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Mobile School Pulling Into Villages

15/2/2022

Since 2020 and with COVID spreading fast, children in rural Cambodia could not access any learning for months and this is what sparked the idea for a Mobile School.

Together with the district Governor of Bakong, PeopleStories recently announced the Smart School Anywhere initiative to bring digital and vocational learning to children in rural Cambodia.

Director of the Ministry of Education, Youth & Sports (Bakong District) Mr. Tann Reangsey said, “One thing we (the Ministry) value about working with PeopleStories is our ‘common goal’ which is to help our children gain a better future through education. I really enjoy our open, honest and understanding partnership with PeopleStories.”

Stage 1 of Smart School Anywhere is launching a Mobile School, bringing digital learning to Secondary Schools in rural Cambodia. The Mobile School is nearing its launch! With the help of a very determined tuk tuk, children in the villages will have digital education resources brought to them.

Speaking of the tuk tuk; a local tuk tuk driver wanted to donate his “retired” (and very broken) tuk tuk to us. Our Founder & CEO Victoria, accepted the driver’s kind donation and worked with teacher Kimsong to find a local repairer to convert the once passenger tuk tuk into a carriage / classroom.

Teacher Kimsong shared, “Because the tuk tuk was so broken, it took a month to repair, replacing many parts, right down to the wheels.”

Developing digital programs to bring to the children has been a huge part of making the Mobile School a reality. Our international volunteer Vata has been working hard with others in the development of the e-learning modules. Vata shared, “I am glad to be part of the Learning & Development team. Currently I am supporting our Smart School Anywhere project by designing the Information & Communications Technology (ICT) e-learning modules.”

He continued, “I am pretty excited about getting the children to discover the world of ICT in a fun way.”

Bringing digital learning to some of the most remote areas of Cambodia certainly presents unique challenges. Access to stable internet and children that do not have experience with online technology are just a couple of those hurdles that need to be explored when creating digital educational programs.

Vata expressed how he had to keep these things in mind while bringing his programming ideas to the table and shared, “Yes, of course in these types of projects there are lots of challenges and things we need to bear in mind when creating a program, the first one being the user experience, then we have the language barriers and finally the content to be aligned with the Ministry of Education. How to overcome these is with two simple words: creativity and adaptability.”

The Mobile School pilot is scheduled to go live on 21 Feb and it will be at Chea Smonn secondary school.

Lowering school drop-out, keeping the children engaged in education, teaching them 21st century skills to better their lives is at the heart of this project. Everyone involved has been working hard for months to get to this moment with one clear purpose: to bring quality education to the Cambodian children.

Help empower the next generation today: https://ps-schoolforlife2022.raisely.com

Story written by: Volunteer Kathy Aunkst

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Mobile Classroom is COMING!

12/1/2022

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PeopleStories is gearing up to implement Smart School Anywhere (SSA), a new initiative that has recently been approved by the Governor of Bakong and it will transform rural education from “Chalk & Talk” to “Flick & Click”.

The key features of SSA are more ICT-trained teachers, greater digital literacy skills for children and supporting the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports’ strategic goals. The benefits will be greater school enrolments, lower dropouts, greater academic results and better future workforce. Smart School Anywhere will be a role model for innovation, which we hope to roll out to more schools.

The first stage of SSA is to deploy a mobile classroom (tuk-tuking around) to help children in the villages with their digital learning. In fact, the team has been working hard since June 2021 under the leadership of Chee Ming, our SSA Program Manager.

Chee Ming was introduced to PeopleStories via a common friend who knows our Founder & CEO Victoria. His main role is the program management and infrastructure, tech and tools function.

Like many other volunteers who came onboard, Chee Ming is not new to volunteering. His volunteer work is usually one-time and activity based like helping to deliver and set up PCs for the underprivileged and facilitating zoo visits for children with special needs. What makes Chee Ming decide to take the plunge to help with PeopleStories work, which requires continuous efforts on a long-term basis?

Chee Ming mused, “PeopleStories provides a good opportunity for me to be more involved in volunteering work, one where I can be more directly involved in the overall end-to-end charity program. It also allows me to learn the operations of a Charity organisation, from which my horizons are widened. Perhaps this experience may lead to further opportunities in more charity operations or activities.”

Working with the SSA team which is fully staffed by volunteers is a challenging process. Hence, Chee Ming seeks to understand the working dynamics of the SSA team by adopting an open and receptive mindset to seek and learn continuously.

Chee Ming elaborated earnestly, “Checking in and engaging in open conversations with team members and not hesitating to ask for help make the process an invigorating one. I am fortunate to have Victoria, who has been coaching me along the way. I continue to research and find ways to constructively contribute to the team even if it is outside of my domain knowledge.”

