Personal Journey and Adventures of Nina

Lesson Tim e Time to get serious. This is the entire reason the school exists. With education, these kids might get jobs away from their desolate lives, away from the doldrums of watching their siblings whilst their parents work in the rice fields, from a possible life of begging or worse. With knowledge of Khmer, English and some Math, these kids are well armed to break the poverty cycle. There are three full time teachers at Sangtawan School who are wholly committed to engaging these children. The children, in return, are eager to impress. I witnessed the teachers as encompassing a happy combination of caring and fun but with the appropriate amount of firmness. Khmer Written Language I was struck by the beauty of the written Khmer language. It appears lyrical and romantic tinged with a semblance of ancientness. This is  from  Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. English Translation “ All human beings are born free and equal ...

Steps With Hope Desperately in need of funds to continue their support of this little school in Thailand, Founder of  Steps With Hope , Jen Spoor, hosted a Mother's Day High Tea. After her presentation, I said to Jen, "if you want to make a bigger impact, you need better photos".   So that was that and I committed to visiting the school on their next trip.   Meet The Kids If you're like us, you will want to meet the kids right away. There are about 70 children currently attending the school with three classes starting at Kindergarten age.  These children come from poor Khmer families, remnants of a recovering population that has endured one of the darkest times times in its history.  Around 3 million people slaughtered and many more terrorized by the Khmer Rouge has left a devastated people still clawing its way back to normality.  Families reside in makeshift huts just over the border in Cambodia. The children walk across...

Despite its recent industrialisation and newfound economic success, (now the 8th largest economy in Asia), there are still pockets of people living well below a standard of living that we would find acceptable. Yet, these are the most content and happy people I have seen. People going about their lives, day to day without complaint, yet, they have so little compared to us.  It really makes you stop and wonder about a world without materialism.  \ Many of the places appeared quite homely, decorated with plants and ornaments. Some took on a more eclectic, artistic approach with life sized statues, stained glass and other works of art. Not up to Code! Nestled amongst these, many of the homes were in disrepair. I don't think they'd be up to Council code here in Oz. River Life Thailand originally settled its capital on the Chao Phraya river because of its abundance of fish and wildlife. Now it is ...