The ISF Education Programme strives to take children who have never had the benefit of schooling from the slums and support them through a period of “Catch Up’ teaching to their correct age grade for state school. Thereafter the children are sponsored through state school and onto vocational training or further education. These are children who currently spend their days scavenging in the streets of Phnom Penh to raise money.
In addition to education we maintain the children’s health (including optical and dental care and vaccinations) and monitor their welfare.
In support of the parents and local community, ISF has undertaken an adult literacy programme called “Earn as You Learn” which provides learning and income opportunities for the families of children who study at ISF.
The Programme details are as follows:
Fast Track Education – ‘Catch up’
The majority of children who enter our programme have had little or no chance to receive education. To give the children an opportunity to catch up and be integrated into the state schools system we use a Fast Track Education programme. Children attend a full day at our centre following the Cambodian state school curriculum, allowing them to study two school years in one actual year.
Integration into State School
Children who graduate from the Fast Track Programme have attained the necessary standard to enable them to enter state school. This integrates them into a school community where they can interact with other children as well as regaining confidence of their value as children. ISF continues to support each child and their families by providing uniforms, paying school fees and providing food for the families until the child graduates from the state school system.
Special Needs Education
The special needs programme offers extra support for children with learning difficulties or who have challenges keeping up in school. ISF employs a full time special needs teacher who teaches these children in small groups or in one on one classes based on the need of the individual child.
Physical education and sports
Physical education and sports is an important part of all children’s healthy growth and development. In order to encourage their participation in education as well as provide them with the many positive benefits of sports, all school days at the centre includes fun physical education through PE classes and yoga classes. Any child that is interested is also welcome to participate in our Football Programme
Arts and Recreational activities
To encourage the creativity of the children we have has scheduled art classes in all the students’ timetables at our Stung Meanchey Education Centre where the children learn a variety of arts and crafts. In addition, the children are encouraged to use education toys designed specifically to aid skills such as problem solving and creative thinking.
In order to re-engage the children with their Khmer culture and heritage, ISF provides Traditional Khmer dance classes to all the children attending our Stung Meanchey Education Centre.
Library
Our library is a nice and relaxing reading area for all the children attending our Education Centre. In addition it presents the teachers with an area for reading classes for the smallest children.
Vocational Training
When children graduate from state school we provide them with the opportunity, through existing vocational programme, to gain training for a trade. This provides them with the opportunity to go into adult life with a valuable skill which will give them with the opportunity for employment.
All youths are treated on case to case basis, realizing that sometimes training is a better option than education for youths wanting to earn an income and support their families.
In 2010 we commenced with sending 6 youths into a variety of vocational trainings including hair & beauty therapy, motor bike mechanics, football coaching and film education.
For all students studying a vocational skill, in addition to providing the actual cost of the training, each student will complete a two module course on Successful Attitudes and Behaviour Traits in the Workplace and Successfully Working in a Team. We believe that these skills will make the children more attractive to employers. The training will teach them some basic life skills to help them when applying for jobs, to teach them what’s expected of them in a job, appropriate behaviour etc.
In all cases, upon successful completion of the courses, ISF will also supply the children with tools / equipment / materials to get them started in their chosen profession.
English
As tourism is one of the fastest growing industries in Cambodia, English is a language that is believed to be most beneficial for the children in the future. ISF has a full time English teacher and the entire English programme is funded by ISF Australia.
HEALTH AND HYGIENE PROGRAMME
Health support
All of the children attending our Education Programme benefit from our Health Support programme. ISF employs a full time registered nurse who is responsible for the daily healthcare of the children, providing them with hygiene education, dental education, and basic nutritional education and providing medication when necessary. She also ensures that the general health of the children is maintained and improved.
ISF also provides regular visits to the dentist through Cambodia World Family who kindly provide us with free dental care. Thanks to this the children’s dental health has dramatically improved.
All the children undergo sight and hearing tests and ISF provides them with glasses, hearing aids or relevant treatment if necessary.
Thanks to the generous support of Goldman Sachs we have also been given the opportunity to provide all the children in our programme with all vaccinations necessary in Cambodia.
Daily Food Support
All of the children attending our Education programme are supplied with two meals a day at the centre. A breakfast and lunch are provided to the children each day to provide them with the nutrition and energy they need to get through all the daily activities in the centre.
OUTREACH AND COMMUNITY SUPPORT
Family support
ISF supports each child’s family through our community outreach workers who keep regular contact with all the families of the children in our programme. Our support enables the parents and families to provide a secure and positive home environment where the children will be able to grow up in a caring family unit.
This assistance also includes education of the parents on health and hygiene matters, environmental matters, assistance with building small businesses & the provision of income generating opportunities, assistance in resolving conflicts, financial support for minor medical matters where necessary and provision of medication through our registered nurse.
We are also piloting an adult literacy programme to assist the parents and to show them the value of an education.
Family Food support
If the children weren’t attending the ISF centre they would be out on the streets of Phnom Penh earning a meagre living. Attendance at ISF therefore constitutes loss of income for already poor families.
To be able to create an opportunity for the children in our programme to be educated we replace this lost income with a monthly food package to ensure that the nutritional needs of the children are kept up in their home environment. This enables the children to stay off the streets where they would have otherwise had to work to supplement the income of the family.
Adult Literacy
Realising that we would get better results with the children attending our Education Program if we could assist the whole family, we commenced a pilot Adult Literacy Programme which we offered to the parents of the children attending our school and other members in the community. The aim of the program was:
1) To show the parents the benefits of an education so that they would better support their children through our education program
2) To teach the parents the value of an education so that they could understand and appreciate better what ISF is trying to achieve with their children
3) To raise the skills and education level of the parents so that it could assist them with earning a better living wage as opposed to basically surviving on the only work they could get which is collecting recyclable rubbish on the streets of Phnom Penh for approximately $1US per day.