News from Aziza's Place: August - September

Dear Friends of Aziza's Place,

The summer break from public school certainly doesn't mean the learning stops at Aziza's Place. These last two months have been a time of extra learning and adventures for all the AP residents and a special time for two residents who experienced many 'firsts' during their trip to the UK with Co-Founder Amjad Ghori.

August was an exciting time for visitors, with Amjad visiting AP for the third time this year. We were also delighted to meet Aziza's Place supporter Jenny Dutton who visited for the first time and long-time supporters (through Basmati), Raphaël Surber and Susanne Jäger who came as part of their annual visit to Aziza's Place. All the guests were present for Family Night during which the AP residents performed a well-practiced rendition of 'The Girl Who Cried Wolf', along with a dramatic Khmer dance performance.

As highlighted further below, all the AP residents took part in an exciting new project guided by English teacher Rob that gave the children an opportunity to think practically, problem-solve and even introduced them to physics as they worked together to build a water pump which transports water across horizontal or vertical distances, built with items found in most Cambodian households.

Just prior to the commencement of the 2011-2012 academic year at the Khmer Public Schools, the AP residents were all involved in an Enrolment campaign in the Steung Meanchey community, encouraging families to enrol their children in their local school before this date.

Finally, we want to express our sincere appreciation for the commitment and dedication shown by Intern Elodie Douillard-Potet during her time volunteering at Aziza's Palce for the last five months, and to Maxime Rovere who came to AP for all of August to experience Aziza's Place first-hand. And we were delighted to see former volunteer Emma Horsfall when she returned to Cambodia for a 10-day visit. We are all ever so appreciative of the unique contributions that each of our volunteers brings to Aziza's Place.

Yours Gratefully,

Aziza's Place

 

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This month we thank you for your generosity:

Basmati-Authentic Help - Raphaël Surber and Susanne Jäger

Jenny Dutton • John Xu and Grace Xi Chen (Give Me A Chance Charity)

Hannah Cooper, Anna Allen and Zaria McClement (South Hampstead High School)

Terranova Family • Lisa D'Aguiar

 

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New Experiences for Two AP Residents Exploring the UK

Cheng and Ny enjoying new foods and flavours

during their trip to the UK.  Pictured here Cheng and

Ny are accompanied by 2010 volunteers Hayley and

Emma, and Hayley's friend Nick, in Manchester, England.   

In August 2011, two AP residents, Ny and Cheng, were the recipients of an 11-day trip to England as a reward for their leadership skills and all-round achievements at Aziza's Place. Cheng was hosted by AP's Co-founder Amjad Ghori while Ny was hosted by Adam Cooper (a Trustee of the Aziza Foundation UK) and his family. They also stayed with former volunteer Hayley Carter, who acted as their tour guide on a visit to her hometown of Manchester. Their English-speaking abilities impressed all who met them, and their character and poise in an unfamiliar culture and surroundings made them exceptional representatives of Aziza’s Place. See here for an insight into Ny and Cheng's UK memories, captured through photographs taken with their new cameras donated by Jenny Dutton - a first-time visitor and Supporter of Aziza's Place. When asked to describe their experience of leaving Cambodia for the first time and travelling so far away, Ny and Cheng had the following to say about their journey:

"My Favorite Crazy Adventure" - Ny Expresses Her Impressions of the UK:

  Hello my name is Channy (Ny). I am 14 years old. I arrived at Aziza’s Place on August 13, 2007.
  I really enjoyed my time in the UK. Everything was just like a new world for me. It was my first time on a plane, on a train and also to be outside of my country. I couldn’t believe that I was on the plane on the way to London. I felt very excited.
  Whenever the plane went up and down all my blood went down to my feet. I felt like there was nothing in my body, I got sick. It was a very long flight for me. 
  England is very different compared to Cambodia. The buildings are very organized. The traffic is different, in London they drive on the opposite side of the road than in Cambodia. It was very confusing. The temperature was very cold for me; on the first night when I slept I wore jeans because I was so cold! It was very strange also when I came back from a movie and it was 8:30 pm and was still light. I was wondering like what!!?? 8 pm and it's still light!!! It was very funny because in Cambodia it is always dark at 6 pm.
  This was one of my favorite crazy adventures that I won’t ever forget!

