Indochina Starfish Foundation

I've now finished my third week working at Indochina Starfish Foundation (ISF) and am finally able to direct my moto drivers to school in the outskirts of the city, make it up the 3 flights of uneven stairs without a rest AND recall the names of some of the munchkins in my classes.

Below is a little information on ISF taken from their website www.indochinastarfish.org

The ISF Education Programme strives to take children (mostly from the slums) who have never had the benefit of schooling or those who have had to stop education for economic reasons and support them through a period of “Catch Up’ teaching to their correct age grade for state school. Thereafter the children are sponsored through state school and onto vocational training or further education. These are children who currently spend their days scavenging in the streets of Phnom Penh to raise money. 

In addition to education we maintain the children’s health (including optical and dental care and vaccinations) and monitor their welfare.

Our educational programme is focused on children who live in two districts within Phnom Penh. Our original Stung Meanchay Education Centre currently serves 225 children; this number will grow to 450 students by 2016. The redevelopment of this Centre will be complete by mid 2013. Our second education centre in the Chbar Ampov district opened in September 2012 with 50 new students – a number which will reach 250 by 2016.

I've come at a really interesting time - as the school has just hired a new English Teacher (their 4th) and are in the process of redesigning the English curriculum. My role is to assist in the development and help to train the teachers here - who have little experience using classroom management skills, activities and content that we take for granted as trained teachers at home. 

I'm working with 4 classes each day (Monday-Wednesday) and will soon begin withdrawing my students for Literacy Assessment, which for my teaching buds...takes a little longer than a Numeracy Interview and is a little most complex with the whole language barrier thing!

The English coordinator here, Sopha, is an amazing woman incredible vision for the school and passion for the education of these students. It's so refreshing to meet a Cambodian teacher who's keen to move away from the traditional methods of students sitting in straight lines, copying from the board and standing when speaking to their teacher, and she is just as excited to see new games and activities used in the classrooms as the kids. 

The money raised for ISF back home will be used to increase the number of literacy resources available to the children, and Sopha and I are having a great time writing our shopping list!

Indochina Starfish Foundation

My classroom is up on the third floor (a whole lot of stairs away) and yes, that truck is considered a school bus!

The school playground where I'm regularly dodging football practise or 'Shoe Bowls'...think lawn bowls with thongs.