We hope this will be a great success to promote our SCAO I School even more and get the village and community to pay even more attention the great educational programms that SCAO has to offer.

The post Khmer New Years Party appeared first on Save poor Children in Asia Organization.

S.C.A.O. is very proud to report of another successful project established and completed. Firstly proposed in August 2012 and fulfilled in February 2013, several workshops on human and sex trafficking have taken place at the SCAO II School in the Som Roung community.

In cooperation with the Somaly Mam Foundation, which did presentations for all different kinds of groups and assemblies, a total of eight workshops covered all students- a number of approximately 230. The exception was an ABC Beginner class which age reaches from 6 till 10 years; they are still too young to understand. Every other class visited a workshop for three hours on a Thursday in January or February. Each workshop was suited to the age of the class, so that the kids were able to understand the topic and message lead by Somaly Mam. While kids under 15 years had a listening comprehension and more oral explanations supported by drawings on the board, older students under 18 had board subscriptions and explanations together with a power point presentation by a beamer. This all took place in the second classroom of SCAO II School in Som Roung. The team was put together by three members of Somaly Mam Foundation, having a victim of human trafficking involved who also talked to the classes about her experience and current life. In groups, the pupils had to figure out how to prevent becoming a victim themselves.

The presentations worked out really well with a big number of students attending the workshop and showing a lot of interest and encouragement during the teaching. After this successful run, S.C.A.O. Somaly Mam and the chief of the district agreed on a presentation about domestic violence for the community of the village. On February 28th till 30th adults of the Som Roung community visited the event. Another community event by Somaly Mam also talking about Human Trafficking is planned for after Khmer New Year.

In June, S.C.A.O. is looking forward to welcoming the Somaly Mam Foundation again to educate students at SCAO I School about human and sex trafficking.

The post Workshops on Human and Sex Trafficking appeared first on Save poor Children in Asia Organization.

I was born in Takeo province in the Bati district. This is south of Phnom Penh and around one and a half hour drive away from Phnom Penh. I was born there and lived with my mother. Then when I was seven years old, so 6 years ago, I started to live at SCAO. My mother, Polly, works at SCAO too. She is the caretaker and cook at the Center. I really like this, because I get to live with my mother but also at SCAO!

What memories do you have of your hometown in Bati district?

I was very little when I left, so I don’t remember so much. SCAO is my home now and I grew up here for most of the time. What I do remember, is that my school was very far away and I almost never went there, because my family was not able to pay for school most of the time. I spend a lot of time at home or on the fields. I still sometimes go there with my mother to visit the rest of my family. But I only go there on holidays.

What do you like about growing up at SCAO?

I like a lot of things about SCAO. I think the thing I like the most is to be able to speak with so many people from around the world. I learn a lot from them and I also learn a lot of English from them. Of course I also like studying English and I like it that my English has improved a lot in the last years so that I am able to talk about many different things with the volunteers. Also living together with my friends and my mother is very nice for me. And the public school here is better, because in the countryside the teachers often do not come to the lessons.

Now you are 13 years old, what are your plans for the next couple of years?

I now study in grade five at primary school. In a little bit more than one year I will go to Secondary School. In SCAO I now study in the two New Interchange classes. What I hope to improve is especially my written English, sometimes I still need help with writing. I hope to go to university when I finished school. I am also still looking for a sponsor.

Thank you very much Leap! I wish you good luck!

As we are still looking for a sponsor for Leap, we hope for your support! Please have a look at our Sponsor a Child page.

The post Interview with Leap appeared first on Save poor Children in Asia Organization.

The computer class was initiated at SCAO I School in August 2012 and has since then respectively grown in demand. The modern world has an increasing necessity for the general knowledge of using a computer and having these skills will increase the job/education opportunities of our students. With this fact in mind it was a unanimous decision to develop the computer curriculum further to improve the education our students receive.

