NEWSLETTERS
NEWSLETTER ONE
Posted 16th August 2008
Welcome to our first newsletter!
It has been a long time coming in written form......... but has always been written in my mind!
I feel at long last that much of the hard work getting our various projects off the ground is rewarding us!
For some time now, there are some of us who have had a deep feeling of connection with Tanop, a village of 450 impoverished rural Cambodian families, who live 75 klms outside Phnom Penh. The people who live here are rice farmers. With tiny plots of land, most, grow barely enough rice to feed their families. Their isolation makes it almost impossible to access jobs in the city, and they have few skills that would ensure their survival there.
Maybe I should begin our first newsletter by telling you our story. My story......... about how I came to know, and become involved with the village community I am endeavouring to help. Maybe after all, this should be TITH'S story.......... not mine. Tith who is an inspiration to me, and to so many others. He plays a major part in this dream we have for Tanop.
TITH TEK'S STORY.
FUTURE HEAD TEACHER OF THE TANOP EDUCATION CENTRE.
In 2006 my eldest daughter and I decided to venture on a journey together. She had been to Cambodia the year before and suggested that together we make the trip there.
Some friends , who had spent some years living there, told me of a Cambodian man they had met a few years before, who had quite amazed them with his dedication and determination to lift his family out of the extreme, impoverished situation they were in. They thought it would be wonderful for me to meet him. This man was a village man from Tanop. His struggle through his primary schooling and his high school years was quite phenomenal. When I listen to his story, I am so touched by his sacrifice. His courtship with illness and hardship.....and near starvation. Yet the bright light of a better future , made him determined to continue his education against all odds, and at all cost.
His name is Tith Tek, and he and his family are survivors of Pol Pot's regime. He was quite young, but he can remember how badly effected his family were , and how he tried so desperately to help his parents and siblings in their struggle to stay alive.
He always knew he wanted an education, and persevered through his primary school study, as well as working at home to help his parents at the same time.
To improve his English and begin his secondary studies, he spent some time living with the monks in a pagoda. He worked at any job he could find to support himself and his parents back in Tanop.
After graduating from high school, he enrolled at Built Bright University in Phnom Penh, to begin a teaching degree. He rented derelict rooms to be able to afford his study. At times he had to choose between paying university fees, or choosing to eat a meal . He said he always chose his "lessons". He had a dream................. and was not prepared to let it go!
As is the custom in Cambodia, in 2003, his parents arranged a marriage for him . His wife was a local village girl. She encouraged Tith to continue with his studies in Phnom Penh. Over the next few years two children arrived. He endeavoured to make enough out of his jobs to pay for their subsistence living back in the village and to continue his study. It was always the family's hope that their hardship was short term and that their hope for a better future , was only possible through Tith's continued education. Tith's dream was to be a teacher, and after graduating, his wish was to return to his village and make education accessible to the villagers there.
In May this year, at 32 years of age, Tith graduated from university with a teaching degree, majoring in English. His life's dream is still to return home, and teach there, so that the young people of Tanop have opportunities through education. For the time being he is working with an NGO in Phnom Penh to gain experience that will benefit him on the return to his community.
Over the past two years, we have had meetings with Khut Khan , the village chief, and the village elders. When asked what they desired most for their village, the answer was unanimous. The building of an Education Centre in the village was a priority. They pointed out that this was an important stepping stone to improved living standards through education and the teaching of English, better health practises, agricultural practises., and vocational training. They realise that with an education, all things are possible.
From that moment on, a group of us decided we would fundraise to try and raise the money needed to build an Education Centre in the village. It has taken some planning, but the wheels are in motion for us to launch our major events between now and the end of the year.........after which we hope we will have the funding to start the project.
We have our head teacher...................... and two others teachers ready to teach in the Centre when it is built.
That is where we are at now!
Our dream is the same as the villager's dream. It is the dream that Tith Tek has had since 1986. They depend on us ..............and we depend on others to help us fulfil those dreams.
We have the land, which has been filled now in readiness for the action!
We have the teachers.
We have the determination and will power to see this through!
We now need to raise $15000 to build the Centre
Educational changes for Tanop are beginning, and I am so glad that I can play some small part in helping to make the villager's dream become a reality.
As such , this is not a "newsletter", but I felt that this entry should give you all an insight into why this project is so important to us. So important for a community of people who desperately need a helping hand out of the situation they are in.
More information about the fundraisers are available on this site.
Look for our next newsletter with lots of village and fundraising news included.
With your support, we can make a difference!
One person can shine a light in the dark...
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