Art & Dance lessons for 300 Children in Cambodia

Arts Leader, Thuo, confidently takes the stage at our partner school to address 200 students and 50 parents, a feat that before joining Epic Arts, Thuo would’ve shied away from. She knows what it’s like to feel nervous and shy because of disability. she contracted Polio at a young age which affects the mobility in her right arm. Just a few years ago she spent most of her days at home, lacking in confidence.

“I felt different, I was very, very shy and I spent a lot of time on my own.” Thou Continues, “I joined Epic Arts and for the first time I met many other people who had a disability, people who were managers and dancers. As I made friends and learnt about the arts my confidence grew. Now I am able to speak, teach and dance in front of many, many people”

Holding the microphone in her left hand Thuo starts to speak about what the students have been doing in art class this year. She stumbles a little in her speech but quickly catches her words again.  She tells the audience about a Khmer storybook called ‘The Salted Egg Boy’ and how the children have been working hard to create drawings for the book.  Thuo introduces a young boy from the class who, with a grin on his face, shows us the drawings he has been creating this term.

An important part of this project is for children to have positive interactions with people who have disabilities. The programme gives people the opportunity to change attitudes through being positive role models. Having these experiences can help children to feel at ease around disability and change their perception at an early age. Thuo Sums the project up

“I just want to show the children that we (people with disabilities) can do many things because I don't want any child who has a disability to be made fun of,” she confidently states. “ I hope that no person is ashamed because they have a disability,” explains Thuo.

 Senior Manager, Onn Sokny, tells us about Thuo’s progression over the last two years “ The change I’ve seen in Thuo is amazing. When I  first met her she was the most shy person. This year she has built her confidence with the work she has been doing with Epic Arts and the Arts in Schools project. She has transformed into a strong female role model who I can see inspiring many others in the future”.

Sokny continues with more logistical aspects of the Arts in Schools project, “At the moment I am working on scheduling, materials, creating plans and talking with schools in order to launch more Arts in Schools projects in May.”

You can still donate to help deliver this project on Global Giving to help us reach our target of $7,000. We would also like to share our annual report with you take a look at the PDF attached to see what ese we've been up to. 

• Take a look at what else we've been up to in 2015 (PDF)
  

“I am so happy that I get to be part of art class, it’s really useful for me. I get to think and use my imagination a lot in the art class. Art Class makes me happy every week. I really like my teachers from Epic Arts, they are such the best arts teacher”  Srey Noch*, student at Creative Schools Cambodia pilot school.

 Srey Noch* she spends most of her week at school learning Literacy, English and Maths but for two hours a week she gets to create art  as part of the ‘Creative Schools Cambodia’ project.

Right now we are working hard on expanding the ‘Creative Schools Cambodia’ project to three new schools in Kampot and aim to start the new classes in May 2016. Senior Manager, Onn Sokny, tells us a little about how the project is developing: 

“I am so grateful to see the students really enjoy and engage with their art class. They are so happy and excited about their arts class with Epic Arts. The students have inspired me to work on convincing more Cambodian people about how vital the arts are for children in their enjoyment of school and for their own development.

We see this love for learning everyday in our Special Education project and Inclusive Arts Course, children want to come to school because learning is fun and creative. I want this way of learning to become a norm within state schools.

Over the past couple of months I’ve met with school directors to share research about why the arts are important for student’s development, as this information isn’t widely known or available in Cambodia. As the ‘Creative Schools Cambodia’ project has been running for the past 6 months in one school I’ve been able to share our experiences and anecdotes from the project to convey the importance of the arts for children.

I will continue to meet with Schools until February 2016, then between March and April 2016 I will work on logistical aspects of the project, scheduling, materials and other communication ready for a launch in three new schools in May 2016.

You can still donate to help deliver this project on Global Giving to help us reach our target of $7,000

https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/give-children-art-and-dance-lessons-in-cambodia/

 *name changed for privacy