JWOC goes to the Cambodian Science and Engineering Fair!

I introduced myself a month ago and talked about working to bring science to JWOC, but I wanted to post again to tell about my favorite experience so far in Cambodia! Last week I had the opportunity to represent JWOC at the 2^nd Cambodian Science and Engineering Festival, where our goal was to showcase JWOC’s science program and inspire visitors about the possibilities afforded by science, technology, engineering, and math (more commonly known as STEM). We prepared six exhibits; each covering a different topic. We wanted our exhibits, covering everything from electricity to biology to chemistry, to teach something new while allowing students to get hands on.Aside from me the team consisted of Nesa and Vantha, two JWOC staff members, and Phally and Thoeu, two JWOC scholarship students. Each did an incredible job all week explaining in Khmer to students about our demonstrations!

The first day of our trip we took the long six hour drive to Phnom Penh, got our booth ready, and went to bed early, ready for a busy week. Our goal on the first day was to teach two things: first, the reasons for the differences between plant and animal cells and second, how plants drink using capillary action. To teach the first we had students look through two microscopes showing plant and animal cells and think about the benefits a cell wall offers plants. For the second, we had students guess and discuss why cabbage is stained different colors when left in colored water.We weren’t exactly sure what to expect, but we hoped kids would enjoy our demonstrations. Luckily, immediately after the doors opened (and constantly for the next three days), we had a circle of students surrounding our booth! It was clear just from the looks on their faces that kids were enjoying learning in a hands-on manner.

Throughout our time at the fair, that didn’t change. We alternated exhibits, showing something slightly different each day, but no matter what we had on display we never seemed to run out of smiling and laughing kids as they played with the exhibits and talked to us. Probably the most popular exhibit was Oobleck (look it up!), a non-newtonian fluid that is either a liquid or a solid, depending on whether you apply pressure to it. The last two days we had bowls of Oobleck out for students to play with while investigating the material’sproperties, and they could not get enough of it. It was a bit messy, but it was worth it to see the surprised and curious faces as students tried to figure out why the Oobleck flowed like a liquid, but turned into a solid ball when squeezed. I don’t know who had more fun, the kids or us at the booth, trying to explain it! By the end of the third day, we were exhausted from having spent three full days at the fair, but thoroughly happy that we were able to be involved.

Stepping back a bit, I want to talk about why the science fair was so meaningful for me.The slogan for the science fair states that “Cambodia runs on science. Let’s make that science Cambodian!”I think that’s such an important goal to pursue. There’s so much promise amongst the Cambodian youth to make an impact on both their own country and the world as a whole, but in order for that promise to materialize students need to realize the opportunities that are available.

At the fair, students could learn about robots, bugs, 3D printers, physical therapy, and so much more. Over the course of the fair, nearly 20,000 students had the opportunity to be inspired by ways they can improve the world with various STEM disciplines; just as importantly, they learned that science and engineering can be fun. I love that I had the opportunity to help inspire thousands of students, and I know that because of events like the science fair Cambodia is becoming a better place. Without a doubt, being able to be part of that impact makes my time at the science fair the most rewarding thing I’ve done in Cambodia.

Meet Khung Votty: Free Classes Interview

Hello! Please Introduce yourself

My name is Khung Votty an I’m 12 years old, I have 2 sisters and a brother

Are you in school? What grade do you study?

I study in grade 6 in school and my favorite subject is Math. I like math because I like doing the homework, when I grow up I’d like to study accountancy and be an accountant.

Why do you want to be an accountant?

I enjoy playing around with numbers, but I also want to help my mum. I can help her with her finances so our family has more money.

What do you like to do in your free time?

In my free time I like to help my mother, she is a housewife so I help her with the household chores, mostly cooking rice and washing the dishes. I love to play football when I can!

 

What’s your favorite food?

Tom yam soup and fried vegetables

What position do you play in football? What’s your favorite team?

I play as a striker when I play and my favorite team is Real Madrid, but my favorite player is Neymar!

Do you like school? How does it compare to JWOC?

I do like school, but I also like coming to JWOC, it’s a lot of fun and the teachers often have fun lessons planned for us when we arrive! We play lots of games, practice our spelling and learn new grammar each lesson.

How often do you come to JWOC?

I come to JWOC 4 days per week to learn English, I’ve been coming for almost two years now and I’m at ‘way ahead 2a’ level (intermediate level). I want to increase my English knowledge, I often go to the library and read the English books and my favorite book is ‘The Blind Man’.

