So many things are happening in the world right now, especially in Ukraine where tragic events are taking place. We truly hope that things will be brought to a peaceful resolution soon and that no more innocent lives will be lost. 🙏
Meanwhile, the 8th of March is recognized as "International Women's Day," which is observed in Cambodia as a national holiday. Women make up 61 percent of Cambodian business owners and managers, according to the Khmer Times. Also it is normal for men to marry into women's families in Cambodia. Therefore, it is not an exaggeration to say that women's influence improves the country as a whole.
Even within TukTuk, it is the female staff who are the driving force behind our team. Partner educational officials and preschool teachers are almost entirely made up of women, with 95 percent being female. We would also like to see more men get involved in Early Childhood Education field, but first and foremost, we would like to keep the initiative alive by our own efforts! 💪
Adrian & Mayu & Milly 🦘👘 👶🏻
IN THE PRESCHOOL, YOUR TOYS ARE ALIVE🪅
Thanks to you, Voluntukers, the "Mobile Library Project" is able to send toys and storybooks to our target preschools on a regular basis. The initiative was restarted in January, and now the teachers are sending us photos and videos of the kids using these materials! 😊
Because we were able to visit the schools this year, we got a firsthand look at how the teaching materials are being put to use. As a result, we discovered that many preschools have a restricted number of toys and storybooks. The supplies are better in town schools than in rural schools, but the greater the number of rural schools, the less instructional materials there are available for them. Furthermore, because stationery stores are rarely available near rural schools, teachers have to work hard to come up with instructional resources other than the worksheets.
Under these circumstances, teachers of the 13 target preschools are now using the toys and storybooks obtained with the support of TukTuk's Krousah. They believe that using these toys and books is very beneficial for the students to learn colors, shapes, numbers, and other ideas, as well as cooperating with peers and getting along with one another.
THE 1st WORKSHOP! 💻
Our long-awaited workshop, which we had been organizing since "CLIP1" last year, finally took place at the beginning of February! The sessions, which will be held seven times over the course of two years, will introduce our resources, demonstrate how to utilize them with technology such as laptops and tablets, and encourage teachers to build their own teaching materials.
In this workshop, we distributed the computers that Amazon had donated the year before to the teachers and demonstrated how to use them and access TukTuk's materials. We then introduced the Tukbooks "Jack the Giant" and "Happy Khmer New Year" and showed some activities to the teachers. All the teachers were engaged in all the activities and we all had a good fun. 🤗
We were unable to cover all of the topics due to time constraints, but we were glad to see our attendees showing interest, and several of them even wanted us to hold more sessions to cover the rest.
KHMER OF THE MONTH
Khmer Word: Sophmongkol Do you know what day the 20th of March is? It is the "International Day of Happiness" as declared by the United Nations in 2012. It's a day to think about happiness while being grateful for what we already have. Now, I believe there are a lot of things to be grateful for, but what does "Sophmongkol (happy)" mean to you?
Khmer Food:
Plea Sach Ko (Cambodian Grilled Beef salad) 👇
HOW'S IT GOING SINCE THE FIRST WORKSHOP...?📝
Around two weeks after the first workshop, we visited all 14 teachers at the 10 target schools to see how they were doing with the resources we provided and also to follow up with the contents we couldn't cover in the workshop.
During the interview with the teachers, the TukTuk team did storytelling based on the book "The Enormous Turnip" and played songs and activities that the teachers had played during the workshop.
Some teachers are already familiar with animations and MP4 files on a computer, and some teachers who were given a computer for the first time are practicing typing and making documents at home.
We discovered that all of the teachers are implementing TukTuk's teaching tools into their lessons and using them to swiftly learn how to use the computer. We would like to keep supporting them by contacting them on a regular basis through social media groups.
TUKSTAFF SPOTLIGHT | CHOVEN
This month, our TukStaff Spotlight is on Choven, the illustrator behind the TukTuk's storybooks and worksheets!
A little trivia about Choven 😉:
Favorite activities： Making illustrations for books and worksheets, socializing with friends. What I do for TukTuk： Responsible for creating new storybooks and worksheets A word for everyone：I would like to express my gratitude to everyone who has helped us develop preschool students and children in the village through their donations and support. TukTuk, I hope, will continue to grow in the future and serve Cambodian children for many years to come. Finally, I wish you success, good health, and safety. Thank you very much!
Choven gave birth to a girl in October of last year. She is now working on storybooks remotely to care for her infant in Battambang, the province next to Pursat where our office is located. She uses the computer on a daily basis to create graphics for instructional materials that are representative of TukTuk. The new storybooks are being completed day by day, and members of the staff are eager to see them finished. Please keep an eye out for when we will be able to show them to all of you.😊
We are currently looking for volunteers with the following skillsets to help TukTuk bring educational resources to Cambodia;
Google Ads
Fundraising
If you want to get involved or know someone with skills that could help us spread positive education in Cambodia, hit that link below and say hi (we're friendly, promise).
