Cambodia – Page 14 – Goducate … Go And Educate!

2013-05-072013-05-07

New roles for Tim and Nathan at Goducate Children’s Home in Cambodia

Last year Timothy and Nathan, two boys from the Goducate Children’s Home in Cambodia, spent 8 months at the Goducate Training Centre in Iloilo, Philippines, training to be community development workers. They returned at the end of the year, and are now helping as staff.

Among other things, they were taught agriculture and how to be effective in reaching out to the poor communities. Timothy is now engaged in the agricultural projects around the Home, such as aquaponics (growing crop and fish together in a re-circulating system) and vermiculture (worm farming).

Nathan is being trained in skills such as welding and electrical work and his duties are mainly connected with the boys’ workshop in the Home, and both he and Timothy are currently working on constructing the foundation of a girls’ workshop.

Both the boys also go into the community every Thursday to teach children English through story-telling and simple songs. There are also plans for further literacy work in the community later this year.

Timothy and Nathan have grown in many ways through their training at the Goducate Training Center. The two boys are setting an example for the other children at the Home and giving them hope that they too have a future to look forward to.

Timothy teaching children in the community

Timothy and Nathan doing construction work

2013-02-052013-02-05

English classes for communities around Goducate Children’s Home are popular

With the goal of helping needy Asians help themselves, the children and staff of the Goducate Children’s Home joined hands and minds in offering informal English language classes to three communities near the Home. This project was started 3-4 months ago, and the classes were to be held every Thursday and Saturday. However, initially the schedule at the Home was such that the Saturday classes could not be held very regularly. Now, with some adjustment of the time-table at the Home, we have been able to jumpstart the community program again.

The community classes are held in somebody’s house or in the open. The premises are not ideal, but they are very accessible to the children who want to attend the classes. One center is just in front of a quarry but the kids obviously do not mind sitting under the sun and using the ground as their drawing board. We hope to find more suitable premises that we can rent.

English is an important tool for getting on in the modern world, but it is not part of the local school curriculum, hence this opportunity to learn English for free is very attractive. In two of the communities the average attendance is 40-50 children.

Curious neighbours listening in on lesson — Curious neighbors listening in on lesson

2013-01-112013-01-11

Organic pig farming a success at Goducate Children’s Home Cambodia

Part of the training we provide to the needy Cambodians at the Goducate Children’s Home include farming and agriculture. Four months ago, an experimental organic piggery was started with the purchase of 18 small piglets to be reared on organic feed. The piggery was a good success as the pigs have since grown fat and healthy.

The boys at the Home took turns daily to chop and prepare organic feed for the pigs. A few weeks ago, a few pigs were slaughtered and eaten at special celebrations at the Home.