Everyday, 200 children come to Light of Hope in Toch village eager to learn in their English classes. Our contact, Vuthy is 28 years old and has dedicated his life to reaching the next generation for Christ. By providing free English classes at his home, hundreds of kids are drawn here, making them susceptible to the Word of God. Over 90% of Cambodians are Buddhist, including the majority of the students and their families. But in the past two years, Vuthy has brought the Light of Christ and Hope of Salvation into Toch village. He has seen dozens of children and youth turn away from the traditions of their heritage to accept Christ. On August 30th, Vuthy baptized 25 students at youth camp in the Gulf of Thailand.
For the past two weeks, my team of what is now, all girls, has been teaching these English classes four times a day, Tuesday through Saturday. At first, this was quite a challenge for us as a team. I am no English teacher! But I have grown to love teaching these children. Not only am I teaching them, but they are also teaching me. I am an observer. I see students arrive an hour early and sit and eagerly wait for class to start. I see students coming to not just one, but two and sometimes even three of the classes provided throughout the day. I have proclaimed a “No Homework Weekend” just to discover the students were actually disappointed to not have homework! This made my head spin. As a picked up my jaw from the sandy schoolroom floor I asked, “Are you saying that you would rather have homework than play a game for the last ten minutes of class?!” And my responses were, “yeah!”. So what did I do? I gave optional homework, and 95% of the class did it. That evening, I sat in my room and thought about that class and the difference between them and students in the States. Why is it that children are so blessed in America with a free education and the opportunity to learn pretty much whatever they want, yet parents have to practically drag them to school everyday and force them to study? What is different about these children who actually want homework on the weekends? The reality is, these children know that free education is a gift. Children don’t just get to go to school if their parents can’t afford it. For a parent to send his or her children to public school, it costs $30/month per child, and most families have at least 2, if not 3 or 4 children. That may sound like a small amount to us, but here that is a big deal for many families. University (or college) is nearly impossible unless you have saved up money or have found a sponsor to pay your way. Children and youth here know that if they are given the chance to learn, it opens doors of opportunity for their future. Maybe if they go to school and learn English, they won’t have to just work in the rice fields and in the local market selling fruits and vegetables. Maybe if they go to school and learn English they will have the chance to go to the University. And maybe, just maybe that will lead to a better future for their family.
The problem is, we have everything we could ever possibly want or need at our fingertips. We live in a society blessed with education, blessed with opportunity, blessed with the ability to walk into a grocery store and buy our food rather than grow it, pick it, prepare it, and cook it before we can feed our families. I am humbled living in the countryside of Cambodia, two hours from any major city, isolated in a life I am very unfamiliar with, but have absolutely fallen in love with.
