Child Sponsorship Report 2010, from Siem Reap, Cambodia

Dear sponsor,

It is my pleasure to write to you and tell you more about the life at the SOS Children’s Village Angkor Siem Reap. We hope you enjoy reading and knowing more about the families and their lives at the village.

Up to date we have provided a family to 165 children who 8 of them have been embraced this year, Malina, Ratha, Raksa, Reasmey, Ty, Sokheng, Senheng and Touch. They have been provided with all necessary needs so they always feel belong to their family. They can later overcome the trauma of losing their environment, friends and family from where they come. They all have found in the SOS Children’s Village Angkor Siem Reap a loving home. The youngest child is about three year and the oldest girl is eighteen years old. We organise Karate-Do Training Programme every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The grade examination for 2009 of Karate-Do was held on December 17, 2009 at the village. Simultaneously the result 54 children were upgraded to brown belt. And we have also been organising Khmer Traditional Dance every Sunday.

The Youth House is now home for 23 youths. These youths have benefited adequate training from their various mothers at the village. The continuous psycho-social support from youth leader and other co-workers has helps them to develop self confidence and better life skills. One youth has moved to Phnom Penh to study Engineering at National Training Institute in the capital Phnom Penh and other 22 youths are in high school and secondary. At weekends they visit their SOS mothers and siblings. In the SOS Vocational Training Centre Angkor Siem Reap there are 23 teenagers that are facing the same challenge. They have chosen different skills. Until now, there are 92 boys who graduated from our Vocational Training Centre and have already got employment.

The SOS School and SOS Nursery Angkor Siem Reap are at the next to door of the village. The SOS School and Nursery provides education to our children and the children from the neighbourhood. At the SOS Nursery you can hear children laughing in every group. This is a place which is never quiet! Up to 105 children between the ages 3-6 attend SOS Nursery. The availability of suitable classrooms, game and toys ensures that the children are given the optimum conditions for developing their social, intellectual and creative skills and they are prepared for the primary school.

The mothers and Aunts from the SOS Children’s Village are regularly receiving literacy training Programme in order to help reinforce their level of understanding, improving their work and responsibilities and allowing them to better support their children’s care and education. They also received training on the SOS Village manual and Child Protection Policy for better understanding.

In order to make children more interested in their life, we always promote their developments, activities and events which organized within and outside the village.

On April 26th there was an event to commemorate 24th anniversary Ceremony of the founder Hermann Gmeiner. We invited the monks and offered the food to all the monks. We prayed and dedicated the food to the spirit of the founder Hermann Gmeiner on that day.

On the 1st June, International Children’s Day a joint entertaining activity was arranged at SOS Nursery in village. All mothers, children and co-workers participated in the event. All the children get up early to made up and dress up neatly. All children enjoyed playing with many games such as banana eating competition, pair running competition and dancing game competition. There were many questions relating to the rights of the children are prepared for the children. They can answer all the questions. The children also received the gifts from the committee. They all were joyful and know well about the International Children’s Day.

During the summer vacation, the children in SOS Children’s Village Angkor Siem Reap visited Kamping Pouy lake which located about 35 killometre western of Battambang Provincial town and about 215 killometre from Siem Reap Province. Kamping Pouy is the site of both recreational lake and a massive hand-build stretching between two hills. As the value of nature we can see the lotus and the rice field gathering around it. Moreover, they could relax with a traditonal hut and arranged the picnic food. Fifteen minute after finishing lunch, they took daved and threw the water each other. Therefore all the children and mothers were really enjoyed with thier value vacation and kept all memories along with them back home. they wish to visit there again in the nearest future.

Your kind help enables us to do work. Therefore on behalf of all us I would like to thank you and convey our gratitude and appreciation.

Yours Sincerely

Mrs. Meas Mala

Senior Co-worker Sponsorship