Ponheary Field Trip?

Old May 23rd, 2008, 05:23 AM
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Ponheary Field Trip?

I'll be touring with Ponheary for 3 days at the very end of August. I asked her what we could do with a school/kids and she said that school would be closed right then and suggested a "field trip" involving their going to a lunch, getting a bus, a teacher and extra guide coming along - not sure if it would also involve going to one of the temples or not? she said others have done this and offered to send me some emails but i figured people on here might have experienced this....can anyone chime in? I'd also like to help them out with something more tangible, lasting and impactful. what if i also gave the 20-odd kids she said would come along bikes? what kind of impact do bikes have on these children? thanks!
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Old May 23rd, 2008, 09:42 AM
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I am sure Lori and others will also respond.

We leave on Friday for Thailand and Cambodia and will be spending three days with Pon and her brother Dara in SIem Reap. We are going to spend one day with the school kids taking them on a field trip to the temples. They will have a Khmer guide and we will have an English guide and we are very much looking forward to the experience. on a separate day, we will also be going to a different school and serving breakfast to the children. We discussed bike donations as well and it is great idea. Lori can tell you more. They typically give out the bikes to the top students as an incentive for staying in school and working hard so they may not agree with giving each of the students on your trip a bike but I am sure you can work something out if you want to see the impact of your bike donation and school is not in session.
I will post a trip report when we return!
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Old May 23rd, 2008, 03:28 PM
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We recently did a field trip with Ponheary and students from the Koh Ker school. (If you want to read about it, Lori posted it on theplf.org website under the "News from the Field" section: http://theplf.org/index.php?option=c...d=16&Itemid=32.)

I can understand the desire to offer something more tangible, but you shouldn't underestimate what a lasting impact the experience of the field trip may have for the students. My favorite and most life-changing moments are about experiences, not about things, and I suspect most people would agree.I would encourage you to give all you can, but let Ponheary tell you how your dollars can best be used!

On another note, I owe a long-overdue thanks to many Fodorites who contributed to my trip-planning throughout last winter. I never posted here, but spent hours reading posts and gathering good information. If anyone is interested in reading about the trip that came out of all the planning, you can take a look at my travel blog: www.mytb.org/jessw.

Thanks to all of you - Jess
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Old May 23rd, 2008, 05:52 PM
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Jess-I wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed your blog. Looks like you had an incredible trip. I saw the link to it from the PLF website. I'd been waiting for the photos because Lori had told me about the field trip a couple of weeks ago.
My Mom and I went out to Koh Ker with our donation back in December. I'm so happy to see these kids getting healthier. The field trip had to have had a huge impact on them.

Nontaco-I'd say do whatever makes you comfortable. Amy is right about the bikes though-those are usually reserved for incentives.

Email Lori through the PLF website. She has no shortage of ideas for what you can do with your money to make an impact. Maybe you could help fund one of the schools breakfast programs. Or, if you really like the bike idea, you could earmark your donation to go there. Whatever you do, it will be helpful.
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Old May 24th, 2008, 04:54 AM
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Kristina - Glad to hear you enjoyed the blog. It was an amazing trip on many levels, and our time in Siem Reap was a highlight. My daughter and I are working on plans to return for 6-8 weeks next winter and do something useful with ourselves there. I'm hoping we can visit the Koh Ker school next time.
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Old May 24th, 2008, 06:33 AM
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Jess- If you have not seen it already, you can see my trip our to Koh Ker with Ponheary and Lori on my website:
http://www.wired2theworld.com
Go to the Thailand & Cambodia 12/07 trip.
Nontaco, you can also see all our time at the other temples and schools with Ponheary there.
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Old May 24th, 2008, 05:43 PM
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Hi Nontaco

Yes a field trip would certainly include going to the temples...we've recently added the trip to town to touring the temples because so many of the children have never been to town; never seen a toilet, never been in a restaurant, never seen 2 and 3 story buildings, commerce, big markets, etc. There is a new shopping center with an ESCALATOR that is a big draw. The trip to the temples with a Khmer speaking guide and then the lunch in a proper restaurant, drive through town, stroll through the market. You can't imagine the impact it has on these kids. They don't stop talking about it for months. Think about what kind of possibilities it opens up in the mind of a child who lives in a rice paddy.

We do indeed like to give the bikes as incentives, to all the graduating 6th graders and top students in grades 4&5. It has motivated them to stay and finish primary school and enrollment in secondary school (often several miles from their villages) has jumped up once the kids have transportation.

The impact of bikes? HUGE. Bicycles are a major mode of transportation in the Cambodian countryside. A child showing up at home with a bicycle for the family's use is a champion... this child has made a huge contribution to the family. Other families in the village see this and encourage their children to finish school as well, so there is a rippling of good.

Having said that, we don't want to be giving out bikes willy-nilly as then we remove the incentive to stay and finish primary school.

We give the bikes either at the end or beginning of the school year so if Ponheary is suggesting bikes, it's because the timing is appropriate if you'll be there in August... She also knows we're about 100 bikes short this year. (Cost of rice robbing the bike fund!)

Food is also a good option as Kristina suggests...we can talk about this more (costs, etc) if you want to email me.

[email protected]
Lori

Amy <dang it> I'm going to miss you by a week!
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