April News

Happy Khmer New Year!

We celebrated Cambodia’s biggest holiday this month on April 13, 14 and 15th. For weeks leading up to the New Year, our house, the streets, and all of Phnom Penh was bustling with traditional games and holiday music. The pending forced evictions of slum-dwellers all over Phnom Penh loomed large over the majority of parents of our resident children, most of whom face being evicted from their homes on the Stung Meanchey dumpsite which was recently sold to foreign developers. In this uncertain period, the holiday was a great opportunity to reach out to these families and share in the good news; the great strides being made by their children. Our inaugural Parent’s Night at Aziza’s Place held on April 12th was a smashing success and will now become a monthly event. The Parents loved hearing about their children’s progress and assured us that they all want to see their children remain at Aziza’s Place even after they are relocated from Stung Meanchey.

Also this month, our founder Amjad Ghori had his first fundraising event in the US. We are grateful for all those that generously donated. Thank you so much for your support! We’d also like to say a special Thank You to Doris and Gary Galvin who hosted the event at their lovely art gallery in Chelsea, Michigan (www.chelseagallery.com)

Wishing you the best,
Aziza’s Place

Parents Night

The holidays were the perfect time for us to launch our first Parent’s Night. It has been one of our goals to get our children’s parents more involved in the activities and education at Aziza’s Place.

Many orphanages in Cambodia assist children who have families. As with Aziza’s Place, many of our children have at least one parent who is living, but given the conditions at the dumpsite they are unable to provide their children with a clean and safe living environment, nutritious meals, medical attention nor the opportunity for them to attend school. For a variety of reasons, families have been forced to survive scavenging for recyclables in the city’s dumpsite. Now, even this meager opportunity to earn a subsistence wage may be in danger.


Photo by Nader Ebrahimi 2008

Phnom Penh is growing and developing quickly these days. Unfortunately, the pace of progress has been a strain for many; mostly the poor. Those in poverty are carrying the burden as many locations which served as their dwellings are being evacuated to make way for commercial and residential real-estate developments. Our friends at Aziza’s Schoolhouse in the Dey Krahorm neighborhood were evicted in January in a brutal display of force that saw bulldozers raze their dwellings and occupants forced to gather their life’s belongings within a matter of minutes. Stung Meanchey faces a similar fate as evictions have been declared imminent. With mounting fear and uncertainty, it has been very important for us to discuss the future with these families.



Happy New Year! (Susaday Chnam Thmey)

On April 12th we celebrated Khmer New Year at Aziza’s Place, hosting all of our families. We feasted on delicious curry noodles prepared by our talented chef, Seaklim, played holiday music, danced and enjoyed some of the many traditional New Year games. In one game similar to pinatas, we hung ceramic pots above the courtyard. Some were filled with candy, money, and flour, while others were filled with water. Players were blindfolded, spun in a circle and then aimed at the pots. The “unlucky” smash the pots with water. (Welcome to AP Laura!)






Given the emotional strain of the past few months, our Khmer staff members were given the entire holiday off. The four boys who stayed at AP over the holidays were supervised by Missy and Dan. All were apprehensive of their “rice*” making abilities, but as it turned out they surprised everyone and themselves with some delicious meals: stew, pancakes, and spaghetti. The four boys ate enough for the whole gang. They also enjoyed a trip to the riverfront, swimming and some fun games, such as scrubbing the bathroom floor. That’s fun right?


* In Cambodia the word rice is often substituted for the word food, because typically all meals have rice.

English with My Brother and Sister

By Rotha

On Khmer New Year, I went home to see my mother and my uncle. When I got there, I met lots of my friends and my family. The next day I walked around my house and saw chickens eating insects on the beautiful grass. In my province it was very hot, but in the morning it was really good to breathe the air. My brother and sister were at my house. They were really cute. My brother is six years old, and my sister is nine years old. They were interested in English. One day they asked me to teach them again and again. When I taught them they really focused on what I said. My brother was good at pronouncing words, but my sister was not. She was good at writing and remembering the alphabet. It was fun for me to teach them. I really like to share my knowledge with my brother and my sister.

