Summer Arts Camp for Orphans in Cambodia

The  start of a new chapter in 2013: Champey Academy of Arts ( CAA)

January 2013  marks  the start of a new chapter in our efforts to bring the joys, discipline and pride of culture of traditional  Cambodian arts and  dance    to underprivileged  children. Expanding upon our previous project of Summer Arts Camp , several of the teachers and staff formerly with our old Apsara program  are  continuing to  work with us on our new project the    Champey Academy of Arts ( CAA). CAA   started dance classes  at our new location  this month in  Phnom Penh. Champey is the  Cambodia name for the tropical  plumeria flower.  Our new location is centrally located and is  just a  short walk of one block to the Royal Palace, the National Museum and Royal University of Fine Arts.

Our inaugural class includes a group of approximately 20  young girls age 9 to 16  from a shelter for abused and formerly trafficked children in Phnom Penh.  They are  attending classes twice a week. We are receiving a strong expression of interest from other groups who serve disadvantaged children and we are looking forward to  building a robust and diverse  year round roster of activities for our students as our funding permits.

Activities which our program hopes to  include, is to offer year round enrichment programs in  traditional Cambodian dance, music instruction on traditional Cambodian musical instruments and instruction in a variety of Khmer arts and in Khmer culture and  history for children who might otherwise grow up with little or no knowledge of their nation’s rich cultural history.

We are looking forward to bringing you more updates as our new program unfolds.

A work in progress !

Champey Academy of Arts ( CAA)   started dance classes  at our new location   in  Phnom Penh in January.  Champey is the  Cambodia name for the tropical  plumeria flower.  Our new location is centrally located and is  just a  short walk of one block to the Royal Palace, the National Museum and Royal University of Fine Arts.

Our inaugural class included a group of approximately 20  young girls age 9 to 16  from a shelter for abused and formerly trafficked children in Phnom Penh. Now just three months later our  Champey  Academy of Arts  ( CAA) l continues to take shape. 

From a just a handful of children, our classes  have  now expanded to include morning and afternoon sessions with attendance of  about 20 to 30 students per class.  Instruction is presented 6 days per week. Not only does the program of dance and music  at Champey  teach children about their rich cultural heritage, it keeps children off the streets during their free time. Cambodian children attend school for a morning session or an afternoon session, and this alternates each month, so non-school hours are filled with a rigorous curriculum of classic Cambodian dance.  The classes are filled with children from NPOs as well as neighborhood  kids whose parents recognize that Champey provides opportunity while helping to assist  the challenge  of idle children who are often left unattended while parents work.

As school holidays in late summer  approach,  we will be working to develop additional activities, including drawing,  to enrich and occupy these children.

Classes are offered free of charge.

Mark is in Cambodia this week to evaluate progress to date and plan for the coming months.

Again, all of this is possible because of your generous  support.

Stay tuned for more news!

Barbara Rosasco   

Update on Summer Arts Camp 2012  and planning for 2013

Summer Arts Camp  took  an unexpected turn  in 2012 as unusual conditions converged.  Reports of an unspecified serious  illness  sickening  children in Cambodia prompted us to place our usual gathering of dozens of children for Summer Camp  from across the city on hold.   Instead we organized   other activities  for  groups of  children and brought  dance and arts activities to disadvantaged  children, such as weekend dance  lessons for the children on site  at the Phnom Penh  Municipal Orphanage.  

Our history continues

For  the past 14 years we have sponsored youth  arts  programs to encourage pride of culture through knowledge of traditional Cambodian drawing,  dance and music and our Summer Arts Camp has been a part of this effort for the past several years.  

Arts for youth programs  will  continue

Yes, it has been a challenging summer. And  now,  due to a variety of other  factors beyond our control, including the city’s plan to build a drainage canal through our former  school site as part of an ongoing  flood control construction project, we are starting a new school  on December 1,2012 , in  a new location in central Phnom Penh. 

Our new school will be staffed by  faculty  and graduates  of our former program.  Now accomplished dancers, our  newly graduated students  from our original program will bring the joy and discipline  of traditional Cambodian dance to disadvantaged children in our new arts for youth programs and  also serve as great peer  mentors to new students.

We are grateful for your continued support of our efforts as we open our new school and begin plans  to continue our Summer Arts Camp program .

Now as we approach the time when Summer Arts Camp should be starting, we have run into some unexpected challenges and concerns. Over the past several months there have been intermittent news reports about an unspecified illness that has sickened dozens of children and which has a high mortality rate. Please see the excerpts from the articles below.

As a result of this, parents and others are significantly reducing voluntary public activities for children until more is known. Parents in our AIDS Patient Family Support Program and other custodians  have voiced concerns about public gatherings. Consequently, for the time being, we have suspended our Summer Arts Program in its traditional form. Instead we will work to create small outings and other activities for these children and where feasible, bring dance and art activities to the children such as weekend  dance lessons for the children at the Municipal Orphanage.

We are grateful for your continued support of our efforts as we work through this challenging time.

Barbara & Mark Rosasco

Wall Street Journal, K. Barta, July 27, 2012--"Cambodian and international health officials are investigating an unexplained disease that has killed more than 60 children since early April"...The article goes on to describe the illness as an " unknown respiratory disease involving neurological symptoms".

CNN, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, July 9, 2012 -- Health officials continued on Monday to investigate the causes behind the mysterious deaths of 64 children in Cambodia after saying they had made an important discovery over the weekend......

The Institut Pasteur in Cambodia tested samples taken from 24 patients and found 15 had tested positive for Enterovirus Type 71 - a common cause of hand, foot and mouth disease that can also cause severe neurological complications, mainly in children.

 http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/09/world/asia/cambodia-children-disease/index.html

The World Health Organization also noted that a " significant proportion of the sanples" had tested positive for EV71, but it cautioned that the outbreak had not been fully solved and  more analysis was needed......

Links:

• CNN , July 9, 2012

Changing young lives !

One of the goals of Kasumisou Foundation is to bring positive change to young lives.  We do this in a  variety of ways: education, social support and exposure to the rich artistic heritage of Cambodia.  The Summer Arts Camp is one way that we help disadvantaged children to see the world from a different view.

Our annual Summer Arts Camp was originally conceived as just a fun summer activity to benefit  disadvantaged children from the municipal orphanage and an AIDS hospice  that is  located on the outskirts of Phnom Penh. However, for some participants, it has proven to be more than just a way to keep busy during the annual summer holiday from school.  Instead, it has provided not only an exciting introduction into the world of traditional dance and music, but it has also provided an opportunity to break free from the motonony of institutional life. It offers an opportunity  for students to challenge themselves daily as they master the physical skills and intense concentration required by  Cambodian traditional dance.

Following the conclusion of our Summer Arts Camp 2011 in late September of last year, three  boys from the municipal orphanage  requested permission to continue to attend daily classes at the Apsara Arts school.

In order to do so, these three boys, sharing two borrowed bicycles, rode more than 5 km ( about 2 miles) each way  to attend the classes each day, 6 days per week.  Now as we prepare for the start of Summer Arts Camp 2012, these boys continue to attend daily classes at the Apsara Arts Association and their skill levels have improved to such a degree that the boys are often invited to take part in the weekly public performances given by the students at the Apsara Arts school.

This is a great example that shows how a small investment in a young person can bloom and perhaps  transform a life. As we approach  preparation and planning for the Summer Arts Camp 2012, we hope that you will continue to support our efforts to enrich the lives of these and other  children.

Thank you again for your generous support.

Barbara & Mark Rosasco