"London is very different to Cambodia!" - Cheng describes his UK Experience:

  Hello my name is Cheng and I am 15 years old. I have been at Aziza’s Place for four years. I am really enjoying living at Aziza’s Place because they give me education, fun and help to give me a new life.

  I went to London with another resident from AP, Ny, and I was very happy. It was my first time on a plane, train and also my first time leaving my country. When I got there I went shopping with Amjad, his friend Irina and Ny and on the way back I took pictures in the park. That evening I went to dinner at a Chinese restaurant and after that I went to a movie. I really enjoyed it because it was my first time to do these things in my life.

  The next morning I went to Hyde Park, it was very beautiful. The day after that I went to Amjad’s office to meet his friends who were very nice people. Then we all had lunch and I had Chicken Pasta and Salad. It was really good!

  London is very different to Cambodia. Eating was different because they don’t eat rice every day like I do at home. In the future I want to continue my studies in London if I can because the people were really nice, they have a good university and I am really impressed with their technology.

AP Residents Enthusiastically Take Part in Cambodia's National Education Campaign

Chiev places an enrolment

poster on a fence in the

Steung Meanchey community,

encouraging families to

register their children in school.

As a member of the Cambodia’s collaborative NGO Education Partnership (NEP), Aziza’s Place participated in the nationwide education campaign to encourage Cambodian families to enroll their children in public school. The children of Aziza’s Place were excited to share the positive education message and distribute posters for families in Steung Meanchey (previously Phnom Penh’s dumpsite). The main objectives of NEP’s 2011 education campaign for Cambodia are to:

• “increase the enrolment rate by encouraging more parents to register and support their children for schooling;
• ensure that all children, girls and boys, have the same opportunity to attend school;
• raise awareness among communities on the importance of education as a key to break the cycle of poverty, making parents aware of their responsibility to bring children to school”.

The AP children all took these messages on board and felt privileged to share in the responsibility to talk with families in their community, encouraging others to see the importance of education. Dressed in bright white Aziza’s Place t-shirts, the AP children broke into groups of 4-5, initiating discussions with parents and children and putting up posters in prominent places among the houses built atop the dumpsite. The children at Aziza’s Place show every day in their hard work and dedication to learning that education is not something to be taken for granted in Cambodia. This was reinforced again in their eagerness to share the positive education messages to the people in their own community.

AP Residents Keep Active with Summer Break Activities

AP residents Roth and Sreyphea
collect and measure the water
transported vertically using the
second water pump model. 

Innovative Do-It-Yourself projects take a lot of trial-and-error, patience, testing, calculating, recording, and making improvements by thinking outside the box. The AP residents are all learning these attributes as they take on an exciting new project guided by English teacher Rob. The project introduces a basic water pump, all constructed with items found in most Cambodian households. The pump can be used to transport water vertically or across horizontal distances and does not require petrol, diesel or any other fuel for operation. As the children know well, these water transport needs are very relevant to life in Cambodia, particularly in the countryside where many households lack access to electricity and where people are required to walk long distances to access water for home or farm use.

In the last two months the AP residents worked with Rob to develop two versions of the water pump. The first model pumped water from the ground to the first level of the Aziza’s Place building (a vertical height of 3.1 meters) at a rate of just over 2 liters in 3 minutes, using hosepipe, a bucket, and physical arm-power (to rotate the bucket). All calculations were made by the AP residents. They are currently working with models that can later be scaled up in size for increased capacity. Their efforts to make improvements with the second model were impressive. Adding in a bicycle wheel and adjusting the hosepipe to work more effectively, the second water pump moved 10 times the volume of water – 21.7 liters of water up a vertical height of 3.1 meters in 3 minutes! The next step has been to power the water pump using a swing. You can see the children enjoying these results on video here.

The project has been recorded online for others around the world to participate, make comments and try their hand at producing improved results. See the Water Pump Instructions online. The AP children have been inspired – we all look forward to seeing their future results from the next new and improved versions!