An entirely new and improved curriculum is now being utilised to continue with more in depth training of Microsoft Word and also includes Microsoft PowerPoint and Microsoft Excel. The students now use a more advanced and complete curriculum but an easier to understand way of learning. There is also a certificate of achievement for their CV’s and personal satisfaction once they have successfully finished the curriculum.

At the moment the computer classes of the SCAO I School educate an average of 16 students daily, however, with the new curriculum being launched and the hunt for more laptops -within donations- this number will inevitably increase in the short future. With the fast developing technology of our modernised world it is imperative the students receive quality training in the use of computers and the relative programs to help their own lives, their society and the world around them. The computer class is one of the fastest developing classes in the SCAO I School and is doing an excellent job to provide students with opportunities they wouldn’t have had anywhere else.

The post New Computer Class Curriculum appeared first on Save poor Children in Asia Organization.

On eight motorbikes and in two cars, we started of our journey at 10:00am to the community of Ko Dach. Neither a motorbike with some trouble nor the dusty way could tear us apart since everyone overlooked each other and went together. On Ko Dach the kids couldn’t get into the water fast enough and we had our fun teaching some of the children how to swim, playing catching in the water or trying out some flips.

Thanks to a rigorous fundraising team organised and carried out by the volunteers themselves, we had a big nutritious lunch with self-made Khmer -sandwiches and fruits providing the energy for the rest of the day. The day was hot and extremely sunny which made everyone stay in the water until almost 4:00 pm, when we had to leave the island. But S.C.A.O. left a souvenir as well: A big sandcastle of Angor Wat right on the beach.

The next stop was capital Phnom Penh where we went to a playground attached to a park, to let our younger kids to waste their remaining energy. We said goodbye to this wonderful day by watching the changing colours of a water fountain and the sun go down together. Here some volunteers and our director Mr Sameth surprised us with some very athletic moves in the rhythm to aerobic music playing a few meters away.

We would like to say thank you, to the “Pacha Youth Organization” who, through theirfinancial support, helped make this trip possible. We would also like to thank the volunteers for their exceptional organizational work and for their hard work to fundraise, by selling T-shirts on the riverside in Phnom Penh.

The post Trip to Mekong Island appeared first on Save poor Children in Asia Organization.

The charcoal is used by restaurants around Phnom Penh, and is popular with street vendors also. People who work around charcoal for a living prefer to use this charcoal because it burns longer, produces no smoke and no sparks, and it is therefore burns cleaner and safer.

On the 8th of February at 8am there was a demonstration given to the people of the village on the eco-charcoal. Over 70 people from the village came to see the demo and to learn about this new charcoal that burns for longer and has no sparks or no smoke. These are the points that the charcoal sells on and not the environmentally friendly aspect. At the demo there was 150kgs of charcoal sold in one hour.

We are now in the phase of getting feedback from the people who bought the charcoal and to see their first-hand experience with it. It is hoped in the future that S.C.A.O. and work in collaboration with SGF and the Som Roung community to provide environmentally friendly charcoal to the households that could benefit from it. This would then hopefully in the future make Som Roung Village a more environmentally friendly place to live.

The post Green Charcoal appeared first on Save poor Children in Asia Organization.

Title of the project:

New battery for solar energy in the Center

The purpose of this project, the stakeholders, and the intended benefits to the beneficiaries:

It is common in Cambodia and especially in the sub-urban regions of Phnom Penh to experience prolonged time periods of no electricity. This can be very disruptive for the computer classes that take place in the Centre on a daily basis. It is common that the computer classes have been canceled several days in a row due to no electricity. We have tried to combat this issue by installing solar panels in the roof of the Centre. This has worked very well in the past and computer classes have been able to run off the power that the solar panels have stored in the battery. This power would last for up to six hours, thus facilitating the computer classes as well as the other important office work, such as answering e-mails from volunteers, donors and other organisations. However now the battery is old and is only able to hold a half an hour’s worth of power, virtually rendering the battery useless.

A new battery installed in the Centre to successfully hold up to six hours’ worth of power would make a tremendous difference to the running of the computer classes, office work and printing of worksheets by teachers. Through the utilisation of the solar panels and the sun’s power we can make SCAO more environmentally friendly and cut the costs of our electricity bills.