Happy Birthday Ben!

Ben Mays, a volunteer from London, England, celebrated his birthday with us this month. He and his wife, Maria Mays have been spending their free time with us, while volunteering elsewhere on worthy projects. In addition, they orchestrated a fund-raising effort that resulted in generous donation for Aziza’s Place from their friends from around the globe. Ben is mean basketball competition for the boys and Maria has been helping Channy and Chanty with their English.

April Birthdays

Chheav (15) - April 4
Sokty (11) - April 8
Davina Clay (Generous volunteer - 25) – April 15
Ben Mays (Generous volunteer ) - April 17

Thank You Laura Newson

Laura, a student from Calgary, Canada joined us for the month of April as a volunteer. She stepped in to teach the first level English courses. She will be heading to school in Halifax, Canada in the fall and is saving up to return. We will miss her! Good luck with your studies, Laura!

Resident Highlight - Sreyny

Age: 12
Place of Birth: Preveng Province, Cambodia
Home: Stung Meanchey, Phnom Penh
Entered Aziza’s Place: July 2007
School: Tuol Tompong Public School
08/09 school year: Grade 5

Sreyny came to Aziza’s Place in the summer of 2007. Since enrolling in school, Ny has pushed herself to excel in every area of her life at Aziza’s Place. Be it academic subjects such as math, English, Khmer, or extra-curricular activities such as dance and karate, Ny consistently gives 130%. Her lithe soft-spoken nature, underscores a commanding drive to succeed. She placed number one in her class at Tuol Tompong public school in every quarter of the 2008 academic year. In addition, she is the lead performer in traditional Khmer dance class, a brown belt in karate and a member of the film class, which is offered to students who are proficient in English. With quiet determination, she often works on her own, but is quick to help younger students. She carries herself with dignity and integrity beyond her years and though not the most vocal student in class, her presence has weight and authority just the same.

When she grows-up she says she wants to be a doctor, her aptitude for technical study - math and the sciences - is clear. Unfortunately, public school is not challenging her enough in these areas. Currently she is in fifth grade and though pressure has been placed on the school to reevaluate her placement to a class ahead of the one in which she’s currently enrolled, the issue has not yet been resolved.

Staff Highlight - Dan Haney

Aziza’s Place is alive again with the sound of kids singing about mosquitoes and rice. These hilarious songs are lead by Dan Haney, our new Director overseeing Administration and Operations.

Since arriving he has kept spirits high and the kids laughing. Dan can be found in the courtyard playing basketball and soccer whenever he gets the chance, which has not been as much as he’d like these past months. He has been busy overseeing general operations, breaking in a new accounting system and connecting with staff. But all the work is paying off. Yi Makara, the office assistant who has been at Aziza’s Place since the beginning is impressed. “He works really hard, and he has good communication with us. He’s a good leader.”

Dan arrived at Aziza’s in late February intending to handle the finance and administrative function to assist Nader. After Nader’s tragic passing, Dan was suddenly faced with much more encompassing responsibilities and he’s responded beautifullly. “He has adapted to his new role incredibly well and very quickly,” says Davina Clay, a volunteer from England.

Despite the chaotic atmosphere, Dan was able to take the lead and provide the children and staff with the support and security that was so desperately needed.

“You know exactly where he stands and he’s very down to earth, so he’s been great to work with and the children love him,” says Missy Washington the Communications Director. “He really is a positive presence in this place.”

“I like the way he talks to me,” says Rotha, one of the older boys.

The first memories that Dan has of Aziza’s Place are nights playing music and telling stories with the older boys. He admits some of the stories were hard to hear: tragic reasons why their families ended up at Steung Meanchey, recollections of miserable living conditions, and the things their young eyes have seen. He realized then how fortunate the children are to have Aziza’s Place and what a difference this has made in their lives already.

It isn’t hard to see why he decided to return after three months of volunteering last year.

