This past month, we have been working with an awesome ministry called Cambodia Slum Ministry (CSM). It has by far been my favorite ministry that I have worked with thus far.
Our hosts came to the slums of Phnom Penh and saw the great needs that the children had. Many children who live in the slums cannot go to school. Although schools run by the government are technically free, teachers’ salaries are very small, so teachers charge students a fee in order to supplement their income. This deters many students, who come from poorer backgrounds, from going to school. Our hosts saw this and decided that they were going to do something about it. In 2013 they started the ministry, and now every morning from 8-11 am they provide pre-school for about 14 students.
They also saw a need to make sure that teenagers were staying out of trouble. They decided to have evening classes for the older students to attend. From 4-7 pm there are three English classes. These are broken up into different age ranges and skill level. They also have typing and computer classes that go on simultaneously. Students sign-up for computer times, they usually can go twice a week. On Saturdays, they host music class from 3-5 pm. Students can come and learn either guitar or keyboard. Then, on Sundays they host Bible study. Each English class has about 24 students. This means that the combined classes serve 72 students.
During our time here with CSM, we have helped run pre-school and teach English class. It is clear that this ministry has a tangible effect on the community. CSM is providing education for children and teenagers, that they might not otherwise get. The students are always eager to learn and clearly desire the opportunities that CSM is offering them.
CSM is purely run off of donations. Our hosts live in the building that the ministry is run out of, and they have a desire to see their ministry grow. Often, the computers that they use to teach typing and computer skills break. For awhile, they only had two, until someone donated six new computers. Not only do they have to pay for software for the computers, they want to expand their current building or buy a new building. Serving almost 100 kids out of one classroom is difficult. If they had more than one classroom, they could have a room dedicated to pre-school, one to English class and one to typing. They also are eager to have a separate room for visiting teams to stay in. Right now, our teams sleep in the classroom, and every morning we pack up all of our stuff, pile it up in one corner and then set up the class.
As a team we want to help CSM grow as much as possible. If you feel called, you can donate at: https://app.easytithe.com/g3/
To find out more about their ministry you can go to: http://www.reactsministries.org/cambodia-slum-ministry.html
Be on the look out for more blogs next week about us teaching pre-school and what we did during the Khmer New Year!
–Caitlin
