To all Friends of Khvien around the world:
In recent months, we (Margaret, Martin and Robbie) have become increasingly concerned at the financial plight of the seven teachers at Khvien Primary School. They get $50 USD / month which is not enough to live without worrying about what they will eat. A bag of rice is $30 USD.
The teachers in the past have been taking money from the students to contribute to their salary. It was how they could afford their rice/petrol for the month. Although they didn’t take a lot from the students it was from families who have very little to start off with and would be a discouragement to the parents to sending their children to school.
At a staff meeting in January all the teachers committed themselves to adopting a policy of forbidding the soliciting of money from students. This was accepted as being motivated by what the Bible teaches us, i.e. to avoid “the love of money” which is “a snare”. The village understand that our own love for them is in imitation of Christ, who first loved us.
The corruption in schools is an everyday part of life for Cambodian government schools. If Khvien School remains corruption free it will be one of the only few government schools in the province of its kind, possibly the entire Kingdom of Cambodia.
The school has now been corruption free for 6 weeks. The principal has agreed to dismiss any teachers if they take any more unwarranted money from the children.
Still, we have compassion for these hard-working and lovely teachers who show a real heart for the village children.
You can see pictures of them by following this link: http://www.rice4life.sg/photos/gallery/?level=album&id=8
How can they be helped?
The Plan:
To supplement the teachers ‘income’ by supplying each teacher one bag of rice per month. The teachers only to get rice at the end of the month if there have been no reports of corruption from our contacts in the school.
Our reasoning:
Apart from the above, we have the precedent set by Dr Beat Richner at the Kantha Bopha Hospitals established on the basis of being corruption-free, where staff are paid good wages and the mentality of corruption can be undone.
http://www.beatocello.com/Assets/richner_present.html
By supporting the teachers:
- we can have a huge opportunity to stop corruption in the school which has its own benefits. The first of these benefits is that the children will learn that corruption is wrong.
- we are in effect supporting the entire village’s families who have children in the school because they will no longer need to pay any additional school fees.
Will you share with us in this endeavour?
Already the first month’s rice is being supplied but it will be a long-term project.
Perhaps you can help for just six months or a year. Could you support a teacher? Or perhaps you might get together with friends and support one teacher?
If you can, please let us know. Use the “Contact Us’ section of this site to give us your commitment.
You may like to make comments on this thread. Simply Register first if you haven’t already done that, this will allow you to Log In and type a post, then press “Send”. It’s easy really, just like sending an e-mail!
We look forward to sharing in this latest improvement in school life in Khvien.
Martin, Margaret and Robbie
6 comments for “SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT”