We did it again!!!
At the end of the school year in 2009 ISF were delighted to learn that of 6 NGO’s who sent their children to the Stung Meanchey Public School, those funded by ISF were ranked number one! This ranking was based on their attendance and their study within the class. In order to reward the children for their achievement we took all 23 rollerblading and for ice-cream – a treat that most of them had never experienced the likes of before!
In October 2009 as the new intake of children who progressed from the ISF centre to attend the local public school (as they had caught up to the correct grade for their age) they could be heard saying ‘We’re going to be number one this year and we’ll get to go rollerblading and for ice-cream!’ Such a simple incentive but it worked!!
In July 2010, ISF were delighted to hear that the students we sponsored were again ranked number one! This year the kids asked if they could be treated to a day at the Phnom Penh water park instead of going rollerblading and for ice-cream!
So on Friday 20 August, with our volunteers, visitors and one of our trustees in tow, we all headed to the water park for a fun day of splashing around.
There seemed to be no end to the fun of running up the stairs that lead to a variety of slides that each landed us with a splash and a thump into the pool below. After 3 hours they were still running up the stairs with the same energy and enthusiasm!
After a picnic lunch we all headed back to ISF and the journey home was spent committing that each of the students would do their best over the next year to guarantee they got to come back again next year!!
Needless to say when the students who are scheduled to attend the Stung Meanchey Public School in October 2010 heard of the adventures in the water park, they too were sworn to promise to work their best to ensure they would get to visit the water slides. Such a small price to pay for such huge motivation for the children to do their best and to give them a childhood memory that they would most likely not otherwise have.