Final Science Presentations!

Earlier this month, students of our Free Classes science curriculum recapped the topics they've learned in a final presentation! Twenty-six students participated, each one choosing a topic among the twelve lessons. Topics included Plants, Animals, Food Chain, Environment, Hygiene and Health, Nutrition and Human Body, and more. Parents and previous science students also joined in to show their support!

           

 "It was a great time for them to show what they have learned from here to their parents and everyone. I was so proud of what they have done!"  - Teacher Nesa

JWOC goes Back to School!

Here at JWOC, we believe that education is the key to success. It lays the foundation for opportunity and growth, both personally and professionally, for students of all ages. This year, over 1,000 students have enrolled in JWOC courses spanning from English to Science to Computer Literacy. In addition, our library has hosted a number of community learning activities like drop-in art classes, kindergarten classes and a variety of trainings - all free to our students. And with each course our Free Classes program offers, our hope is to instill lessons that transcend the classroom and bring about positive change within the community. 

Eng Kea and students at International Youth Day, August 2015

One of the many JWOC staff that helps make this hope a reality is Eng Kea. He is our Free Classes Assistant Manager for Program Development and a scholarship student who has been volunteering in Free Classes for four years! At just 22 years old, he has made a lasting impression on the program and a huge impact on the lives' of the students he teaches.

"The reason why I love Free Classes is because of the Free Classes' vision... it is similar to my goal that I want to be an English Teacher at University who can share knowledge and experiences of teaching to the children and people in my own community and the world."

Eng Kea currently teaches our Way Ahead and Smart Choice classes, which are part of our English language curriculum. Way Ahead is our longest running children's program that brings together language lessons and grammar with games and songs for students aged 9-15. And the Smart Choice series is for students who have finished Way Ahead but aren't quite old enough to join our adult classes. To learn more about our Free Classes offerings, you can visit our website!

We're so happy and lucky to have Eng Kea and the many other staff and scholarship students working within the Free Classes Program. They help our vision come to life. And as we enter this new academic year, we want to strengthen our collective impact on the students we teach and support a community so eager to learn. Your donation can make a huge difference in our students' lives. Give the gift of education and support the students who attend JWOC's Free Classes today!

Thank you so much for your continued support of JWOC. Looking forward to this new year of Free Classes!

Our View, Our Story - JWOC Scholarship Student Photo Exhibition

Last Sunday, friends gathered at New Leaf Book Cafe to celebrate the incredible photography of JWOC Scholarship Students. 

In partnership with PhotoForward, an international media arts programme, JWOC scholarship students participated in a two week photography workshop where they learned skills in digital photography, editing and visual storytelling. The result: a catalog of captivating images of the world around us, seen through the eyes of our scholars. 

Each image embodied a different aspect of Cambodia... the determination of working villagers, the serenity of the countryside, the hustle-and-bustle of daily life. The photographs inspired conversation among guests, who had the opportunity to provide feedback for each image. 

The evening also included funny poses and smiling faces in the photo booth and a candid behind-the-scenes slideshow of the students at work.

A huge thank you to our sponsors PhotoForward, Dream Photo Tours and New Leaf Book Cafe for making the night possible!

For more photos of the event, keep scrolling!

(all images courtesy of An Sarout and PhotoForward)

The Scholarship Student Team
Click the image to read their thoughts about photography and their community!

Our View, Our Story

Photo Booth Fun

Certificate Ceremony

Our Fantastic Sponsors

From Scholarship Student to Program Manager - As Told By Lita

We are amazed every day by our scholarship students. The hard work and dedication they show for both their studies and volunteer work with JWOC is inspiring. We are always eager to see the incredible things they will do after university, especially the impact they will have in their communities. With that, we are extremely proud and excited to welcome our very own scholarship student Lita to the JWOC team as Microfinance Program Manager!

A bit more from Lita...

Hello! My name is Vuth Lita. I was born in Kampong Cham province and moved to Siem Reap city in 2005 with my family. Since graduating high school in 2011, I have been pursuing a degree in Finance and Banking at University of South East Asia through the JWOC Scholarship award. 

