One of Saron’s visions was the availability of English classes for people in the remote villages.
Saron felt so fortunate to be fluent in English, as a result of his years in the UN Resettlement Camp, because it gave him many opportunities that others have not had. While English classes are offered in bigger towns and cities in Cambodia, there are no resources for children or adults in remote villages.
When Saron designed the Library, he provided a cement roof on the one story Library so that in the future a second story could be added for English classes.
In May 2015, Tonie Parrish from Vail Associates approached our Project with the goal of making English classes a reality. She wanted to honor a mentor who had taught Tonie English as her second language – which again opened up many opportunities for her. Tonie’s donation to our Project provided a year’s salary for a qualified English teacher. The English teacher’s salary is $60/month. One class is now offered at the Kouk Reang’ Village Library 5 days/week for two hours each afternoon.
A class of 15-25 students was selected from 31 student applications A class started July 1st,2015
Average class size is about 15 students. Some of them cannot attend every day as their parents need them to collect mushrooms and make vegetable sales, etc.
Donations from our Project earmarked for the Library provided a white board; marker pens; 25 English books for kids and one for the teache