Project Costs will cover:
Construction materials, paints, wages for a local foreman & electrician and costs associated with transporting the materials to the village.
Additionally, the funding will pay a local teacher's salary for one year.
Project aims and Outcomes:
The project aims to improve the classroom learning enviornment for students by
- Building repairs including wood cladding, application of timber preservative, repairing holes and cracks in the walls
- Providing new doors and replacing approx 20 window shutters
- Building desks, benches, white boards
- Fitting new lights in the classrooms
- Repainting the entire school inside and out
- Building additional desks, chairs and tables
- Improving sanitation: There are currently two toilets which need repairs and a well.
- Creating a clean drinking water supply by installing bio-sand water filters
- Create shade in front of
school by planting more trees.
- Building a small playground
Background:
World Expeditions provide responsible-travel tours in this area of Siem Reap near the historic Angkor Wat complex. Through their close ties to local communities, this school
was identified as needing assistance and has become the focus of the
2008 Community Project Trip to Cambodia.
The school was built in 1996 by the Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC). There are 5 rooms in all, but CMAC occupies 3 of the 5 rooms for their base camp, leaving only 2 classrooms available for lessons. Originally, only the first grade of 34 students was taught.
However, the building has not functioned as a school for the last 2 years. This project will bring back into use the dormant school building.
Classes will start in May 2008 and are expected to be over subscribed. The school will cater for both adults and children at different times of the day. Expected numbers are 60 children and 30 adults.
The school is situated next to a Buddhist pagoda and the monks are keen to participate as well. The school will be staffed by volunteers and one Khmer national teacher.
Get Involved:
Some of the volunteer labour on this project will come from the World Expeditions' Community Project Trip participants who will perform the work over 4 days, under the guidance of local partners and villagers.
You can join World Expeditions Community Project to renovate the run-down school house in the community of Balang, departing 02 November, 2008
To see what these community projects are like, see the documentary video about the Saramthali school in Nepal.
