Hello to everyone. A new face on the blog today - my name is Stephen and I recently did my open water qualification with the Dive Shop.
As part of the course I spent 3days on the island of Koh Rong Samloem, and felt compelled to help this poor but incredibly friendly community. The only school, a 3sided wooden shack, had been closed for over 6months because they couldn’t afford to pay the salary of a teacher. All the children from the 76 families were without education. With 2 other open water students we organised a beach party on Otres beach, Sihanoukville. Thanks to the 60 or so people who came and drank the bar dry, $190 was raised and given to the village chief yesterday. The money will pay a teachers salary for 3months and concrete the walkway to the school which is completely washed out during the wet season.
We are currently planning a second party to be held in the Dive Shop 2 weeks from now. As well as people getting drunk, there will be a huge raffle with over $400 of prizes including free days out diving. Hopefully we can raise enough cash to pay the teacher for a whole 12months and expand the school.
In the meantime I have been staying on the island every few days and teaching the children very basic English. When you come diving be sure to stay on the island amongst this wonderful community - the children would love a chance to practice!
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cambodia, dive, diving, projects, fundraising, school
Is the school still opened?
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