Cambodian Community Dream Organization, Inc.

Dream Journal – February 2024

10 days in Cambodia

Jenni, our founder, and Ksenija, our VP were recently reunited and spent ten intense days on the ground in Cambodia. The first part was visiting the many different projects and engaging with our Cambodian team. The second part was spent with over 20 visiting members of the Rotary Sentosa club.

Here are some takes from the very rewarding if exhausting time.

The observation and conversation with the 23 English teacher trainees were engaging. It was great to see the enthusiasm and realization that learning (and teaching) can be fun.

Preschool Teacher Training

Another morning was spent training and discussing with 26 preschool teachers and 3 government representatives. They got to open and sort through three huge duffel bags of donated toys collected by the families from two Californian preschools.

The preschool teachers had a chance to play with the toys and then present in pairs the concept of learning through play using their favorite toy. There was a strong reinforcement of the concept of creativity and exploration vs. rote learning through repetition. Teachers asked for teaching assistants as some have up to 35 little ones in their classes. Also, many of their buildings are old and unsafe. 

Scholarship Students Meeting 

The contingent of our 17 scholars studying in Siem Reap plus 3 graduates met in our offices. 

There ensued a very helpful and open discussion on stress factors at the University and ways to deal with it. Many of our scholarship students felt very stressed that instead of helping their rural families and siblings as culturally expected, they were taking away their precious resources. Also, some in the more technical fields bemoaned the fact that lectures and literature were largely in English and hence much more difficult. 



Staff Teambuilding 

Saturday was spent first with the 10-member executive team and in the afternoon with all the 24 team members plus families. The executive team explored issues of effective communication, 5 leadership competencies, and the importance of soft skills. They also had a chance to work in groups designing a new (dream) project. 

The afternoon saw us moving to a spacious outdoor location where we could play games and express appreciation for every member.

It was such a special treat to meet all the spouses and children. Family style dinner with ice cream was a big success.

We were glad to observe some of the regular community workshops such as the Dental workshop and one on Domestic Violence prevention. We could immediately send our impressions and photos to the donors supporting these programs.

We found opportunities to reconnect face-to-face with some of our partners or counterparts from other nonprofits, doing similar work. A special visit to Ecco Soap Bank Factory with the founder yielded 600 donated pieces of soap for immediate distribution, with the possibility of more.

We checked on HP foundation’s sponsored school Ta Brook Elementary to report on their computer center, English classes and Library.

No in-country visit would be complete without spending time at our original Ta Pang school, which has been growing with our organization for all these years. It is very rewarding to get an enthusiastic welcome from principals, teachers, and kids.

Rotary Sentosa Visit

The time spent with the Rotary contingent was very productive. In a short time three ceremonies were held. 

Two were the openings of new computer centers in two different distant rural schools (Khunream and Doun Keo)

The Rotarians brought 38 donated used laptops and our team had the desks, monitors and keyboards all ready to be plugged in.

Students in each school also received bikes, school supplies and shoes. 

A special fruit orchard was also planted, each tree sponsored by a member.

It all culminated in a spectacular event held at the Provincial Teaching College. High level government officials attended and two TV stations covered the event.

Distributing 1171 bikes to students from 157 schools in the province, some traveling over 100 km to receive the precious gift of shorter commute to school on two wheels. 

The logistics by CCDO team were seamless and the hard fundraising work of Rotary Sentosa members was indeed more impressive than ever.