What a happy day today!
School opened for the new school year with a special school assembly in the schoolyard made weatherproof for the monsoon season last year when we laid road-base.
The school population was assembled according to grade and seats set aside for special guests which included the village chief, Chenb Joy.
School Director, Mr Hon gave a speech of welcome describing all the previous twelve months’ aid to the school and then presented a special folder containing the receipts of each item of expenditure.
Then a presentation was made to us from the Director of Education. We moved then to the next stage of the assembly which was the distribution to each child of their supplies of exercise books, pens
and pencils for the year.
After which, each child was called forward to receive their school uniforms.
A bonus followed when Mr Hon called children to receive a sports T shirt donated by Macquarie Fields Public School. How distinctive the children looked as they departed for their homes in the crisp white T shirts!
And so ended what for us has been `the best yet’!
Visiting today was a lady from New Zealand who came away quite moved by what she had witnessed. She told us that she had not realised just how much was being accomplished and how many lives were being changed.
Yesterday we went to a new book store in nearby Siem Reap and purchased many books which he will be using in the classroom.
Tomorrow we start on an exciting new chapter in the life of the school with an expensive project but more of that later.
Margaret has bravely undertaken to fly to the capital, Phnom Penh on Friday and will be buying `special’ Christian books for presentation to grade six students. Her flight is booked for 10:40 am (that’s 1:40pm Sydney time).
M & M