This opportunity has helped me to be able to volunteer as a Credit Officer with JWOC since 2011. At the same time, to gain various experiences, I worked as an Assistant Accountant at Provincial Department of Rural Development for three years. After that, I worked as an Accountant at Fragrance Angkor Hotel for six months.

During my volunteering time as a Loan Officer at JWOC, I controlled the process of credit and saving related transactions from the advertisement period through to collection. I also promoted JWOC’s products and services to the clients and other stakeholders. 

In 2014, I became a Loan Officer Team Leader. My obligation has been coaching and training the team members on product knowledge and credit assessment skill. 

I really enjoy helping people who have no enough money to extend their businesses and to increase their standard of living. If they can run their business smoothly, they can afford to send their children to school. 

This means I am able to help children access educational opportunities as well.

I’m very happy to have this chance to work in JWOC as the position of Microfinance Program Manager. I hope that I can help scholarship students with their experiences in microfinance and help people extend their businesses.

To learn more about our Microfinance Program, please visit our website here. 

And to stay updated on all things JWOC, like us on Facebook!

Reunited with the Free Classes Program

JWOC scholarships change lives. Through their 4 years with JWOC, our scholarship students give back to their community by serving as the volunteer staff for JWOC’s programs, which allows them both to grow as individuals and to have a huge impact on their community.

Our "Bringing Our Graduates Back” event will see ten of our former scholarship students return to JWOC to spend a day volunteering on our programs to raise funds and awareness. We are attempting to raise a total of $10,000, which will enable our Clean Water, Free Classes, Microfinance and Community Support programs to continue delivering critically needed assistance to our communities.

We invite you to support the initiative by following this link
https://www.crowdrise.com/BringingourGraduatesback

This week, we will meet the 3 graduates who came back to volunteer with the Free Classes Program.

Borey, Piseth and Tep have all gone on to become successful members of the community and are truly great people. It was fantastic to see them back at JWOC working alongside our current group of scholarship students.The former scholarship students were matched up with current teachers and went through the lesson plan for the class ahead. Using the skills they first learned at JWOC and have honed since they began their professional careers they took an active role in classes, overseeing students work and running activities and games. Here’s what the graduates had to say about coming back to work with JWOC.

Borey

Borey Chhoeung graduated from JWOC in 2014; he now works for GoGlobal as the Assistant Principal.

‘’The reason I want to come back and volunteer for JWOC is because they helped me so much through my bachelors degree and I learnt so much. I just want to help JWOC as much as possible. JWOC is my second home and the only place that has changed my life. My advice to the current students:  Help JWOC, help your community and you will help yourself. Help JWOC as much as possible because you will learn great life lessons. I certainly did.”

 

Tep

Tep Morn graduated from JWOC in 2013. After spending 4 years volunteering on the Free Classes Program he moved on to become an English teacher at the Salariin Kampuchea Organization. Tep is a dedicated teacher who appreciates all the teacher training that was given to him during his time at JWOC.

“I learnt so much through the monthly seminars and teacher training workshops, it has got me to where I am today and given me a huge opportunity in life. I am looking forward to come back because JWOC is such a huge part of my life. I want to share the skills I have learnt with the current scholarship students. I know the Free Classes Program has grown so much since I was a scholarship student, I am looking forward to seeing the impact it has.”

Piseth

Piseth Has graduated from our scholarship program in 2009. Since then he has achieved great things in his local community and is now the operations manager for Possibilities World.
 

“JWOC helped me gain useful and practical experiences that changed my life. Completing higher education and developing my skills has enabled me to get a better job. I want to come back to JWOC to see the current breed of scholarship students giving back.  My advice to the current students, commit yourself to your volunteering and you will get a deep sense of satisfaction from every experience, it will give you a broader outlook in life and give you a platform to achieve great things.”

Keep following to hear from the other graduates who came back and volunteered with us at JWOC.

Please donate and help us raise $10,000 for JWOC’s programs.
https://www.crowdrise.com/BringingourGraduatesback