All about Riah’s work in Taom…

A few months ago Riah began to teach an English class in the village of Taom. This came about after Riah had been traveling to Taom regularly for several months and began to learn of this need. As in most farming villages in Cambodia, the majority of community residents are extremely poor. At the current time, there are precious few employment opportunities in rural areas outside of farming, so it is the hope of most village children to move into a city for further education and better jobs. However, there are several challenges opposing this aspiration. First, the vast majority of families are unable to afford sending their children to secondary school, so they are cannot obtain work through education. Second, most of these children do not have the opportunity to learn English. Speaking the global business language opens up a multitude of opportunities for Cambodians, in most cases regardless of their education level. Therefore, many teens who know they cannot continue their schooling will work toward learning English to broaden their future options. This need spoke to Riah’s heart and she realized that, as a native English speaker, she could make a difference in this area!

Riah has started spending 3 weekends a month in Taom and teaches an English class on Saturday afternoon. It did not take long for the word to spread, and she has already had as many as 70 students attend the class! The class is simply taught in one of the rooms at the church, just like my monthly clinic! Again, I love that this brings children to the church, which will lead to more Buddhist children attending the children’s program, which is honestly one of the few opportunities they will ever have to hear about Jesus! One of the main reasons Riah has decided to stay an additional year in Cambodia is to help establish this English class as a ministry that will continue even after she leaves. She is currently taking a TESL course to gain certification in teaching English and looks forward to building a structured English course. Riah began to meet this need without any resources, but simply a willingness to give. Therefore, the current need for this ministry is teaching resources.

“Next year I will have my own classroom and will be able to set up a better learning environment. With this, I hope to have more visual learning materials and tools. I would really like to have lesson plans and homework. This will require workbooks for each child, writing utensils, reading materials, printing costs, and educational games. These kids don’t have much, so even simple things like markers captivate them and have them super excited! It would also be extremely helpful to have a projector to present learning videos. Kids love to learn by watching, acting, and singing along with videos and this exposure is super good for them. I’m starting [this class] from scratch, so, essentially, I have a need for anything and everything for the classroom. I really hope to provide a chance for these children to have more future options. Thank you all so much for your consideration and generosity.” 

“In addition to teaching English, I have also had the opportunity to teach piano and guitar to many students. Most of the guitars here are broken or very old, so new strings and new instruments would be a huge help. I would also REALLY like to get a piano in Taom, so I can play music for Mass and worship services. Many of the youth have expressed a desire to learn how to play piano and guitar, and that is only possible if we have access to them!”

Would you like to help provide a piano and several guitars for the church in Taom?!

Please pray for the leaders of the ministry in Taom:

• Fr. Glenn Diaz, the parish priest in Taom. He is a missionary from the Philippines. 
• Sister Mech, who leads a choir, teaches a monthly children’s church, and generally coordinates everything that need to be coordinated! 
• Loke-Gru Thom, who teaches a catechism class every Sunday and currently provides transportation for the team

A future goal for the ministry to Taom is to own their own truck or van for transportation. The ministry team currently borrows a truck every weekend, which is not a long term solution. This vehicle gets the team from Siem Reap to Taom (a 90 minute journey) and picks up a hilariously large group of kids for Mass and the children’s program. This vehicle would also be used by Fr. Glenn and Sister Mech for transportation of supplies for the church and food ministry.

Lastly, I am in great need of a tablet and a projector, for use in Taom. It doesn’t have to be the newest or the nicest tablet, just something that can be hooked up to the projector for my classes, since they are getting larger, praise God! 

Questions? Contact us today:

freelygiveninc@gmail.com

218.506.8793