LOGEZ

Sitting On The Floor To Teach and To Learn

A school for the children and teachers of Anlung Raing, Pursat, Cambodia

by Que-Chi Truong-Bolduc

In America, there used to be some wooden structures called the schoolhouses that were one-room buildings where children learned from first through eighth grades under the care of a teacher. That was a long time ago, circa eighteenth and nineteenth centuries… 

In Anlung Raing village of the Pursat province, Cambodia, until early 2019, there had been a similar school for the impoverished Vietnamese children, a floating school which was also the little shack of their teacher, Mr. Tran Dong Xuan. This dedicated teacher has used his own floating house to teach little kids for the last ten years. It all started one day when numerous families wholeheartedly requested the assistance of the most educated person in the area to teach their young offspring basic skills in reading and writing. Right then, Mr. Tran Dong Xuan became the first teacher of the floating village Anlung Raing.

Class in session – Everyone pays attention?

Lack of tables and chairs never deterred the perseverance of teacher Tran Dong Xuan nor dampened the enthusiasm of the kids. Together, they sat on the floor to teach and to learn. Due to the lack of school books, Mr. Tran hand-wrote lessons for every single pupil he had in his class. Meanwhile, the bright eyes and happy students surrounded their beloved teacher, eagerly watched his every move. What a heart-warming picture they made!!! The “schoolhouse” was also their only recess playground where the children play their little games…

This condition went on for ten years until one day the ViDan Foundation got involved, with the goal of building a real floating school for teacher and students, through fundraising efforts. In February of 2019, the first school ever of Lung Raing was constructed with all the tables, chairs, and a blackboard included …

New school for children and teacher

Thanks to the generosity of Mrs. Kim Bintliff of Houston, Texas, the expenses of building the school were secured, and on February 7^th of 2019, writer Tuong Nang Tien, on the behalf of Mrs. Kim Bintliff and the ViDan Foundation, officially presented the new school to the poor villagers of Anlung, Pursat, Cambodia. From this time on, the children could study to their heart content in a real school with real tables and chairs, all under the care of their wonderful teacher, Mr. Tran Dong Xuan…

Another nice surprise for the kids took shape thanks to the kindness of Ms. Ton N. Nhu Hanh of California. Saddened by the extreme poverty of the Vietnamese children of this region, Ms. Ton N. Nhu Hanh had donated close to one thousand US dollars, which was then used to provide much needed helps to the teachers as well as purchasing notebooks, pens, and some candies for the children…

Ms. Ton N. Nhu Hanh and the children of Anlung Raing

In addition to sponsoring the construction of the new school, Mrs. Kim Bintliff also extended a special grant of $2,250.00 which was converted into one hundred and fifty gift-envelops with a value of $15.00 each, then was distributed to 100 families of Anlung Raing and 50 families of ap Ta-Cua. A priceless fortune for the stateless families of Bien Ho!!!

Offering free education to Vietnamese children living in Siem Reap, in Kampong Chhnang, or building schoolhouses in Neak Loeung, in Kor K’Ek, in Ben Van, and now in Anlung Raing… all of these actions speak loudly of the kindhearted feeling and the care of Vietnamese everywhere in the whole wide world toward their unfortunate fellow citizens living in Cambodia, the namely

stateless people even though they are just as Vietnamese as you and I. The feelings of numerous VIET KIEU reflect brilliantly through the gestures of wonderful benefactors such as Mrs. Kim Bintliff of Texas, Ms. Ton N. Nhu Hanh of California, writer Tuong Nang Tien, all the valuable members of the ViDan Foundation, and so many other anonymous contributors.

Gifts giving by writer Tuong Nang Tien

The salvation journey of the people of Bien Ho is still long and winding, with many twists and turns along the way. Our brethren are suffering, their struggles are all overwhelming, every single day of a year, and every year of a generation … A little help could lead to great achievement in the form of a floating school or taking shape in a simple pair of footwear for a little barefooted kid, or a thin envelope with much-needed cash for a weather-beaten old lady …

Together, we the Vietnamese people, descendants of dragon and fairy of centuries past, we can help the Vietnamese of Bien Ho overcoming the adversities and hoping for a better future for the next generations …

by Que-Chi Truong-Bolduc

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For more information please visit web site: www.vidan.us

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