Reading

The Universal Rule

When you can read literacy is removed. So, now you know why it is imperative that the way to transformation is by reading. This basic skill will mean an opening to the wonders of life be it in the fiction or non fiction realm. After being so long in the education line I can only affirm that the child starts to progress when the reading begins.

So, the good news was the Reading Bus of Kuala Lumpur; yes the one from Malaysia found its way to the rural section of Phnom Penh and opened the eyes of some children there. 

A reading programme cannot just be carried out without preparation and support.

Cheli and wife, Mei are the founders of this effort and had diligently bought the Peter and Jane series at a very special price to give as gifts to the lucky children. We carted about 50 sets of them on top of other easy reading material.

Cheli shared that the God of miracle never fails His children for he bought the books in faith and the donation came on time. This he emphasised during the conference and encouraged the local teachers through the powerful testimony.

The teachers also concurred the night before how best to do some origami to brighten the class.

Old, but gold indeed indeed.

 The journey to the rural children took us about 30 minutes on laterite roads and bumpy too. But what is a bump? 

The local leader sang with the children in English;

"In Jesus Christ, we are one family..."

Surely the faith gels us together and it is so good to hear the melodious young voices; so sweet from foreign tongues.

Mei, the reader picked a simple book which a book distributor donated and gave the children each a copy. The book is simple but sufficient for a short time of rote reading. The children read after the teacher but by the way they spoke you can discern that they did not recognize the print but heard the voice. They only need more drilling and attention and it will help produce more readers.

It touched our hearts to see so many in need of help; but that was what we could only extend. Well, a beginning for some of them.

To add colour to the class, Chin Loi , the origami expert took the task of leading them into a time of folding the image of a frog.

The frog song was also sung...the little frog the little frog they are a merry crowd...uu wak wak wak... it was refreshing to sing with the young ones; you forget your age.

When this young man finished his art, he asked to be photographed.

Well done.

Achiever !

On the way out, we saw this remnant of achievers too !

They seemed to have fun in rural environment and we pray that the road in front of them may be filled with God's guidance and leading.

Many Malaysians have sacrificed to serve in this country for the sake of the gospel. God bless them.

Reading.

Workshops

The excellent teachers were all out to present their best contribution of teaching ideas. Two workshops were organised and presented by the two trainee teachers and Celeste; an experienced teacher trainer.

Jessica and Donna talked about story telling and the techniques to attract an audience and participants. Naomi, a local interpreter took the task of translation and she was just as excellent as she truly emulated actions so precisely.

The trio; young in age are potent in their teaching skills and spoke clearly that intonation, eye contact, facial expressions and act it outs are essential elements to good story telling lessons in the classroom. Energetic and full of vitality, they were indeed exemplary learners and teachers. Many took after their advice and put up story telling performance in the hall.

This particular teacher did his best and used skills stipulated by Jessy and Donna and we believe that the workshop was an eye opener to the many present.

Next, Ms Celeste an experienced teacher trainer took the floor to show that songs and dance are keys to experiential learning in the classroom and gave many instances of the theme. Brave Celeste will be serving in Sarawak to the many locals there in great conviction.

 Celeste and her bend, swing , tap dance got all of us on hour feet using recyclable plastic bottles, coconut shells, and the stick to show us the skills. The accompanying music was trendy and rocked us all together in laughter.

Her scarf dance was a hit among us and the Cambodian teachers. Juat Ngoh and Mary could not resist the dancing steps and felt good that they could still do it.

Look at the smile and the gleeful spirit.

They really enjoyed the movements and steps and would gladly do it again, 

I am sure.

 The scarves were too feminine for the males. They too had their turn at a different dance; the ball dance. Celeste managed to get the supply of paper balls from Shanghai where she had served for the last 4 years.

The workshops gave new, bright ideas to the locals.

Good job.

The Mission

Teachers Christian Fellowship (TCF) Malaysia has an annual mission to Cambodia to reaffirm the local teachers in their teaching commitment.
This year was no different ; the planning and mission to accomplish brewed.

2016 had the smallest number of educators sent out to do the TCF work in the Khmer land. There were 15 veterans and 2 newly trained teachers from Sabah and Sarawak but all with one mission at heart; to do our little part for the Cambodian teachers.

Although way past the age, it was my maiden trip and I was glad that it enlarged my understanding of extending that extra help.

These 2 beautiful girls; in looks and at heart were a blessing to have around. They were all too ready to carry the large boxes of drinks and luggage. They were pleasant, teachable and creative. Their ages when added up however could not be any older than any of the veterans who went. Oh dear, I hate to admit it but we are getting older by the year; but the heart isn't though. 

81 conferees gathered for the conference ; young and old.

Not all were able to understand English but all had the desire to serve; I believe.

They were here for encouragement, new learning experiences and meeting new counterparts. Quite a number were repeat conferees from the past and it was surely an enriching experience for many.

See what I mean ? Some are very young and brought a child along but another could be as veteran as the man on the right. Young or old, they were eager for the learning experience. So, it was good to watch and know God at work .

Taylor's University College at the courtesy of the ex President of Academics , Mr. Lim Tou Boon had also extended that extra service by donating T shirts and conference bags for the conferees. So, indirectly the college was doing a community service globally. Strange how an impact of this nature could be made in a collaborative work. It's a winning contribution all the way.

