I teach English 5 days a week for about 45min, I have 5 adorable students between 9-12. They don’t know any English so I have been teaching them letter sounds, C, O, S, A, T, and they are now starting to read small words like; cat, sat, cot, and tac. Pronouncing the t or c at the end of words is really hard for them to do, but every time they get a word right their eyes light up. I love watching them read the words; because I don’t have a translator I have to read their expressions to see if they understand. Here are my students: (I only have pictures of the girls right now, but more pictures of the boys will come)
Socheat is 11years old and her parents can’t afford to send her to school right now so she stays at home. She is so beautiful and energetic; she always comes to class and loves to learn, she gets so excited when she reads a new word correctly.
Mesa is a darling little girl, with a beautiful smile and a cute laugh. She is 10years old, and she also enjoys coming to class and she catches on to the work quickly.
Bowakim is a very bright young boy of 11years, He can cause a bit of trouble though when he wants too, but he learns quickly and is able to help the others if needed.
Tang is my sweet little boy, he was so quiet when he first came and seemed a bit shy but he is so full of life. I can never say his name correctly but he never loses his patience he just reminds me again.
Toun is my loud student; he is further behind then the other children with writing so I don’t think that he is able to attend school either. At first he would just try to copy off the other children but I’ve been getting him to sit with me so I can help him with his letters. He gets really loud when they're all repeating after me, and sometimes he gets distracted but he is learning well.
As I get to know the culture, the family dynamics, and the story that comes with each one these precious children the way I see them becomes so much deeper. Each one of my students come from severe poverty, where their families are fighting to provide meals, school, healthcare, and water that’s ‘clean’. These children are so beautiful and they have so much life to live they deserve so much more then what they have. I love my students so much, they have such potential and I love what YWAM is doing for them here. Every Friday the students come to learn a Bible story instead of just English. This class is optional for them to attend, but the last few Fridays the classes have all been full. So not only do they get to come and learn English for free but the also get to hear about Jesus and His love for them.
