Music Training Therapy Blind Youth Cambodia

Dear Kind Donors,

Thank you for your wonderful donations and constant support and kindness.

At the beginning of April this year, our School, together with the wonderful Epic Arts and other groups,  hosted the Kampot Arts Festival. A Festival to celebrate Cambodian Artists and Cambodian Arts. The opening ceremony was given at our School and we also held workshops open to the public.

Our small Children performed Traditional Yike Dance, which is an ancient Sung Dance- form, deriving from the Cham and era of the Kingdom of Champa (2nd -17th C.a.d). They also performed the Khèam Dance. This features the Khèam instrument, a rare wind instrument now almost lost to Cambodia. Our Blind Students also performed Mohori and Yike Music.

During the Workshops, our Blind Students who have now created a Professional Traditional Cambodian Orchestra entitled "Vichak Santapheap" - The Path of Peace, and who continue to perfect their skills with our Mohori and Yike Masters, gave lessons in Mohori Musical instruments to local Cambodian Children during the Arts Festival in Kampot Town, Southwestern Cambodia where our School is based, further enhancing their self-confidence and skills.

Our Day Students who come from the TaPream Primary School are going strong and have learned two full Pin Peat Music Pieces.

After this, we celebrated Khmer New Year and we wish everyone many Blessings for the Cambodian New Year!

I Thank you all and my beloved staff for their immense dedication, kindness and love.

*Photographs by Loak Kru Sothy, Loak Kru Sambo and Neark Kru Tara: Made with permission of KCDI students

Links:

• Official Website
• Official Facebook

Dear Kind Donors,

Thank you all for your most wonderful and kind support this last year!

With you Help, we have been able to begin Teaching Traditional Khmer Music and the Performing Arts to Primary School Children from the TaPream School in Tray Koh. They come from very poor families and so we provide them with nourishing evening meals and transport to and from their villages.

Importantly a very kind and supportive donor, has helped sponsor our Performance Project for our Blind Students.  These Students have been living at our School since 2015 and have with daily Practice and hard work andt he wonderful skilled Teaching from our Masters, formed a professional Traditional Khmer Music Orchestra.

When our Blind Students were growing up in their villages and could net yet read or write, (because there was no access to School or Braille in their remote villages), their extended families and village communities were often quite cruel and humiliated them because of their disabilities.

Therefore the Performance Project where they Performed as a Professional Orchestra, was held in each of the different Pagodas from the village districts in Kampot Province where they were born and grew up.

It has been an amazing experience, with our Students Beautifully performing Pin Peat, Mohori, Yike  and Plein Ka Music and their Concerts being eagerly attended by their entire village and district community. 

As this Project is also about the Restoration of Traditional Khmer Music, we were so glad that many, including young people and Children attended.

This December we also began re-construction of our Main Hall Roof.  Our Main Hall was designed by the late Royal Architect, You Sam El, who gave of his services for free to our School, firmly believing in our Vision to preserve Traditional Khmer Arts for future generations of Cambodians, after the Khmer Rouge genocide had killed 90% of all Artists..

The Main Hall is the central focal point of our School, where all Children from within and from communiies outside, come and study Traditional Khmer Music, Dance, Yike and Shadow Puppet Theatre.  It was designed and built in the Traditional Pagoda Style, typical of the National Museum and University of Fine Arts Plastic Faculty, because Traditional Khmer Music and Arts is considered Sacred in Cambodia.

After twenty years, the roof beams were rotting, the eaves crumbling and the tiles letting in rain. A complete re-construction was needed, vital for the safety of our Child and Staff .  We are most grateful therefore to our two donors from the USA, for their generous and kind support. So far, we have completed about 30% of work. When all is completed and the roof restored to its glory, we will present another report.

We Thank you all from our Hearts for helping us.

We Wish you all, Peace and Happiness for 2023 and beyond.

Links:

• Official Website
• Official Facebook Page