This is the camp speaker with his Cambodian protegee who was the translator. Cheli the speaker, is super proud of Chetra. He saw how the young man grew in the faith as the years go by and today is working as a Bible translator in a local enterprise. This is a mark of discipleship which every mentor would like to see in a mentee.

 In short, this is also a success story ; a result of obedience on both sides.

What did Cheli say?

Transforming a nation through education.

He based his text on Matthew 9 whereby the conferees were reminded that it was Jesus who chose them to be teachers and that every teacher has the power to influence their students in many aspects. The teachers are the keys to elevate the locals out of poverty and enlarging their knowledge.

Cheli next reiterated that our God is a God of miracles and told the teachers not to be afraid of challenges for we have a God who can perform miracles to grant solutions as recorded in the Bible.

Surely the harvest is plentiful and the challenge is to stand up for Jesus in the work place and be a living testimony to both students and teachers. Even in a hostile environment, the integrity, honesty and virtues displayed by the Christian teacher are enough to win souls.

So the challenge was thrown to the conferees.

 After the first session, we lunched together with some local teachers and Makara on my left is being trained at the moment for Wisdom Nest School, an International School which will open its doors to underprivileged children in Baray; a town between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap in January.The story of many Malaysians contributing to this blessed town were touching and Baray has improved partly because of Malaysian full time workers serving there.

 I met Pastor Kim, a Singaporean serving here for the last 3 years and her commitment is for another couple of years. She is also here to help the locals in their faith and to churn leaders out of the local folks. She told me that her father has visited her here. She has stood up for Jesus.
Apparently her mother also know Grace's ( my first daughter) mother in law in Tiong Baru. 

God's work surely knows no boundaries.

Pastor Lily on the right is instrumental in helping to contact the locals and finding a conference site. A Malaysian too, she has been serving here for more than 5 years and her love for the faith is fixed. She speaks Khmer and is close to the people. Her mission here is for the extension of the faith through her tireless service for the benefit of the locals.

Their dedication is real.

At the end of the first first day talks, the local pastor sang and the conferees broke into a dance which portrayed graceful movements and steps. The Cambodians are endemic dancers and everyone seems to be able to do it.

No trace of 2 left feet.

The Markets

On a trip to Phnom Penh in 2010, I only knew about the Russian market; a name given to the place because we were told that the Russians congregated there for trade in the past.

But this time I was exposed to another favourite place called the Central Market.

A day before we left we were yet told of a market which the locals frequented; this time the Orussey market where wholesalers sell and buy.

So many markets with large throngs of people.

This is the dome like roof covering the Central Market and we have been informed that it has just been renovated.

Fresh and dried sea creatures of all edible kinds are found here and prepared according to local tastes and ways. I wonder how strong a stomach one must have to consume them. I cringe at the thought of food poisoning.

 At the Central Market the wide display of costume jewelry is a sight to behold; the choice is varied and the designs are up to date.

But I had enough of that; no more. 

 We were attracted to a stall selling popular croc shoes and Tom's.

The local pretty trader told us they were genuine but the price is only a fraction of what you get in shops. To make her happy we chose to believe and bought.

Well, it's forgiving to once in a while wear such brands and believe me they felt genuine in my feet !

The floral display were so localised but different for a change.

Somewhere we spotted the moon cakes; it reminded us of home.

Where is home you sometimes wonder now.

Yes, the Russian market . The seasoned trader held her goods right above her head without a challenge. Cheese...it's a breeze she seemed to tell. That's Dr. Tan Juat Ngoh who had just recently retired leading us all the way as she has been to this market every year for the past 6 years. She said "Follow me".

This seasoned traveller has the best information at hand.

 Everything in volumes and the choice is endless.

I wondered at the supply; how long to sell them? It's as if the traders are never ever going to leave this premise.

 Then it's the Orussey market. We were told by the locals that only they will come here to buy and sell and the price is competitive. A look round the place confirmed that they were good meant for practical consumption and not for tourists. But it is an opportunity to observe local trading.

 I was taken by this sweetened milk.

It reminded me of the milkmaid condensed milk back home.

We were told a story that some very young babies were given this milk and not formula milk because of poverty. The sweetened drink will be enough to pacify the child. Such story breaks the heart.

 The best rice in town is found here but it was too bulky for us.

Orussey market is not our cup of tea; nothing to buy.

Some of us who have never been to the genocide museum took a trip there.

These are tombs of victims during the pol pot regime and the sufferings and massacre of innocent ones are described here.

Behind the blocks of classrooms are marks of cruelty; injustice and pains.

It was painful seeing the photographs of men and women, mothers and babies and grandparents who died. It was nightmarish. A school was used as a detention and torture center and individual units of jail were put up for interrogation and physical torture. The prisoners were later transported to another massacre centre ; I don't and do not want to remember the name of the place.

Good for history but not good for the memory.

Tonle Bassack is where you should go if you want to chance on local cuisines. It's worth a trip there but when you take lunch there you are sure to forego dinner. The stomach cannot take the load when the roving eyes pin on food which make you salivate. Non stop eating.

The tuk tuk is the life boat of the city. Everyone travels on it. Fast and cheap, the tuk tuk adds colour to the city. We arrived at various destinations using it and the haggling part is the best. Cheap. cheap, cheap. That's again another of my family friend of 40 years; Chin Loy. It was a maiden effort to travel together. We hope for more of it in the days to come.

Another tale on another day.