Day 6: Education is the Future in Battambang

After stumbling downstairs at the early hour of 7 A.M., we loaded the bus to head out to the dedication of a new school built by the NGO we have been working with while here in Battambang, the Cambodian Village Fund. We already knew that it was going to be an important day, as Nancy, of Bill and Nancy, the founders of the NGO, spent hours practicing her speech thanking the organization’s donors and was unable to join in the celebration of Malli’s birthday the night before.

After arriving at the school, we were soon ushered through a line of cheering students onto the stage behind Bill and Nancy, the American donors, and a group of Battambang officials. The students, many of whom carried signs that read “We Love You!”, put beautiful scarves around our necks, as it became clear to us that WE were also being honored at this ceremony for our contributions. After walking through the line of children screaming and clapping, we came to the courtyard of the school, which had been fitted with covered chairs, canopies and a stage.

We waited in our distinguished seats for the Minister of Justice to arrive from Phnom Penh, and while it was a long wait, it was wonderful to watch the children running and laughing, enjoying their new play yard. When the Minister finally arrived, the children ran directly to their spots in line ready to greet this powerful member of the government. The man made his way directly to a group of five monks who sat on the side of the stage. It was interesting to watch the Minister praying, as the monks chanted prayers and showered him with small flowers. Coming from a country where the church and state is supposedly separate, it was spectacular to see how important religion is to the people of Cambodia, especially to those in government power.

As the ceremony officially began, the governor of the region gave a speech, once again emphasizing how important this the opening of this school was to the community. Local news reporters and cameramen crowded in front of the stage as Bill and Nancy each gave marvelous speeches, before we heard from one of the girls who had received one of the scholarships that later set her up to attend college. Bill’s speech, given to accept a very high-level award, focused more on how he had come to call Cambodia a second home, and how people he had come to know here as part of his family. It was very touching, especially since he was decked out in an extremely beautiful traditional purple Khmer shirt. Nancy’s speech focused on the success of the scholarship girls and the success of the schools which the Cambodian Village Fund had built. It was a extremely touching speech, as she made sure that the current students knew that they “shined brighter than the stars” and could achieve their dreams. After Bill and Nancy’s speeches, one of the scholarship girls stood up to show how impactful the organization has been on her life, allowing her the chance to go to college and earn a degree that led to a job, which helped her family a lot. It was very moving and brought true meaning to the work Cambodian Village Fund was doing. Next, two of the primary donors, Cameron and Tim, both gave pep talk speeches encouraging the kids to study hard and go after their dreams to help both themselves and Cambodia. Watching the dedication ceremony was something that I know will stay with all of us forever. Seeing the joy and pride that emerged from the students, parents, and elected officials was something that none of us have ever seen. In the U.S. it seems that we sometimes take our educations for granted as we make our way through school, but it was clear to see how important their education was to the Cambodians.

After lunch and little break, we headed out to teach English at the same school from yesterday. We were greeted with the same amazing smiling faces of the kids we had seen the day before. They were so excited to see us again and to learn. We read books, played word games on the chalkboard, and then went outside to play a mixture of “Red Light, Green Light,” “Duck, Duck, Goose,” and “Simon Says”. All the kids were laughing, and even the Cambodian teachers were getting into it. It was a refreshing to see the joy in their eyes as they laughed, played and enjoyed learning. Although they were so eager to learn, trying to come up with lesson plans to keep their attention was a hard challenge. But no matter what we threw at them, we saw positive feedback as they jumped into every game with smiles on their faces. This was honestly one of the best parts of the day, as seeing their smiles and hearing their laughs made us feel a warmth in our hearts that can never be replicated. In one classroom, even the teacher was getting into the games and seemed to be enjoying it just as much as the kids! When it was time to say goodbye, many of the kids latched on to our hands not wanting to let us go - and we didn’t want to let go either. We took millions of pictures with each little smiling face that had made our day so special. Watching them ride their bikes into the sunset on their way home seems like a too-movie-like-to-be-true image, but it is one that will stay with us forever.

After we watched the students ride away, waving and smiling to every single one, we loaded up the bus to headed off to dinner with our penpals. Even through the language barrier, we were able to hold lively conversation and enjoy the beautiful meal. It was a great time not only to learn more about our pen pals, but also a great time for them to learn more about us - and it seems like we have a lot more in common than we thought! One of the girls brought a portable speaker, so on the way back to the hotel we had an amazing group sing-along to “Bang Bang,” by Nicki Minaj, Jessie J and Ariana Grande, all of the songs on Taylor Swift’s Fearless album, and a couple really fun Khmer songs!

All in all in was an amazing day full of new experiences, laughter, and learning. We were able to see how important education was to not only the children of Cambodia, but also the government, as well as how foreigners view themselves while they are helping make education a priority in small villages. It taught us how to act when we help support a community, and how not to act, and how important it is to be humble, even after you have done an extremely large charitable act. We had some great laughs and learning experiences with our Pen Pals, as we sang our hearts out and had amazing conversations at the dinner table. And we were touched by amazing children whose eagerness to learn will hopefully take them far in life. It is a day that we will always love and remember.
By: Aly