Wow! Our 6th grade will have THREE classes this year. The largest class ever because:
a) Kids are staying in school longer and not dropping out
b) Kids are TRANSFERRING to Chanleas Dai primary school! They are doing the reverse commute, from Kralanh to Chanleas Dai, because their parents believe the education there is better than what they can get in the main town! WOW!
Yes, this means we need to spread out our impact, so that kids do not need to transfer in, and we are working on that (currently we have child-education programs in 11 villages in Chanleas Dai as well as environmental programs in 8 schools which we are working to expand to more substantial relationships), but what it also means is that the community believes in our programs! It means that that they see what we see, that teachers are coming to school more, the resources are improving, that the teachers and students are more invested in learning, and that Chanleas Dai Primary school is now worth reverse commuting 10km for!
WOW! So exciting!
– Daniela