by “Small opportunities are often the beginning of great enterprises.” –Demosthenes
Over the past couple of months the Spitler School’s small opportunities are showing signs of expanding to greater opportunities, with the help of many caring people and a talented staff.
We are very excited that Sarin has finally been able to launch the much anticipated road project. Since the very beginnings of the school, five years ago, the road into the village and to the school has been a difficult issue. During the dry season it is merely inconvenient to slowly pick your way around all of the holes and ruts, but during the rainy season the road becomes a major problem for anyone attempting to get into the school. We have had our share of tourist groups whose buses have sunk into the mud, or simply had to cancel their visit. Our teachers arrive at school muddy from a slippery fall from their bicycles or motor bikes. Our students wade through filthy standing water to reach the school, and their parents struggle to get to their jobs in the city and return with food for the family.
After completing our classroom construction projects in early 2009 we hoped to raise enough funding to accomplish some significant improvements to the road before the rainy season began in the summer of 2010. Last October we were blessed with a significant donation, which allowed us to start planning this project. Sarin met with village leaders, who pledged their support along with a small financial contribution from some of the larger land owners. Sarin met with a reputable contractor and negotiated for a quality job at a reasonable price.
Much of the initial work can be done with manual labor, and our plan has been to hire as many of the local villagers as possible for this work. Our purpose was two-fold. We want the villagers to be personally invested in this road project, and we want local families to benefit from labor funds. Just as we believe that the school has infused a sense of pride and hope in the village families we want the road to be another clear sign that there is hope for a brighter future, and we want every family in the village to be part of making this better future possible.
We have hired approximately 60 adults and teens from the village to help dig the drainage trenches and move the fill dirt onto the road foundation. Of course the dry season in Cambodia is brutally hot, so the villagers work in the early morning and in the evening. Many bring their lunches and, during the worst part of the day, sleep under whatever shade they can find. Sarin is paying each villager $2.50 per day which is about $.50 more than most labor jobs pay. Over the course of the month-long project we believe that over $1600 will be injected into the village economy.
The project will consist of installing three drainage culverts to carry the water under the road instead of over the road. There will be drainage ditches dug and fill dirt used to build up the height of the road. All of the lowest spots in the road will be built up with an additional foundation of rocks and fill dirt, which will be compressed and graded with heavy equipment. Then there will be approximately 85 truckloads of red clay placed on top of the fill dirt. The red clay will provide a road surface that will hold up to the severe rains. The culverts will also promote even drainage of water which we are hopeful will benefit the village farms to be more productive.
We have posted more photos of this project on our Spitler School Foundation Facebook page. When you reach the Spitler School Foundation Page just click the “photos” tab and choose the road project album. We look forward to sharing more information about the road project in our next newsletter, and providing updates on our Spitler School Foundation Facebook page.
In connection with getting the villagers involved with the road project Sarin and the teachers used the opportunity to begin a new environmental initiative. As with many countries with little or no infrastructure garbage control is an issue in Cambodia. We are starting a monthly program encouraging our students to spend time collecting loose trash throughout the village. We hope that this will lead to more awareness and improved hygiene conditions for our students and their families.
In March we also celebrated a wedding. One of our teachers, Miss Som Savorn, who teaches one of the second grade classes, married her fiancée in a traditional Cambodian wedding. We think she made a beautiful bride and we wish her well with her new family.
Soon after sending out our last newsletter we received the good news that two young ladies had agreed to spend five weeks at the school as volunteers teaching English to our fifth and sixth grade classes. For most of February and March Igna Freysen, a native of South Africa, and Ashley MacDonald, from Scotland, lent their talents and their giving spirits to helping make a difference in the lives of many Spitler School students. Igna and Ashley are best friends who decided to take a hiatus from their careers for some travel experiences. When their Cambodia visas expired they traveled to Thailand, where Igna has found a paying job. To our great delight Ashley has agreed to return to Cambodia in late April and resume her volunteer teaching at Spitler School.
Finally, we are pleased and thankful for another visit from Richard and Elsie Chong and members of their organization, based in Singapore, called AKIDS. Richard and Elsie and their group have visited the school each year bringing many boxes of school supplies along with clothing, food items, and even toys and games for the children. We are having discussions with them about the possibility of bringing electricity to the school either via a transmission line from the highway or possibly through the use of a solar collector – another possibility for the future. We sincerely appreciate all the time, effort and expense that Richard and Elsie expend to make a difference in the lives of the children.
As you can see from the smiles there is much to celebrate these days and many people to thank for being a part of this ambitious endeavor. It still is hard for us to believe how far the school has come from those first days when it was only an idea and a dream of a young, caring tour guide. Even Pam and I had no vision of what it could become and how many lives could be touched. Seldom a day goes by that one of us is not spending some part of our day on the school. We can be corresponding with Sarin, downloading photos, working on a newsletter, coordinating with volunteers and donors, managing the funding, or simply sharing the story with a stranger or a new friend. But every function is a joyful and fulfilling experience.
Stay tuned for more exciting news in the coming months as our super volunteer, Ashley McDonald returns to the school with great learning ideas. We will have some exciting news about a bicycle program for our graduating sixth grade students, and more updates on the road project. We have also contracted with a new friend to produce and develop our first dedicated website. Soon you will be able to access information at: www.spitlerschool.org. In the meantime check out updates and additional photos on Facebook. Just search for Spitler School Foundation.
We want to acknowledge and send out a heartfelt THANK YOU to families and individuals who have provided financial support over the past two months since our last newsletter.
Richard & Elsie Chong – AKIDS
The Hess Family – Rick, Carol Ann, Becca & Anna
Joan L. Lyman Charitable Trust
Elva and Terry Paul Schoerock
(in memory of Merrill Schoenrock’s parents)
Susan Galliher
Dennis DeFrain
Phyllis Novick
Larry & Pat Curd
Daniel & Pam Spitler, Directors
Spitler School Foundation
P.O. Box 730
Peoria, AZ 85380
“Resource Providers for Cambodian School Children”
Facebook – Spitler School Foundation
IRS EIN # 20-8085411