A day in the life of AP

SreyPhea crouches quietly in the evening light gently coaxing her spindly seedlings to grow. The AP residents have begun cultivating small vegetable plots, learning how to plant the seeds and nurture them with water under the direction of Barb Devine, our full-time English teacher. Each day the children run over excited see how much the seedlings have grown in the night.

A day in the life of AP

Introducing our new weekly Friday blog update! Every Friday we'll post special moments, stories and photos that give you the reader a personal glimpse into the daily life at the AP house and allow you to see the world through the youthful eyes of our AP residents. 

There is a term that photographers use to describe the kind of magical light that changes the mundane and banal into a work of art: "Jesus light." It is this light that Michelangelo painted into his masterpiece on the Sistine Chapel ceiling and it is this same light that filters through the entwined tree branches that ensconce the AP courtyard. In the evenings, the children file out into the courtyard in crisp, matching uniforms and move in unison, like a silent dance, as they practice their karate techniques and forms under the direction of the Sensei. 

These two images show a fun juxtaposition between the older residents, who have lived at AP for many years, and two of our newest residents, who joined the AP family over the past few months. For these two little ones, their initial time at AP is about finding a balance in their new life and learning how to move in unison with their large new family.

Aziza's Place Staff Retreat

In a small town tucked beside the sleepy river of Kampot, the Aziza’s Place staff gathered for the first annual two-day retreat to reflection on the past and to build towards the future. Our morning alarm clock was the steady chug of the fishing boats as they made their way upstream to their favorite fishing holes. In this idyllic setting, we came together with the purpose of promoting staff development, teamwork and to generating a strategic plan for the future of Aziza's Place. 

Under the direction of meeting facilitator, Sotherawat, the AP staff began the retrospective process of constructing a five-year AP timeline and identifying significant milestones and obstacles. This exercise was to provide everyone, both new family members and those who have been with the organization long-term, with a clear perspective of AP's history and to establish a strong foundation that all future work will build on. Sotherawat also led the team through a creative, self-discovery session that gave each member a glimpse into the others lives and backgrounds and promoted a strong sense of unity among the staff. In the day-to-day grind of life, sometimes small details such as these get overlooked, but for the first time in AP history, in a hidden alcove at the crook of the Kampot river, AP took the time to truly unite as a family. 

The second half of the two-day workshop was geared towards building on the past to create a brighter future. As a group, we answered questions about AP's strengths and weaknesses, necessary improvements and the implementation of structure and where we envision the organization in another five years. Each member of the AP family contributed their ideas and perspectives and, as we continued, a path began to form on how to take AP to the next level. 

Ideas that were discussed during the retreat:

 • Implementing monitoring and evaluation structure to all of AP’s programs to objectively assess progress and to achieve desired results.
• Be more proactive and plan in advance.

• Improve human resource development, implement staff policies, procedures and assessments to improve the cohesiveness of the staff and to prevent ambiguity when it comes to roles and responsibilities. 

The staff retreat was an incredible success and we would like to say a a heartfelt ‘Thank You’ to the Global Fund for Children (GFC) - a grant-giving foundation partnering with community-based organizations who work with the world's most vulnerable children and youth. GFC has been instrumental in funding Aziza's Place for over two years and this year awarded AP the GFC Opportunity Grant that enabled us to launch our first annual Aziza's Place staff retreat.  
  
The following are some images from our time exploring Kampot and Kep.
Enjoy!