Education Cambodia Project #21424

Art & Dance lessons for 300 Children in Cambodia

by Epic Arts

Project Report | Feb 7, 2017
Your Donation is Changing Perceptions. Read Saan's Story to See How!

By Hayley Holden | Communications Officer

One of students during art class

Thanks to your generous donations our Arts in Schools project has been running for a year now and has reached 157 children in Kampot. We’ve got two schools on board and have delivered 42 workshops over the past 12 months.

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Saan is an arts leader for the Arts in Schools community project, here he tells his story from unable to access school to becoming an arts facilitator and leading workshops.

Both my brother and I were born deaf (he’s five years older than me). We didn’t go to school because we couldn’t hear the teacher. When we were children had no idea that sign language even existed!

I thought that I’d never be able to communicate my thoughts clearly to another person, I couldn’t speak, read or write.

The first time I went to school was when I was 14.

I started at Deaf Development Programme (DDP) where I learnt basic math, literacy and sign language. After finishing at DDP I joined Epic Arts as a student on the Inclusive Arts Course. For two years I learnt about being an arts leader as well as how to use the arts to express myself.

Now I teach art to children in schools something I never imagined I could do!

The first time we arrive at a new school children see us signing and that some of the team are in wheelchairs. They always stare and they always ask “What’s wrong with you?!”

I don’t blame them though; they don’t know what disability is. They’ve never seen people with disability before so that’s why they ask.

I like to teach because I want to share my knowledge about art. I want children to have access to arts workshops. I want to show them different ways they can channel their emotions.

It's important that we do the Art in Schools project because we are showing the children that even though we have disabilities we CAN do things.

I like encouraging the children not to discriminate against people with disabilities.

I tell them that “Every Person Counts”

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Please help us deliver more workshops this year to children in local primary schools by donating today or setting up a recurring donation.

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Nov 10, 2016
New Term for Arts in Schools

By Hayley Holden | Communications Coordinator

Aug 18, 2016
"They see me, not my disability"

By Hayley Holden | Communications Officer

For two hours a week, these students in Kampot, Cambodia get to express themselves through the arts. I went along recently to the project and saw how much fun students were having with paint, glue and a lot of empty water bottles.

“I feel very happy to join the Arts In School activities. I think this workshop support to me learn at government school such as to create something new, and give me different skill. I want the arts workshops to continue.”- Student on Arts in Schools Project

During the workshop I noticed a group of children crowding around one of the Arts Leaders, Teuly. The excitement of the children is not because they are curious about his amputated legs, but because they want him to help them with their work.

Teuly told me “ It makes me feel so confident that they want me to help them. I believe that they see me not my disability”

One of the reasons we run community projects is so that children have positive interactions with people who have disabilities. We believe our Arts Leaders can change negative attitudes and perceptions through being positive role models. You can see this is happening in the way the students interact with the facilitators, who all have a disability.

At the end of the session the children ran out of the school with huge grins and clutching their plastic creations ready to take home to show their families. Whilst chatting with the children they echo this sentiment, one student told me “I feel so happy but now I want to do Arts twice a week” I asked him why and he simply said “It’s fun and it helps to support me to learn at school.”

We see this love for learning everyday on our Inclusive Education Programme for children with & without disabilities because when there is time for creativity and fun, children want to come to school.

We're only $683 away from our target, help us reach our goal by donating today using the link below. Or why not support the art classes by setting up a monthly donation - from September 21 to September 27, 2016 your donations will be matched by Global Giving.

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