On Tuesday we had a night out for Chumkriel Language School teachers and volunteers - Stuart, Carmel, Eliza, Elaine and Kristen. We all went to Karaoke and although some were a little bit mic shy at first by the end everyone was singing their hearts out and dancing. My favourite Karaoke song is "Mouse loves rice" - I'll try to find a link to the audio sometime.
Yesterday Rekha and I took four of the children from his older class on a study trip to Kep. The older children are particularly shy to speak English so our hope is that by taking them out of the classroom context and giving them a fun day out we can increase their confidence.
We picked them up at Chumkriel Commune and travelled the 20 km or so by tuk-tuk. Here's some pictures of our day out.
This week I will have a try at planting rice on Mr Rekha's paddy field. It looks like really hard work. Yesterday Rekha and I did some home visits and got some good feedback from parents. Many families were out planting in their fields.
I've just finished the first cut of the web site for the Kampot Childrens' Fund. It was quite hard work as I'm not very good at doing web pages but I'm pleased with the result. Neil has kindly offered to pay for the hosting so we should have it properly hosted soon. [The site is now at its permanent home at:
I now have a kitten. She is very cute but doesn't have a name yet. She is fed rather well as they don't seem to sell cat food in Kampot. Therefore she gets tuna and fresh fish and pieces of cooked chicken.
Since she is a 3 coloured cat she is considered very lucky in Cambodia if she stays with me. I haven't given her the opportunity to run off yet however she has had a wee look outside. Since it was raining she didn't venture much past the front door.
Mr Sokol's older students took a final exam after finishing their current book of study. Three students did exceptionally well and we gave them each a conversation book as a present. About 35 of the students will now move on to the next level of study.
Today I went to visit a couple of projects at Banteay Meas District, Kampot Province being run by the Cambodia Children's Advocacy Foundation with Mr Rith who runs the projects within Cambodia. Rith has asked me to help him compose progress reports on the projects for his major spponsors. The Day Care Center/Early Childhood Education and School Integration project has recently completed a new Nursery building in the area. This is Jen, who is the nursery teacher who also gives the children basic English lessons. Then we go to see one of the Family Fishponds. The nearby Pagoda 30 of the poorest farmers in the area are invited to a discussion on the use of natural fertilisers as part of the Home Gardening project. 10 farmers have already been trained and they share their experiences. The technology is Effective Microorganism fertiliser which is able to assist with organic crop production. Regional TV are interviewing one of the farmers obout her experience. Before lunch is served, I have a wee wander around the area and take some pictures.