EXTRAORDINARY, UNUSUAL… I KNOW! IT WAS AN EXCEPTIONAL DAY
Thursday was another day of trips to schools in Cambodia. This was a special day for each of the participants of the expedition! Why special? I think that the pictures you will find in this post will tell you everything I want to express in a few sentences.
This time we went to the province of Pursat, and more specifically to two primary schools, one in the village Leach and one in Praghill. Both are located in the district of Phnom Kravagn. We also cannot forget about visiting the local student club.
It was a special day because it reminded all of us what it is like to be a child. What it is like when you go to school and hang out with the best colleagues in the world. How it feels to participate in extracurricular activities, develop writing and reading skills. How it is when you go to a shop during a school break or participate in morning assemblies. We experienced all this and much more in the schools we visited.
Yes, we have to admit, on this day we had to get up very early; a wake-up call was at five in the morning, then we had a quick breakfast and rushed to school. Why did we do all this? Because we wanted to see how a day starts in a Cambodian school.
It turns out that not only we ourselves are such early birds. In front of the school and at school there were a lot of kids waiting for us, kids in the so-called “school committee”. In this group, young pupils watch over the order of the day: the organisation of the assembly, the appropriate parking of scooters and bicycles by students and teachers, raising the flag on the mast, singing the national anthem, keeping order in classrooms and providing security at the entrance to the school.
Students in this group, with the help of teachers and representatives of local communities, organise activities in personal discipline and culture, healthcare, care for the environment and sports activities. They help run the school library. They also participate in decision-making and financial administration at school. What an organisation! We are impressed and optimistic!
All activities run at this school are for us a wonderful example of the strong commitment of the organisation and adults, and especially children. I mention this because for many children here a school is something more than just a school. It is a place where they want to spend their time.
The school is also fun; sometimes it can be a nice surprise. Thanks to the commitment of our colleagues from the Łódź IKEA store, we had a chance to prepare an incredible surprise for more than 400 kids. We brought the balloons … we saw the joy and smiles when children received such a small gift from IKEA Poland.
Okay, and now a small break …
A break during lessons. Yes, this moment was a wonderful time for us, in which kids from the first grade of the primary school approached us to play, run, high five, or do a few crazy pictures.
Then the time stopped for us.
Suddenly a moment came when we had to go to the next place. To another unique school! The school in the village Praghill was a school where disabled children are taught. The concert of traditional Khmer music performed with traditional musical instruments is something that very talented students wanted to show us. At such moments barriers no longer exist.