Cost in US$:

A new battery to be connected to the solar panels on the roof of the Centre will cost $200. The installation of this new battery to the solar panels will cost $50.

Price List

• Battery $200

• Instillation $50

Everyone at SCAO would like to thank you for reading this proposal and if you have other questions about our clean hands project or would like to donate towards this worthy programme please e-mail info@savechildreninasia.org. Additionally please visit our website to find out more information on SCAO, you can find it at www.savepoorchildreninasia.org.

We look forward to hearing from you.

The post New Battery for Solar Energy (Center) appeared first on Save poor Children in Asia Organization.

I arrived at the SCAO centre on the 1st of February 2012, a fresh face volunteer full
of excitement, but also anxiety and nervousness. However the warm and welcoming
atmosphere and friendly people soon but me at ease.

I was beginning a 7 month volunteer job as a development officer for SCAO. I was
recruitment by The SCOOP Foundation, a partner of SCAO in Ireland, and I was to be the
first person to work in a role like.

SCAO has grown massively over the past 5 years, and SCOOP realising this, wanted to have a
worker on the ground in Cambodia in order to aid the development of SCAO and to ensure
that it was developing to its full potential.

Volunteering at SCAO was a great experience because you really get to work right at the
coal face. You are placed in classrooms to assist a local Cambodian teacher or you are
working directly in the community.

SCAO is also a young and upcoming NGO and so it is a vibrant and innovative NGO to
volunteer with. There is scope to really leave your mark on the programmes and to use your
own skills to help the communities were SCAO is based.

I will always remember my time with SCAO due to the lifelong friendships that were
established with the staff and other volunteers. It’s been many months since I returned
to Ireland but Cambodia and SCAO have never been too far away from my thoughts. I still
receive regular updates from SCAO and it is fantastic to hear how string SCAO is developing
and growing month on month.

I want to wish SCAO, all its partners, and all the volunteers and staff, all the best for 2013,
which I am sure will see SCAO continue to assist the most vulnerable members of the
communities where their projects are located.

Eric Scanlon

The post Eric (7 Months stay) appeared first on Save poor Children in Asia Organization.

When I made my decision to visit Cambodia and to work there as a volunteer I didn’t really know
a lot about the country. Before I decided to which country I wanted to go I had the idea of being a
volunteer for a few months in another country after my final exams at High School. Of course there
are many different places where I could go to but finally I heard something about Cambodia from
family of Andre and I knew I would go there.

When I left Germany I was still very young and inexperienced with travelling alone, but it was the
perfect time to do something like this and I was really excited. I knew that I would work for S.C.A.O,
some things about the Cambodian history and that someone would pick me up at the airport. And
suddenly I was in Cambodia in a village called Som Roung, living in a school occupied by a small
family with two class rooms and a few basic rooms for volunteers. I felt comfortable right from the
beginning. For me it was really important to have the same classes for my whole stay. It was great
how my students developed and how they grew up. Watching them studying and having fun by
playing games at school made me proud and really sad in the end, but it was good to know that other
volunteers would take over my classes.

We didn’t have class the whole day so there was also time to do something else. Sitting on the
rooftop watching the sunset, walking a little bit through the village, playing with children outside the
school, trying to talk to Khmer people, buying some sweets in the small shops placed in the village
and drinking coffee were other things I did. Getting to know the Cambodian culture by doing this
was the best thing I could have done. Especially when I started to study Khmer it got easier and the
connection to our neighbours, teacher assistants and everyone else got stronger.

Also the S.C.A.O family was amazing. The kids English is great, they are open minded and they give
you the feeling that you have found a new family. All together we celebrated 5 years of S.C.A.O
before I had to leave. Everyone was happy and the party was successful. I felt even sadder that I had
to leave soon, but I decided to come back soon and so I will do.

Thanks to S.C.A.O, the S.C.A.O family, my students and the volunteers! I hope to see you soon! Lea
Alice

The post Lea (18, Six Months Stay) appeared first on Save poor Children in Asia Organization.

