Packwood forges link with school in Cambodia

11th December, 2009

On Friday 27th November Sue Gough, Packwood’s Head of Learning Support, set off on a mammoth 28 hour journey to Cambodia for a week’s visit to the Stung Meanchey school in Phnom Penh. Arranged through the father of pupils Nicole and Patrick Ashall, Sue was invited to offer her expertise and to produce a report for the Board of Trustees on the teaching and education at the school with the further aim of establishing a link between Stung Meanchey and Packwood.

Before leaving, Sue gathered together a pack of information all about Packwood to share with the staff and children in Cambodia including photographs, information about the school day, lessons and teaching materials and short autobiographies by some of her pupils. While she was away Sue wrote a diary of her experiences and since returning has produced a display illustrated with wonderful photographs telling the story of her visit. She will also be talking to the children about her trip in a special assembly to be arranged early next term. She is now hoping to set up projects that involve Packwood pupils helping the Stung Meanchey children with their learning of English.

The Stung Meanchey school is run by the Indochina Starfish Foundation and is attended by some of Phnom Penh’s poorest children who live in deprived conditions next to the Stung Meanchey dump – a huge rubbish tip up to 30 feet high. It is currently the dry season and so the smell isn’t too bad but in the wet season you can be up to your knees in places in water and sewage!

Sue writes: ‘The pupils arrive at 6.30 am for their breakfast and lessons start as early as 7. At 10.45 they have lunch which is made by two ladies at the school.  The children all sit on the floor in the dining room and eat their lunch of rice and vegetable broth in bowls with a beaker of water.  When they have finished there is a rota to do the washing up.  After lunch the children have Rest but here it really does mean rest, they get out their mats and pillows and lie down to sleep.

I observed many lessons throughout my week at the school including some very complicated maths and a Khmer comprehension lesson, pretty much like my comprehension lessons at home, except I didn't understand one word of what was going on! The children worked hard and seemed to enjoy themselves and at the beginning and end of every lesson they put their hands together (a sign of respect) and thank the teacher for teaching them - a very good idea I think!

At the end of my first day I walked the children home. I was invited into the home of one of the little girls, Sona.  She lives very simply in one room about 10 feet square with her mum and her four brothers and sisters.  Their dad has left.  They all sleep, cook and eat in that one little room! There are no beds or chairs and they sit and sleep on a wooden platform.  Her mum was happy to show me their home and was very pleased because I could take a photograph of her with the children – many of these families do not have photographs of themselves.  Considering it is not uncommon for a family to have five or six children and two of them die it is a very special thing to have a photograph.

During my stay in Cambodia I was also lucky enough to visit the Royal Palace – a stunning building.  In one room the floor was made entirely of silver tiles, though some of them were stuck together with sellotape!  There was gold everywhere and lots of Buddhas.  In contrast, I also went to the Killing Fields memorial for Phnom Penh which is a very sad place. Many thousands of Cambodians were murdered here. 

I have loved Cambodia, loved the children at the school and made some very good friends and can't wait to get back to Packwood to tell everybody about it.’