AP Residents Inspired by AMK Bank Presentation

Nang Kinal from AMK Bank shares about his own
work experience, with the high school residents
of Aziza's Place. 

Through the AP Internship Program the eldest residents have been learning invaluable skills and know-how relevant to the working world and to their field of interest. Their perspectives have been broadened and they can visualize widened options and renewed goals for their futures. As further encouragement to build on their aspirations, the high-school aged residents were all inspired by a presentation from Nang Kinal (Head of Marketing) of Angkor Mikroheranhvatho Kampuchea (AMK) Bank. Kinal described the typical path for working in AMK bank – through internships, university studies, work promotions and experience – and illustrated how this experience is applicable to all aspirations, encouraging the AP teenagers to pursue their goals, take up opportunities to increase their skill-base and take a step-by-step approach in building up their knowledge and capabilities to fulfill their dreams.

The second part of Kinal‘s presentation encouraged the residents to think about saving. With AMK specifically directed towards working with people from low-income circumstances by providing a range of tailored micro-finance services, Kinal highlighted that everyone can save. He talked about the reward and satisfaction of saving for a purpose. The AP residents found the presentation thought-provoking, identifying some ideas they had heard before, but coming away with a fresh perspective. We are appreciative for AMK continuing to connect with Aziza’s Place in a partnership that we look forward to continuing into the future.

Special Thanks to Elodie for Five Months of Service to AP; Thank You to Volunteer Maxime; And Welcome Back to Previous Volunteer Emma!

Left:  Intern Elodie with Bopha.  Right: Maxime

explains basic concepts of the French language

to AP residents. 

Aziza’s Place sends a special thanks to volunteer Elodie Douillard-Potet from France who became a big part of the Aziza’s Place family during her recent five-month residency. Her university studies (at Université De Franche-Comté in France) focusing on Project Management were put into practice as she guided the children in various projects during the months she spent as an Intern at AP. Elodie was perceptive in identifying areas where the children could expand their knowledge, and connected with other organizations and individuals to implement various workshops and learning opportunities for the children and AP staff. She organized a successful first-aid workshop, a hip-hop dance class and photography workshops for the children and guided a number of other projects with the children. Elodie also became a good friend to the AP House Moms as she taught English and started Computer classes with them. Elodie was always dedicated and hard-working – we already miss her smile around Aziza’s Place. We’re very happy to hear she will be back in Cambodia in 2012 to work in an orphanage (where she volunteered in 2010) on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, and look forward to her visits. Thank you Elodie!

Maxime Rovere came to Aziza's Place in August, timing his trip with Amjad's (AP Co-Founder) third trip to AP for the year. Previously working with Amjad, Maxime had heard a lot about life at Aziza's Place and was inspired to contribute his time to volunteer with the children at AP. Maxime is from France and was able to teach French language lessons to five enthusiastic residents. He also taught English and Computer classes with the AP House-Moms while enjoying volleyball and football games with the children during his free time. The children and staff enjoyed Maxime's energy and the older boys especially loved having some competitive spirit added to the volleyball court! We wish Maxime all the best with continuing his studies of Finance in France.

We were also excited to see the return of volunteer Emma Horsfall during her visit to Cambodia for 10 days in August. Her previous students Ream, Sreynak and Lina were especially delighted to see her again. Emma volunteered at Aziza's Place in 2010 but has kept in touch. It was lovely to see her again and for the youngest residents to show off their much improved English abilities since her time at AP just under one year ago. Thank you Emma, and all the best with your return to the UK.

How to Help Aziza's Place - Support • Volunteer • Connect

Are you interested in supporting the children and programs of Aziza's Place? We invite you to become a part of our growing global community by donating, volunteering, or simply connecting us to your network of friends and family.

Click here to make a donation via PayPal. For donations over $400, please click here for wire transfer information. U.S. donors receive a tax credit receipt for your contribution. UK donors may elect the Gift Aid option so the tax-gross up is received by the charity. If you are a perspective volunteer, please take a look at our volunteer needs on idealist.org, or simply contact us.

Thank you for supporting the children and families of Aziza's Place.