Schools in the slums

When teaching in a private school in Phnom Penh, it is easy to feel disconnected from the people who live a very difficult life in much of this city. Last week I had the opportunity to visit and volunteer in slum schools and see first hand the work being done by Empowering Youth in Cambodia. It’s an NGO (non-government organization) we learned about from  a yoga instructor we have been working with for the last several months.  She manages this organization.

Our group for the day consisted of me and 2 other teachers from the Canadian International School of Phnom Penh, who also happened to be my colleagues at a school in Rocky Mountain House for a couple of decades. We all met at the NGO office to see a presentation on what this group does for the 800 youth and their 5 communities, before climbing into a tuk tuk and heading off to the Youth School.

Synoeun’s Story

Our guide was Synoeun, a well-spoken Cambodian woman.  She told us her story about having to leave school at 16 to help provide for her family after her father got sick.  She joined her mother in the garment factory with dreams of learning the skills she would need to become a tailor and work for herself.  It didn’t take her long to realize that she was only learning to do one part of the clothing construction required in piece work.

She began attending English School with EYC in the evenings as a way to improve her opportunities in life.  An American woman hired her part time as a housekeeper so she could finish her schooling.  After completing high school, and a year studying in the United States, Synoeun began working with the group who supported her goal of a good education.

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Youth School Community

The tuk tuk dropped us off at the edge of the first community so we could walk the rest of the way to the school.  It is respectful to let the people get to see you as you come up the street  and not  surprise them.  Synoeun is well known and respected by the people living near the school.  I felt completely safe.

The community itself was built in an old lake bed that had been drained for development.  While waiting for construction, people began to build small tin buildings in this space.  They appeared to be a tight community.  People were all outside and working and talking together.  Many people gathered in front of the very small homes.  Groups of people were playing cards, or doing needlepoint.  Large ornate-framed landscapes seemed out of place tacked up on the front of tin walls.

The challenge faced by this tight-knit group is the fact that the city plans to build a new road right through the middle of their homes to better serve the new developments erupting all around them.  Strip malls with grass boulevards, office buildings and rows of condos surround this area. The paperwork that the residents hold for their right to live there may or may not provide for compensation when they have to leave.   The Phnom Penh city government has not provided another place for these people to go.

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Youth School

The children we met in the Youth School did not seem deterred by the issues facing their families.  Local Cambodian children only attend regular school for half the day, 6 days a week.  They spend a couple hours per day at Youth School learning English and computers. The language is taught with a workbook series.  There were about 8 computers available for them to learn word processing and typing skills.  We met an American who volunteers every afternoon to help the children with pronunciation.

Volunteer Teaching

Part 1

We Canadian teachers had an hour to work with 2 classes. I started with the class of sixteen older students who were 12-16.  They looked small for their age.  Their classroom had tall tables and a long bench for several students to sit side by side.  The world map was prominent on one wall.

We introduced ourselves.  I showed them where I lived in Canada and they shared their name and why they came to school.  They wanted to learn English.  They wanted to be teachers or work in tourism.  I felt very welcomed by the teacher and the students.

I had brought a cup, some water and some paperclips.  We filled the cup to the very top, then I gave each student a paper clip and asked them to predict how many clips would fit in the cup before it overflowed.  This activity is from the grade 5 chemistry unit I have been teaching at school.  As I handed out the second, third and finally fourth round of clips, their excitement started bubbling over, even though the water didn’t.  Over 60 paperclips fit in the cupful of water.  The surface tension principle worked in Cambodia too.

After I had their attention, we played a math card game where they had to race their partner in identifying a number’s “double”. The giggles and shouted answers sounded just like kids anywhere.

I did the same activities with the younger group.  There were about 20 children, aged 6-12 in the other room.  The response was the same.  Kids love to learn, and they love to play.  Their smiling faces and enthusiasm were clearly evident.

Part 2

My partners sang “Goin’ on a Bearhunt” as a call and response song and acted out the story.  The older children didn’t have any issues about singing and having fun.  They also played a number fact game where they raced to cover the correct answer before their partner could.

We chatted with the teachers as the children changed classes.  All were local Cambodians who work very hard for limited pay with limited resources.  They want to help these kids have a better life.  The school had clean water and a safe learning environment.  It also provided some opportunities in music and sport as well as some dental care, health care and birth control information for families.  The community is accepting the economic advantage.  Less children mean that mom can work more, and there will be less children to look after.

As we left in the tuk tuk, there were lots of smiles and waves from the children.  I felt so lucky to have been able to spend time with them.

Lakeside School

We made one more stop on our way back to the EYC office.  After driving through more brand new construction, past sky scrapers and coffee shops, we arrived at Lakeside School.  It is in a community that is right up against a new development.  The little tin buildings look up at a cement tower and concrete wall.  The companies with money want their development to continue right through where these people live.  Compensation is not guaranteed as paperwork is  vague or has disappeared. Even though these people live along a once active railroad track, it is theirs, and they want to keep it.

The Lakeside School had a classroom upstairs and the computer room downstairs.  It also included a couple of small rooms that students who live in the countryside can rent or use when attending school. The classroom ceiling was covering in little origami birds and animals.  The alphabet was posted on the front wall.  It really did look like a classroom anywhere, even through the front of the building did not remind me of any school I ever worked in.

The pathways through the buildings were narrow with little drainage.  One man had a small container of cement and was trying to fix a hole in the corner of his home to be ready for the next rain.  As we walked through this neighborhood, we felt safe knowing that EYC and its representative, Synoeun, were well respected by the people here for the work that they do.

Impact School

We had a chance to see some other projects that EYC had organized when we attended an art show in February.  A volunteer from Israel was visiting for a few weeks and taught the children in EYC schools. There were many very creative projects on display and we were greeted by many of the artists themselves.  A music component was also part of this program. A group of older students sang a couple of the songs that they had written for the occasion.

The parents were not in attendance, but the children were so attentive to the music and all the thank-you’s to the volunteers.  Again, I felt so lucky to be part of this occasion and learn more about the people trying to live their lives and raise their children in a city of the very poor and the very rich.

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What’s next?

It was a sobering afternoon in the slums, but also a hopeful one.  I have been so blessed in my life and today reminded me to be grateful for that.  It also reminded me to keep in mind what my role as a citizen of the world might be.  Sharing these stories is where I plan to start.

If you would like to learn more about Empowering Youth in Cambodia or would like to offer support to a group that I believe is doing great work here, check out their website. eycambodia.org  I do not receive anything in return from them, except maybe a thank you for sharing.  Some teachers from our school are planning to meet with their teachers later in May to share some teaching strategies and resources that may be helpful to them.