6pm. I like evenings in Cambodia, as the air gets a bit cooler and people are out in the alleys chatting. What gives me great joy, though, is that today, I am in a small room of 3mx3m, with 8 children opening up their school books and reading out loud. Some are barely sounding out the letters. Some are reading with a gusto of enthusiasm.
Living in an urban poor neighbourhood in Phnom Penh, it didn’t take long to recognize the educational needs of the kids. The issues were clear: poor education system, corruption, and lack of family environment to encourage learning. And yet the questions remained: what do we do? As my teammates and I brainstormed and shared from our experience, we came up with an idea of starting homework clubs, based in our communities. There would be an older university student or an adult to help facilitate, and our main focus would be to have a place where kids can come everyday to review their lesson and engage in fun activities.
We have lots of dreams for the future. How we can do remedial support for kids that are really behind. How we can network with the local school teachers. How we can eventually have mentouring and career guidance for the older kids. And how those older kids can help teach younger kids. But for now, it’s a start, to have a room full of voices, a bit chaotic but beautiful nonetheless.
At the end, I listen to the words of encouragement that the university student gives the children. “What do you do when you don’t have money to go study? You need to still go to school and tell the teacher that you can’t pay but you still want to learn. That’s how Bong (older brother, referring to himself) got through school, even though sometimes there wasn’t enough. Don’t forget that, okay?” I know these words of truth will stay with each of the kids, because it’s shared by a Bong that has also grown up in a similar circumstance but now attends a university. It’s these moments shared that, I hope, will eventually change lives.
[Chami Nagai is a member of the Servants Cambodia team.]
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