First, when I say our school; literally it is ours maybe people might think I am referring just to a school our kids attend but it's our's if that help in understanding why we ask for funds for the school.
You might know of the 39 children at the orphanage 30 of the now attend our school. You may not know that some of the classes are held at the center (orphanage). Sports, Work and some of the home ec. classes, we've also been picking up on science a little trying to make it cool and understandable.
From the orphanage side I think it's good because like any house it is open to the kid's friends. Since we have the space and the farming it's nice to get the extra help moving dirt. It breaks down barriers and invites the kids to know who we are and what we do. I don't think they consider it an "orphanage" as it's "let's go to your house and play or hang out" I think that's important for our kids. Also our children are quite popular at school which I think might be a bit different as you always here kids get picked on for being different or not having a proper family.
From the school side we don't have the space or facilities yet to provide adequately for every subject so the center provides where the school can't.
It's important for you to know that none of the children have ever had practical application in any of these subjects before. They have science class but didn't do science, they have Home Ec but didn't do Home Ec.
Especially science, they've never done anything except read a book before. The biology teacher brought in a leaf to class and you could hear them talking about that all week, the kids at school see the difference and they like it.
This post I wanted to share these photos of how the center is used by the school, the kids playing soccer in sports, working in the gardens, also learning how to cook different things at the center.
They've made mostly deserts for the moment as that's what their book is teaching on; they've made mochi (rice cake), a custard baked in a pumpkin which was very nice and they made ice cream.
Oh and we cooked the last snake the gardener killed. So that was a first for the kids.
I was thinking you can't do this in a public school.
Mochi
Icecream
Guitar
Water Snake
You gotta give it to Yong he'll try anything and open the door for everyone else to try it.
Tanning the hide
working the new land to extend the soccer field.
Not really science but it's a start to draw the kids in.
So we made slime.
Make some moon sand and then baked them into dino eggs with prizes inside for Christmas discoveries.
cornstarch and water
Hard candy
Table soccer
Khmer version of the high jump
Probably just as important the staff at the orphanage spend a lot of time at school since the house is empty during the day. They volunteer helping where ever mom asks, often it's one on one time with kids who are behind or selling things from the book store. At some point they are likely to move on from the orphanage and work at the school or somewhere else so their help and training is going to take them far in the future. If nothing else we hope they have all the tools to be great moms themselves.
I told my sister the other day I love my school, I care for the kids and want to provide for them as if they were my own and my so do the teachers which I think is awesome. The school is just as much theirs as it is mine. I don't think many employees can say that.
I would like to take the opportunity to say it again and suggest that churches make every effort possible toprovide assistance to college students wanting to be teachers. I really feel this is an area we could make a real difference in our countries future. We need Christian teachers to shift the tide and I feel literally save the world. Obviously God's will be done there but let's go out fighting the good fight.
It's what we are doing.