Do you do any other activities in JWOC?

I was in JWOC’s Got Talent, I sang and was also involved in a dance performance.

Do you think JWOC has helped you to realize your goals?

JWOC has definitely helped me, my English is much better than it was!

Thank you very much for your time!
Thank you, Bye! 

Science comes to JWOC with a Bang!

Let me introduce myself: my name is Alec Forbes and I’m currently living in Siem Reap volunteering with JWOC. In December I graduated from the University of Oklahoma in the United States with a degree in Electrical Engineering and found myself wanting to travel and do something new before I started a career. I found myself looking for places where I could volunteer abroad, seeing new things while also serving local communities instead of just being a tourist.

When I found JWOC, I knew it was where I wanted to be. I strongly believe that education is vital for children, so the Free Classes program seemed like a perfect fit. JWOC stood out to me in particular because of the scholarship model – I think it’s so important to focus not only on education for children, but also to help students go to college to pursue higher education. In addition, it’s a great model to have the scholarship students volunteer their time back at JWOC. This helps the organization and, just as importantly, gives the students an opportunity to develop real life experience that will be valuable once they graduate.

After only a few weeks, I know I made a good decision. It’s immediately obvious how much of a community has developed around JWOC. Everyday after class, dozens of kids stay to run around in the yard, to play with Lego, or to just sit and read in the library. My desk is in the library, so I get to see firsthand how much the kids enjoy this – I can’t count how many high fives I’ve given, how many times I’ve been proudly shown an art project, or how many times I’ve been accidentally hit by a toy car. I love to see the that kids have a place to socialize and learn in a safe environment. You can tell that JWOC is not just a class to these kids, but rather a big part of their life.

Over the past few years one of JWOC’s goals has been to expand the free classes program beyond just English into topics like science, computers, and photography. Most of what I’m doing is helping develop these programs, both expanding existing curriculum as well as developing entirely new courses. Right now I’m mainly working on the science curriculum, expanding the course to 16 weeks and making each lesson more hands on for the students. I’m hoping to take as much lecture out of the classr

oom as possible, instead teaching students through projects and activities that allow them to be hands-on. As my time here progresses I’m also planning to do the same for computer classes, finding ways to easily let kids develop programming and engineering skills.

One thing I’m particularly excited about is the opportunity to go to the 2nd annual Cambodian Science and Engineering fair in Phnom Penh! I’m helping to make an exhibit for the fair demonstrating what we’re teaching kids at JWOC and showing how interesting science can be. JWOC had an exhibit last year that was very successful, so there’s a high bar for anything we do! I love that I get to be a part of helping not only JWOC, but also helping Cambodia as a whole develop a national identity in science.

What JWOC is doing in the Siem Reap community is amazing, and I’m so glad I get to help. It’s been a great first few weeks here, and I’m looking forward to continuing it over the next couple of months!

Sean Yeat: The Journey of a Scholarship Student & Beyond...

Hello! My name is Sean Yeat. I was born in Chikreang district to the east of Siem Reap city and I moved to live in Siem Reap city in 2007 to pursue my education. I graduated from my high school diploma in 2012, I had applied for a JWOC scholarship but I was not accepted at that time. I had no regrets about my failed application; the main reason was my poor English for my personal essay. By the beginning of the year 2013, I was still unable to continue my higher education at a local university in Siem Reap. However, I did not let the time pass by, I tried to study English from 2 hours to 5 hours per day at a pagoda and a private school. In the same year, I applied for a JWOC scholarship again, and I was very confident about my English ability. I was chosen to be a JWOC scholarship student under the support of Jay Timmoms and family from America.

I am now a third year JWOC scholarship student at the University of Southeast Asia (USEA), my major a bachelor of Education in Teaching English. As a scholarship student, I had great opportunities to volunteer as an English teacher in 2012, I taught students from beginner to elementary levels. I participated in monthly teacher development workshops and learnt new things to develop my skills. 

