages and schools run
by local charities who serve this forgotten segment
of the populace. Sick or disabled children are
able to board in some of these institutions which
also provide schooling and meals to hundreds of
disadvantaged children during the day.
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Near Siem
Reap, a mother and her
small children live in a tiny 8' by 12' shack.
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These children need your financial
support. For as little as $250 a year you can
ensure a child has enough food to eat. Please
help these struggling schools and Orphanages serve
these children.
One can also volunteer to help out at an orphanage
or school by teaching conversational English,
art or music, playing with the children, washing
clothes, cooking meals or doing any kind of chore
that will help these organizations to better serve
the children. |
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Tonle Sap Lake Chong Kneas Floating School:
classroom, school bus, library and playground
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To break the cycle of poverty, education
is critical but expensive and often is not readily accessible;
therefore education is unattainable for many. The only
school on the lake floats around based on the water
level. Many children do not have the means to get to
school because they do not have access to a boat. Since
the school is similar in style to railroad cars that
are linked together, when they do get to school, they
must jump up onto the classroom platform from their
small boats. To move between classrooms, they must leap
over open water to span the gap between the platforms.
The nature of the school means that it is less than
safe, and in need of constant repair and expansion.
An additional classroom and a floating school bus will
mean that more children will be able to attend school
safely.
Students
leap on to the floating school from their boat
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The damaged Chong Kneas School
on Tonle Sap Lake
In addition, there is no access to educational
materials such as books, videos and maps. Fulfilling
the request for a free-floating, climate-controlled
library that is outfitted with electricity and can travel
to the various classrooms and community centers around
the lake will enhance the quality of life for both students
and their families.
Further, the parents have stressed the
need for a safe place for their children to play. A
floating playground will serve this purpose.
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Chong Kneas Floating School: Educational
sponsorships
School is not free to the students in
Cambodia. They pay registration and monthly fees. They
must provide their own books, uniforms and meal. To
sponsor a child for a year costs about $120, an amount
which is far above the means of most parents who live
on the lake.
Teachers usually need to travel about
20 miles from Siem Reap to Tonle Sap Lake, and their
salaries are extremely low. Incentives are critical
to ensure that the school retains committed teachers.
GCSF is working with the community to develop an incentive
package to supplement a teacher's basic salary. Depending
upon the need and skills of the teacher, the package
would include transportation expenses, hot meals, tutoring
assignments, special after school programs, and advanced
teacher training.
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A teacher with one of her students
in Chong Kneas floating school |
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HIV/AIDS information, education and counseling
(IEC)
Presently, Cambodia has the most severe HIV/AIDS
epidemic in Asia, more than 3% of the entire population of
12 million. Although the government has recognized the problem
and has taken action, they do not have sufficient capacity
to effectively deal with the situation. GCSF has been asked
by a private charity in Siem Reap for assistance. GCSF will
implement its information, education and counseling (IEC)
program. This program includes:
- Train-the-trainer programs that would multiply the educational
activities in the area;
- Provision of educational and outreach materials such as
posters, visual aids, videotapes, etc;
- Social services and awareness counseling: For at-risk
groups, information and help on how to deal with HIV/AIDS,
including individual counseling services. For the general
community, basic information and education on living daily
with the HIV/AIDS situation, for example: "Can I get HIV
from shaking someone's hand?" "Is my child at risk if there
is an infected schoolmate?" "Can someone get HIV from kissing?"
- Working towards behavioral changes: how to convince people
who engage in high-risk behavior to change their practices
in order to prevent further transmission of HIV.
Cambodian
children need to be protected against the AIDS epidemic in
their country
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