Now that all the festivities and holidays are over and I've moved into my apartment, the real work begins! Monday morning, I dropped by the dorm to have a visit with the CLEW students. It was so great to see them! We discussed how I could best help them and we determined that I should go over from 8:30 - 10:30 each morning to help them with their English and studies. They have classes from 12 - 5 each day and then English classes with Bunna at 6-8 each evening. CLEW pays for Bunna to provide these English lessons 5 days a week.
I then had lunch with Marnie & Ford at a beautiful restaurant, Topaz. We discussed the new dorm and what the students need. They are very excited about the dorm we found and hope that we can get everything finalized soon.
Bandol & I had dinner with Susan Green, a visiting Law professor from Vancouver who is teaching at RULE, where the CLEW students attend.
I then had lunch with Marnie & Ford at a beautiful restaurant, Topaz. We discussed the new dorm and what the students need. They are very excited about the dorm we found and hope that we can get everything finalized soon.
Bandol & I had dinner with Susan Green, a visiting Law professor from Vancouver who is teaching at RULE, where the CLEW students attend.
This morning, I started my first session with the students. Traffic was horrendous so I was a bit late getting there. I walked into the dorm and there were these lovely smiling faces ready to learn English! The only problem is, I'm not really a teacher and I've never taught English so it was a bit daunting! However, we managed with the help of Sonan translating and the second and third year girls helping the first year girls. Sandan suggested a game describing words that I would provide them so that was fun!
Next, I went to meet with two new contacts from an NGO here, Gender and Development Cambodia (GADC), (www.gadc.org.kh). Mehrak Mehrvar, a Canadian lawyer & activist who is working here on contract, introduced me to the Executive Director of GADC, Sopheap Ros the other day. We discussed the potential of internships for our CLEW students at GADC. Today, Bandol & I met with Sopheap and one of her managers, Thou Heng. There is definitely potential here that we need to continue to pursue.
As a side note, have you heard of the initiative called One Billion Rising that has the goal of ending violence against women? Check out www.onebillionrising.org. Sopheap & Thou lead the Cambodian initiative and Mehrak is a driving force behind the Toronto campaign. The concept is a grass roots initiative for women around the world to come together to dance & sing on February 14th, to rise up against violence.
As a side note, have you heard of the initiative called One Billion Rising that has the goal of ending violence against women? Check out www.onebillionrising.org. Sopheap & Thou lead the Cambodian initiative and Mehrak is a driving force behind the Toronto campaign. The concept is a grass roots initiative for women around the world to come together to dance & sing on February 14th, to rise up against violence.
This afternoon, Try & I went over to the new dorm to review the lease with the landlady. We hope to have things finalized tomorrow. While Try was talking to the landlady in her store, a woman came over from the NGO across the street. I spoke to her and it turned out that she spoke English and is from South Africa. She says that she is there to help her students speak English. They are from an NGO called New Hope for Cambodian Children (NHCC) http://newhopeforcambodianchildren.com/ which is sponsored by USAID and the Clinton Foundation. This charity helps children with HIV/AIDS who are either orphaned or just need medical help and to go to school. Most of their work is done in the provinces but the house across the street from our new dorm houses university age students, both male and female, who are studying in various programs. I explained to her about our program and said that we would be interested in any female students who want to pursue a degree in law. I was a little concerned about the HIV aspect but she says that the medication they take means that they are not contagious.
The traffic was brutal today. For those of you who think Toronto traffic is bad, I have to say that I am pretty sure Phnom Penh traffic is worse. There are very few traffic lights and everyone seems to just weave their way through. It generally moves at about 20 - 30 kph but it often comes to a complete stop due to the frequent construction and road repairs. You end up having to take numerous detours and it often feels like you're going in circles.
The traffic was brutal today. For those of you who think Toronto traffic is bad, I have to say that I am pretty sure Phnom Penh traffic is worse. There are very few traffic lights and everyone seems to just weave their way through. It generally moves at about 20 - 30 kph but it often comes to a complete stop due to the frequent construction and road repairs. You end up having to take numerous detours and it often feels like you're going in circles.