THe school in a land mine field - 2
The latest from the local mafia is that they told all the teachers to pay them one days salary a week and to take the day off. They said that everyone would benefit. Te teachers would get a day off, the village wuld benefit because the children could do more work and everyone would be happy. You can imagine Ponheary. For such a tiny woman she is a powerhouse of strength. She stood up to them and also used some of her contacts in higher places to sort it out.
The grade 1 teacher had a great swollen black eye yesterday. Her husband is a thug who, when the plf took over the running of the school deamanded to be paid for 'allowing' his wife to work there. He took a girlfriend and when she got pregnant brought the child home for his wife to look after. All this and he beats her up regularly too. It's a great life.
The main reason for going up to the school was to take books for the new library. The children have never had story books, in fact, the new books are probably the only books for thirty miles or more in any direction. The teachers had made some shelves and the new books were placed. Ponheary explained how the system would work to the teachers while the children started to enjoy the books. It was wonderful to see how much they loved them They all chose a quiet corner and settled down to read. The older kids read to the little ones and they were all so happy. Ponheary was ecstatic, Lori cried and we were all deeply moved.
The feast was duly ready and we fed the kids and then we fed them some more, it is a long time until Monday morning. One little girl was picking out the beef; Ponheary told me it was because she could take it home and it would make a broth to feed everybody. They all had a can of soya milk too and many of those were being taken home to share.When school was over we walked with the kids to the village along a path through the minefield. To call it a village is rather a misnomer. It is a pathetic collection of decrepit shacks, many with cardboard walls. There was one half decent house with a Toyota Land Cruiser parked outside. I wonder who lives there?
It is a long way for a school to develop in two years. They now have their medical needs looked after, they have clean water, they are fed, they are getting educated and they have a safe place where they are allowed to children and have some fun.
It was a tired, dirty but very happy crew who made the long journey back to Siem Reap.
The grade 1 teacher had a great swollen black eye yesterday. Her husband is a thug who, when the plf took over the running of the school deamanded to be paid for 'allowing' his wife to work there. He took a girlfriend and when she got pregnant brought the child home for his wife to look after. All this and he beats her up regularly too. It's a great life.
The main reason for going up to the school was to take books for the new library. The children have never had story books, in fact, the new books are probably the only books for thirty miles or more in any direction. The teachers had made some shelves and the new books were placed. Ponheary explained how the system would work to the teachers while the children started to enjoy the books. It was wonderful to see how much they loved them They all chose a quiet corner and settled down to read. The older kids read to the little ones and they were all so happy. Ponheary was ecstatic, Lori cried and we were all deeply moved.
The feast was duly ready and we fed the kids and then we fed them some more, it is a long time until Monday morning. One little girl was picking out the beef; Ponheary told me it was because she could take it home and it would make a broth to feed everybody. They all had a can of soya milk too and many of those were being taken home to share.When school was over we walked with the kids to the village along a path through the minefield. To call it a village is rather a misnomer. It is a pathetic collection of decrepit shacks, many with cardboard walls. There was one half decent house with a Toyota Land Cruiser parked outside. I wonder who lives there?
It is a long way for a school to develop in two years. They now have their medical needs looked after, they have clean water, they are fed, they are getting educated and they have a safe place where they are allowed to children and have some fun.
It was a tired, dirty but very happy crew who made the long journey back to Siem Reap.
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