Cambodian Kids Care

The Cambodian School on Koh Chang

Koh Chang is an idyllic island off the east coast of Thailand and close to the Cambodian border. It is a popular tourist destination and hasn’t suffered from over-development.

However, the lack of amenities and luxuries on the island means that it is difficult to attract Thai staff. Most unskilled or semi-skilled workers prefer to be in towns or cities. So increasingly Cambodian workers are used not only to work in resorts but also to build them. There are now around 5,000 Cambodians living and working on Koh Chang.

Employers like to hire Cambodian staff – they have a reputation for working hard, plus are easier to hire and fire than Thai staff. Cambodians come to Koh Chang as it’s close to the border – under 100Km and although many are paid less than their Thai counterparts it’s still an opportunity to work and save money that they can send home to their families.

The majority are employed legally, but there are many, especially those doing construction work, who aren’t. If they don’t have a work permit then they cannot get benefits such as cheap healthcare or having their kids go to a local Thai school.

The Beginning of Cambodia Kids Care ( CKC )

In mid 2008 a Dutch couple, who had set up schools for disadvantaged children in other countries around the world, learned of the plight of Cambodian kids living in a slum village near Klong Prao village, Koh Chang. They visited, saw the conditions and learned how the kids were often left alone for 8 – 10 hours a day, unsupervised, whilst their parents went to work. They acted and set up a school which they funded. The aim was to provide a basic free education, nutritious lunch and a safe environment for as many children as possible.

Today

Nowadays, CKC is run through a Thai charity based here in Koh Chang; Studybuddies Foundation. It receives no financial support from the authorities on Koh Chang or Thai government. It is financed entirely by donations.

Khun Uan runs the school every day, picking the kids up in a beaten up old pickup and driving them home again after school each day. Every weekday from 8am – 3pm, up to 50 Children, aged from 4 – 14 attend the simple, thatched roof school. They are taught various subjects in both English and Thai.

The aim isn’t to help them pass exams but to give them a good basic education; widen their view of the world and provide life lessons in order for them to have the opportunity to gain employment and get out of the cycle of poverty. They are taught to work together and to look after each other. They help with preparing food at lunchtime and cleaning the school at the end of the day. The older kids are also encouraged to mentor and tutor the younger ones.

Jim Ward of Luton England visited CKC Koh Chang in April 2018. Before his visit he was asked to bring second hand clothing for the children. He realised a better alternative was to provide a school uniform top that the kids could wear and provide a sense of identity and belonging. With the help of Khun Uan each child was given a new top to wear to school. See the main picture for the kids in their new tops with the CKC logo. After donating a Natural History Museum pocket microscope to the school and watching the kids’ amazement at what they were seeing for the first time he realized that these kids had absolutely no access to any kind of modern technology. Pens, paper and whiteboards is all the school has.

So all in all these kids are in pretty dire straits, they are dependent on Khun Uan and any visiting volunteers for any input that could broaden their horizons. Just imagine what an impetus to their education it would be if they could access the Neil deGrasse Tyson series “Cosmos”.

What next?

Working with Khun Uan, Jim Ward has initiated a project to get IT and wifi capability for the school. Starting with a couple of laptops and a one year wifi contract, hopefully the school can move on to workstation and printer. This project will be of immense benefit to the children. The technology is all around them but they have no access to it. We can change that.

IT project costs

Internet capability via Wi-Fi will cost £20 per month (remember this is an island with few landlines) and ideally a 12 month contract would be put in place.

A used laptop can be found at £125, so there’s a steep target. The aim is to provide 2 used laptops and Internet access for a year.

Total cost £490. Since writing this, one objective has changed, I realised that 2 laptops would have a very limited audience, maybe 4 - 5 kids per laptop and there are up to 50 at any one time. After consultation with Khun Uan we have realised that a better goal would be to buy a used projector and mains powered speakers. This way Khun Uan can download educational content and display it at an appropriate time to reach a far larger target audience.

If we can get this going, we can change lives