Blog

Nice to see the students using the library for research. Classes 5 and 6 spent time in the library yesterday to see who could find the most words that had the “oa” sound in them. Class 6 found 68. Wow!

Since 2013 our students have received annual health checks at Sonya Kill Memorial Hospital which is managed by Hope Foundation. Covid interrupted these checks but we started again this year. The hospital is situated in a neighbouring province, Kampot. The health checks are provided free-of-charge by the hospital but we have to transport the students roughly 25 kms. They can accommodate 20 students per day and they check students up to 16 years of age. We take lego, blocks, books and games to keep the younger children occupied as we may be at the hospital for up to 3 or more hours, depending on tests needed for the students.

Reception 2 has been learning English words about all sorts of insects and animals. On Friday they had fun drawing their favourite insects, with a few other animals thrown in, with chalk up in the shed.

Stinking hot day today. What better way to keep cool than sitting quietly under a tree stringing pieces of papaya on a stick and then getting to eat your hard work!! Way to go Playgroup.

Meanwhile, the Kindergarten class kept cool by quietly picking up gravel with chopsticks. A fun way to practice motor skills. No cheating now and using two hands!!!

Our Playgroup has been busy pasting coloured paper onto cardboard to make flowers. Rorn Sovanarach liked the colour red for his flower. Kindergarten also made flowers.

Recently the Reception classes cooked with their teacher, Sokyin. Each class made something different. Reception 3 cooked a favourite of many people, fried noodles. Making me hungry just looking at it!! Reception 1 cooked dried bananas and Reception 2 made a fruit and vegetable juice using a blender. Very, very healthy. I had a taste and it was yummy! I notice Keat, the lady from the village who comes in and talks about the old ways of the village enjoying a glass as well.

The Kindergarten and Reception classes enjoyed their art classes with volunteer, Bettina Gebhardt, when it was their turn.

Recently, the genocide carried out in Cambodia during 1975-1979 was highlighted in four ways at Kep Gardens: 1) parent workshops 2) Grades 10,11 and 12 workshop 3) primary aged children speaking with a survivor 4) Classes 1, 2, 3 and 4 visiting Kampong Tralach Pagoda. Why is it necessary to remember such horrific and uncivilised behaviour? According to the Documentation Centre and general concensus, we all need to know our history in order to avoid similar events occurring again.

A stupa is located in the compound of Kampong Tralach pagoda. There are two rows of remains. One holds various body bones and the other side holds skulls of the 750 people who were killed during the Khmer Rouge regime. The bodies were buried in 13 large pits, two of these pits were inside the pagoda grounds. 500 skulls and other bones were damaged when they were evacuated from 11 pits in Trapeang Stor Forest and transported to the pagoda. Another 250 skulls were dug out of the pits inside the Kampong Tralach pagoda. Inside the stupa are the names of the people from Kampong Tralach Village, our local village, who were killed.

Keat, the wonderful lady from the village who comes to Kep Gardens every Thursday, lost her whole family during Pol Pot time: parents, husband, siblings, children, everyone. She has spent the last 40 odd years surviving by herself in the village. She was telling the primary school aged children her story. They felt very sad and decided that they wanted to go and visit Kampong Tralach pagoda and pay their respects to her family and the other people who had died there.

Mr Huch, one of our staff members, was only 12 at the time but remembers vividly the events that took place. Pov, another staff member, also lost her parents and 3 siblings, although in a different province. Both went with the students to the pagoda to pray.

Mr Peng Pong-Rasy, Director, Genocide Education in Cambodia spent the day with us, talking to parents in the morning and afternoon and to Grades 10,11 and 12 students in the evening. Thank you very much Mr Rasy for your informative and at times very emotional presentations. You filled in gaps that were missing in some people’s knowledge of the Khmer Rouge regime. It was an emotional day for many.

Our Khmer dancing teams were invited to perform at the Kep Children’s 10th Year celebrations. What a great job they did and how very proud we are of them. Thank you to Tha, their teacher, for getting them to the point of being able to perform so well. They looked beautiful on the night thanks to Ly Bunary, the owner of Darika Salon and her staff; Sow Hong, Chem Sreyny and Nim Kimheat. Thank you to Ngov Kimhean and Sak Simean for collecting flowers for the girls’ hair. Thank you to Malay for providing us with 6 skirts and belts from Phnenchet Somanchor. Also thank you to Kep Children for inviting us to stay for dinner and join in the games.

Recently, maths students in Grades 10, and 11 from Hun Sen Chamkar Dong High School spent all day at Kep Gardens on a maths field trip. This was organized by their teacher, Seng Chamnap, who did a great job organizing maths activities throughout the day. We enjoyed spending time with them all. Before they left they gave the school many exercise books, erasures, pen and pencils to share with the younger students. They also presented us with mobile fish that they had made from painted coconut shells which we have hung all around our large shed area. Thank you very much for your gifts. The younger students appreciated the books and pencils and all the students enjoy looking at the fish. The group of 60 students were well behaved, well mannered and showed an interest in Kep Gardens. They were excellent ambassadors for their school. Well done and thank you.