Aziza’s Place made an impression on him. “It was a beautiful place and had the most amazing colors. It seemed like the perfect place for a kid to grow up, lots of flowers and plants, art and…. happy kids.”

Dan found out about AP through Alexandra Robbins (a friend of Aziza’s family who will also be returning to Aziza’s Place in mid-May as a Director responsible for Program and Curriculum Development and Donor Relations.)

Dan made the trek to Cambodia in November 2007 and began volunteering at a health clinic in the slums along Bong Kak Lake. He also taught English at Dey Krahorm, and assisted Ali and Nader with health workshops at Steung Meanchey. “Doing public health, especially at Steung Meanchey was a big motivation for me to work with the kids at Aziza’s Place.”

He returned home to the United States in January, knowing already that he wanted to return. He worked for a year in Virginia to save up.

Dan grew up on a small farm in Boyce, a rural town in northern Virginia. He was naturally interest in agriculture and nature, which led him to study Geographic Sciences at James Madison University. Through his major he discovered Southeast Asia.

“It was an opportunity offered by my inspiring geography teacher. He opened my eyes to what geography is and what it encompasses, which is everything about how societies and cultures operate and their effects on associated environments.”

Dan traveled with his instructor and a group of students to the Philippines. There he was stuck by the landscape and the culture, one that he says carries many similarities to Cambodia. “The people are fun-loving and have very creative minds.” He was also struck by the ingenuity used to compensate for the lack of economic wealth and government support.

He carries that inspiration with him to Aziza’s Place. In the near future he hopes to work with staff to expand the program to include leadership and vocational training, developing opportunities for further education, internships, and community projects. “To make this program successful, the key is sustainability. I want to get my hands dirty and open as many opportunities for human development as possible.”

Volunteer Highlight - Davina Clay

Davina Clay joined us in February from Outreach International, a volunteer organization based in England. She was a sales representative before discovering a hidden talent for teaching at Aziza’s Place. Davina has been doing an incredible job creating unique lessons plans and engaging her students in fun and interactive ways. We all know which is the fun class at AP.



Davina Clay
Age: 25
Originally from: Bath, England
Living in: London, England
Occupation: sales representative
Fun Fact: Davina is glad she came in the dry season. She’s sick of rain (England).


What brings you here? What is you motivation to come
I wanted to help children learn that if they want something and are willing to work for it, there are opportunities out there - no matter what your background. I also wanted to challenge myself and learn about different cultures.

I was working in London in quite a challenging role which was starting to take its toll. I watched a programme on television about young children who were branded as witches. It was the most harrowing programme I have ever watched. The next day I went into work and realised that I can do something different, I can help in my own small little way so I left my job and came to Cambodia.

What are you doing at AP?
I am teaching English - Grade 3 and I love it!

What preconceived ideas of Cambodia did you have before that have been changed since being here?
I didn't realise quite how western the city had become - not in the culture and values but in terms of local amenities. I didn't expect so many people to speak English.

What’s your favorite memory at AP?
There was a thunderstorm while I was teaching my lesson. I teach in an outside courtyard section of the building which was sheltered but still ‘at one’ with the elements! Suddenly there was the loudest thunder I have ever heard and it sounded as if it was a meter above our heads. I looked down to my class and four out of five of them had leapt from their seats and run inside screaming! It was by far the funniest thing I have seen here, they were so quick and then just started laughing. When they returned we saw frogs hopping across the water – that was a bit unexpected as well.

What advice would you give to new volunteers?
Plan your lessons well and always have back ups. Always start the lesson with something really fun, and make the rest as interactive as possible.

What is something unique about where you come from?
Where I come from many of the buildings are hundreds of years old. They are preserved well and look really pretty. Everything is very green and there are lots of cows, they are very different from the cows here though.


After AP, Davina is planning to move back to Bath, England with her parents before working again in London.She’s also hoping to help out the Aziza Foundation UK with fundraising events and other administrative tasks.

Thank You to Our Supporters - April 2009