My name is John Gilbert; I am 22 years old and from Newcastle, Australia. This is a brief description
of my experience as a short term volunteer at S.C.A.O. I have now visited S.C.A.O. twice in the past
two years. The first was in 2011 for a period of two months and the second is now a five week stay in
2013.

When I first came in 2011 I was 19 years old (about to turn 20 years old). I was greeted by Mr Sameth
and Alice (another volunteer from Australia). It was very welcoming with the usual plastic chairs, table
and water laid out for my comfort. After that day I spent the weekend in Phnom Phen and returned
on Monday to start teaching. At this point I didn’t know what to expect or how the classes were run
exactly but with the aid of the other volunteers I soon found my feet.

We started at the basics….ABC. These classes were run in the morning and every volunteer taught
a small group of children. As the day progressed the classes usually increased in difficulty, with the
evening classes being the most difficult. Srey Lat and Hom were the main teachers for the evening
classes with possibly some help from a volunteer or two. These classes were fun and exciting but
there was obvious need for structure and organization.

Between classes we usually stayed around the center and played with the kids. At this point much of
the area around the center had not yet been developed so there was lots of land for football, volley
ball and different types of chasing games. If it was time to relax a bit, there was also a coffee shop
just a short walk down the road. Love the iced coffee! Although it’s a short stay, you feel a strong
connection to the kids and that feeling also seems to be reciprocal.

The volunteers who stayed at the center became long lasting friends. They have similar interest (as to
be expected between people who volunteer) but also In my case similar looking, so similar that Niki (A
German volunteer) and I convinced many students we were brothers. The combination of the children
at the center and the volunteers provides a sense of family and produces lasting memories.

After leaving and returning to Australia I realized almost instantly I had made a mistake. My time at
S.C.A.O. was such a happy experience that usual life was mediocre compared to life at the center. It
was necessary for me to go home, however I knew that eventually I would return.

After two years I came back to Cambodia. This time I was greeted by almost all the children (some
were at school). It was a great feeling to be remembered. I still kept in touch with a few of the older
kids through Facebook and seeing them was just like catching up with old friends. When I turned up
it was a surprise to see how much development had occurred in the area. The road was a paved road,
buildings were all over the land where we used to play football and the small lake opposite the center
was being filled with soil and rubbish. The toilet at the school (which looks like a throne) was one of
the few things that didn’t change.

On Monday I started teaching. The teaching style had now changed. Classes were arranged to
coincide with the Kmer schooling system which changes the students from morning to afternoon class
every month (and visa-versa). Also the volunteers only taught one specific class. My class was ABC
advanced, which I taught with another volunteer Gemma. The classes were much more organized
compared to my previous volunteering experience and with books that recorded what the previous
volunteers taught, It was much easier to continue the students learning rather than repeating what
had already been taught (which was what was happening frequently before). Having your own class
also furthered my experience as it gave me skills that can easily be used back home such as; teaching
skills, public speaking skills, understanding the processes of learning and patience.

The kids at the center were much like before just with some small changes (like their height). They
are always up for games and a bit of fun. As having already been at the center it was easy to fall back
into the functioning of the S.C.A.O. family and it also made it easier for the kids at the center to ask
me for help. So soon I found myself teaching some of the kids mathematics, guitar and helping with
university studies. For the second time I felt at home at the center.

The volunteers the second time around were just as great as the first time around. I even got to meet
up with Nora (a German volunteer) who also volunteered with me the first time around. A great
coincidence! The volunteers are very much a big part of the S.C.A.O. experience.

The improvement in the old school and the successful development and running of the new school
is an outstanding achievement to the volunteers, supporters and the S.C.A.O. family. It was great to
return and see the improvements and just as great was being able to watch the kids growing up. My
part in the school is small but as a short term volunteer you still feel some sense of accomplishment.

The post John (22, Five Weeks Stay) appeared first on Save poor Children in Asia Organization.