This is Sarah, together with Margaret, who visited the Home for the first time with us a few weeks ago.
When I first interviewed her in Dec 2008, I remembered a nervous girl taking a long, long time to figure out how to respond to the question, “How old are you?”. When we decided to interview the children again during our recent April 2011 trip (without giving them any advance notice to prepare!), Sarah spoke confidently and answered my questions correctly and quickly in English.
Encouraged by her responses, I tested her further and found a rather difficult passage in English for her to read to me. She did so without any difficulty. I also asked her to write her name in English, as well as in Khmer.
The homeschooling program at the Goducate Children’s Home had certainly been successful in helping these kids improve in their studies. Moreover, they are happy, well fed and well cared for by the people who run the Home. Hopefully Sarah and many of these children will grow up into successful adults who can help other Cambodians help themselves.