With such a heavy responsibility, what is Chee Ming’s secret to striking a balance between the various commitments? He emphasized, “I need to first recognise and internalise the accountability and responsibility of being a volunteer in SSA. Then I incorporate the SSA time commitment in the daily work schedule such that it forms part of the daily work cycle.”

What is fulfilling about working with the SSA team? Chee Ming said fervently, “The ability to make a difference in educating the underprivileged children, no matter how big or small. The ability to give back to society in general.” 

The SSA initiative aims to help young Cambodians with greater job readiness when they graduate from high school, arm them with the necessary skills for 21st century and transform lives through greater access to quality education. This is in line with our eventful goal of sustainable partnership.

What is something new Chee Ming is starting in 2022? He shared readily, “I am working to improve and expand my current exercise plans to keep up my health and fitness. Equally important, I am also going to meet up more frequently with friends. Especially when these have been hampered by the earlier Covid restrictions.”

We are sure Chee Ming will be able to keep up with his resolutions by incorporating it into his daily schedule. What about you? What is something you are starting in 2022 as you gear up for the year? Want to help the underprivileged students gear up too?

Story written by: Volunteer Bok Hoon Ong

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Annoucement - Smart School Anywhere!

29/9/2021

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We are excited to announce that the Ministry of Education, Youth & Sport in Bakong District has agreed to partner with PeopleStories to implement our new program Smart School Anywhere (SSA).

Read more about SSA

Our founder Victoria shared the idea origination of SSA, “When schools have to close due to Covid-19 back in 2020, we as a team started mapping out steps to ensure learning doesn’t stop for the children in rural Cambodia.”

At a meeting on September 18, 2021, Director Tann Reangsey from the Ministry together with some of our partner school directors made an agreement to partner with PeopleStories to implement SSA in Bakong District. Director Reangsey shared, “I am very proud of what PeopleStories has achieved in the Bakong District, especially during the COVID-19 period in the past 2 years. Without the support from PeopleStories since 2017, many students would not be supported or have access to education.”

With sparks in her eyes, Victoria further shared, “Smart School Anywhere Phase 1 will bring digital learning to secondary school children via a Mobile Classroom as early as January 2022. I am forever grateful for our team of well-qualified professionals donating their time and expertise, we are now developing a series of e-learning units using effective design principles”.

The concept of a Mobile Classroom will bring along necessary digital equipment including laptops starting with Rolous and Chea Smonn Secondary Schools in Bakong as early as January 2022. Children will enjoy free digital learning classes of: Technology, Critical Thinking, Mathematics, English and Khmer. The road map shows our projections of the 3 key phases of Smart School Anywhere.

With 1 in 5 children dropping out of school, PeopleStories is committed to enable children with greater access to quality education in rural Cambodia. With Smart School Anywhere initiative, we aim to help young Cambodians with greater job readiness when they graduate from high school, arm them with the necessary skills for 21st century and transform lives through greater access to quality education.

The key features of Smart School Anywhere are more ICT-trained teachers, greater ICT skills for students and supporting the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports’ strategic goals. The benefits will be greater school enrolments, lower dropouts, greater academic results and better future workforce. Smart School Anywhere will be a role model for innovation, which we hope to roll out to more schools.

Director Reangsey also shared with much excitement, “One thing we (the Ministry) value a lot about working with PeopleStories is our ‘Common Goal’ which is to help our children to gain a better future through education. I really enjoy our open, honest and understanding relationship. I have had conversations with Ms Victoria where she repeatedly understand our needs and recognized our difficulties. She is willing to comprise for a mutually beneficial decision. This is truly working together and sharing the same dream.”

Something good has come out from the unfortunate school closure. It has accelerated the digital learning for our students. In fact, over the last few months, we have shared some success stories of our students thriving in the digital age despite the stumbling blocks. Have a read of these inspiring stories from students SreyMey, Sambath, Pokim and Bunsao.

PeopleStories is currently seeking for partners to work together for our new initiative Smart School Anywhere. We are looking for an education institute and a technology company to partner with us in transform education from “Chalk & Talk” to “Flick & Click”. Email us at Team@PeopleStoriesCharity.org to start your change maker journey with PeopleStories.

Story written by: Volunteers Bok Hoon Ong and Pei Khoek

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Mobile School Pulling Into Villages

Mobile Classroom is COMING!

Annoucement - Smart School Anywhere!

Smart School Anywhere

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Mobile School Pulling Into Villages

Mobile Classroom is COMING!

Annoucement - Smart School Anywhere!

Smart School Anywhere

Archives

Categories

Connect With Us

​Contact Us​

Copyright PeopleStories Charity Limited | 2022 All Rights Reserved

Contact Us