In 2013, I wished to learn new things, so I changed from Free Classes Program to the Community Liaison and Assistance Program (CLA). Being a community facilitator officer, it was a great year of my volunteering period. Being this role, I went with my team every weekend to underserved rural communities to conduct home-garden surveys, meeting different people that I would never have done before (such as government officers, local authorities, villagers and other NGOs staff). In the CLA team we were a family, we gave up our time, and while other youths were enjoying their weekends we were at the village – sometimes I would volunteer from the morning through to the evening. I love JWOC and my team. I have learnt a lot of things via the projects such as the home-gardens, nutrition, community assistances training. I used to lead a field tour to the village with our guests, including JWOC’s executive director, Jane Price. I trained villagers the procedures of home-gardens, it was one of my scarce public speeches. If confident, I could do it and improve a lot.

By the year 2016, I decided to engage with communication team, it was hard to say good bye to my previous team that used to volunteer together (however I still volunteer with them sometimes). In the communication team, I have Josh as my communication manager; he is so kind and friendly. Together, we play very vital roles to make JWOC achieve its goals for the next ten years. I am looking forwards to achieving 2016’s goals for my JWOC volunteering, university studies and job. For JWOC, I commit to use my skills to help with communication projects as much as possible. I will talk and explain to guests who visit JWOC how the organization helps scholarship students in the education system and how JWOC facilitates their learning and development. I will be escorting guests to the villages and tell them how JWOC, especially CLA program, has improved the community’s lifestyles. I am happy to learn new things and help at JWOC.

At university, even my current studies record is good amongst my classmates. However, I will study harder and harder and try change learning habits to succeed in my goal of being in the top 3 students in the class. For my job, I am very keen to work within a local conservation NGO, it is my dream job. In 2016, I will work further in wildlife conservation organization and to educate local communities to love nature, wildlife, birds and the environment. Through my job, I want my country to be green and natural resource that is being projected by all.

All in all, I would say again that without JWOC my life would not be the same, I owe reaching this point to JWOC. A huge thanks goes out to my sponsor and everyone that has been volunteering with me; especially to Ms Konthea, my previous program manager for encouragement. I am looking forward to working with my new manager Josh and all of the team. We together can achieve JWOC’s goals.

First impressions of JWOC

Standing in the visa line in Siem Reap after arriving in a swathe of sunshine and tourism, I knew Cambodia was going to be very different from my previous country of residence, Bangladesh. Having traveled through Cambodia before, I knew a little about the country’s history and culture; and as the nostalgia pulsed through my veins in the immigration queue and my passport was being stamped, I was very much ready to make Siem Reap my home and take on a new challenge.

I was excited.

Let me provide some context: Siem Reap is a town built upon tourism. The temple complex of Angkor Wat draws in visitors from around the world to come and view its spectacle. This is great for the local economy, bringing in what I imagine is millions of dollars, which in turn should have a positive impact on the socio-economic development of those living in and around it. However, given that Cambodia is a developing country, we know that is not always the case.

Those who have visited Siem Reap know that as well as the five-star hotels and resorts, there is still visible poverty and inequality amongst many Cambodians who are looking to benefit from a portion of the millions available.

This is where Journeys Within Our Community (JWOC) comes in, providing a range of services and programs in and around Siem Reap, to make sure local residents can improve their quality of life. Through innovative programs based in the heart of the community (Scholarships, Free Classes and Community Support), JWOC has managed to create a rapport and understanding within the community beyond any traditional NGO.

Knowing this, I was still quite nervous on my first day (as most of us are); however, after walking into the community center for the first time, all my nervousness quickly subsided. Students were playing tag. What could be more natural? Phew!

This initial experience perfectly sums up JWOC and the aura that exists here – the enthusiasm and professionalism of the scholarship students and staff we have is exemplary and clear to see by all involved. I was lucky enough to arrive in Cambodia just in time to ride with the students on the 30 km “Race 4 Change” Angkor Bike Ride and to then celebrate their achievements at the graduation party. I have since experienced their fieldwork in villages, their classroom teaching and witnessed JWOC’s ability to transfer such enthusiasm and work ethos into the programs.

You may walk into JWOC with a frown, but nobody walks out with one!

From the first day at JWOC up until now I have found myself engaged in every aspect of an exciting and vibrant organization filled with youth enthusiasm and spirit; and, with the 10th anniversary of the organization coming up next year, a celebratory mood.

As the Communications and Fundraising manager, I have the responsibility of highlighting and showcasing JWOC in the best way possible, both outside and inside our walls. And as far as I can tell, JWOC is already doing this for me!

So as the nostalgia in my veins runs out, I find it being replaced with optimism and anticipation for the coming months.