Amazing Aquatic Achievements
On Saturday 22nd April, SKOPE returned to the site of our first project in Kampong Thom province. Chhouk Sak Primary School has been partnered with SKOPE for over a year now and in September we received word that the site had suffered severe flooding during the rainy season. The students were wading through deep water to attend their lessons and the classrooms themselves had been damaged by the flooding. It was time to do something and SKOPE was asked to support a flood defence project.
Thanks to the generosity of our supporters, SKOPE was able to fund a project to raise the level of the school grounds. Using earth taken from another building site nearby, we have added an additional 15 – 30 centimetres across the entire site. Our children worked with local students to distribute the soil across a section of the playground, a task subsequently completed by vehicles over the following few days. Alongside this improvement, the stream responsible for the flooding during the monsoon season has been widened to allow it to hold more water. We hope that these two projects, side by side, will keep the students dry and safe throughout the upcoming monsoon season.
SKOPE travelled to the school for the day with 12 children from Sovann Komar. These children and our adult supervisors worked together to move the soil which had arrived at the site that morning ahead of a five day building task. We were joined and supported by The Ship for Southeast Asian and Japanese Youth Program International Cambodia (SSEAYP). These young Khmers are keen to support development work in their country and were instrumental in the success of this project. Not only did SSEAYP donate a financial contribution but they also ran hygiene classes with some of the students, teaching them the correct way to sanitise their hands. They also brought some stationary and school uniforms packages as well as basic household packs including a mosquito net, foodstuffs and clothes. These donations were gratefully received and are due to be distributed amongst the high-achieving students and teachers respectively.
This project demonstrated the wide range of SKOPE’s capabilities perfectly. From construction work to teaching classes to donating supplies, we endeavour to take on projects which make a real difference to the students and the schools with which we work. Our initial site visit to a new school is a chance for our coordinator to speak with the head teacher about what the school most needs and what would make the greatest positive impact on the students. SKOPE’s varied projects also allow the children from Sovann Komar to experience a number of different styles of outreach work, all of which help the schools in different ways. Whatever task they are involved in, the reasons for the project are explained to the Sovann Komar children, who always work hard and demonstrate a thorough understanding of the good work in which they are involved.
We are grateful to our supporters who made this project possible and to SSEAYP for their partnership. Remember to follow SKOPE on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to keep up to date with all of our upcoming projects as well. Check out the video of our day here:
