Vi – Page 15 – Goducate … Go And Educate!

2011-10-28

Fun Times At Goducate Children’s Home

Life at the Goducate Children’s Home is not all about schoolwork and duties around the home. In their spare time in the late afternoon the children can choose to play football, play basketball, fly kites, play their recorders, draw, paint, or do whatever else they like. Recently, they have been able to attend karate classes if they wish. Karate expert (Hanshi) Patrick Fallay and his wife Myrine have been volunteering their services two afternoons a week. Uptake has been good, with most of the children, even the youngest one (4 years old), opting for the classes. Needless to say, it’s drummed into the children’s head that karate is for self-defence, not assault. For now, it’s good fun, good exercise, and good discipline.

photo(54) — Music and art leisure pursuits

The children get occasional outings too. A couple of weeks ago, they spent a whole day on the white sandy beach and in the clear water at the Sokha Beach Resort in Sihanoukville, where the management kindly threw in free rides on the banana boat, which was towed out into the sea by a motorized boat.

IMG_0201x — Children preparing to go out for ride on banana boat

2011-10-21

New schoolhouse at Goducate Children’s Home

Thanks to the generosity of sponsors, the Goducate Children’s Home has a new schoolhouse, where the children have been having their lessons since the start of this school year a month ago. The one-room schoolhouse was built largely by the older children and the staff, with the help of some friends.

photo(48) — Children at their desks. Girl with flag raised awaiting help from teacher.

The children follow the US-based School of Tomorrow home-study program. During class the older ones sit in their own booths, while the younger ones have little desks or share a long table. Each child has a flag, which he or she raises—by putting it on a high ledge in the booth, or holding it up—whenever help is needed from one of the teachers. The booths and the desks, too, were home made by the older students.

The children are also taught the Khmer language so that when they leave the home they can fit in with and help their own community. The Khmer is taught in the conventional way—ie, by a teacher rather than through home study—and the classes are held in the dining hall.

Their help with the construction of the schoolhouse and the school furniture is part of their livelihood training.

2011-10-072012-01-06

Goducate benefits from MHC Medical Centre’s (Amara) Open Day

MHC Asia, a finalist at this year’s British Chamber of Commerce’s (Singapore) 12th Annual Business Awards in the Exceptional CSR Practice category, is one of Goducate’s loyal corporate sponsors. Not only does MHC Asia (www.mhcasia.com) contribute generously to Goducate, it loses no opportunity to create awareness of and to gather support from others for Goducate.

At the Open Day of the new premises of the MHC Medical Centre (Amara), guests were encouraged to contribute to Goducate rather than to send flowers. Another form of contribution was for postcards that carried pictures of children at the Goducate children’s home in Cambodia. Guests who contributed in this way were asked to write a message to the child or children whose picture was on the postcard they chose.

Choosing postcard (postcards with messages written are in the jug)

The MHC Medical Centre (Amara) is a centre for GP consultations as well as a one-stop health-screening centre for pre-employment checks and executive health screening.

Goducate is grateful to be the beneficiary of MHC Asia’s CSR (corporate social responsibility). Among other things, the company has sponsored office space for Goducate headquarters, several vans for various Goducate projects, the lease of a Goducate center in Batam, land for the Goducate model farm in Laguna, and literacy centres in Sabah.