Library Time at CCH 1 with New English Books  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Kids at CCH 1 Bringing Stories Alive

Through Drama Games

 

  

  

 Rehearsal for “The Seven Cambodian Sisters”

 

 Actors After Rehearsal

  

Librarians from CCH 1 Go on the Road to CDCC…  

 

  

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A little monsoon weather did happen. No problem!

.........................................  

After the book time, the CCH librarians did some dramatizations of stories. Below are shots from an enactment of “Sacagawea and the Bravest Deed” :

 

Sacagawea’s Grandma is hurt

 

 

A rattlesnake slithers up

 

 

Sacagawea saves the day

 

 

 The audience takes in the drama

 

 

No snakes were actually hurt during this performance.

 

 As fate would have it, the librarians from CCH 1 turned out to be all girls. But check out the newly forming group of librarians at CDCC!!

 

 

 Views of Play Yard at CDCC

 

Entry Gate

 

 

Facing from Entry Gate to dorms

 

 

 

Garden Plot

 

 

Football!

 

 

 Dorms at CDCC

 

  Scenes at CCH 1

 

 

 

Halimah’s workshop with CCH 1 staff  

 

 

CCH 1 kids learn new DynEd English program

 

 

Teacher Seang Heang at work

 

  

The new “business building” going up

 

 

Student Thavery pitches in

 

 

Traditional Cambodian Dance

 

   Sinath, Sophorn and Narath

 

 

Narath

 

A Trip to the Country

 

Chetra and Manin

 

 

 Elia and Sokha at “the farm”

 

 Scenes at CDCC

 

Teacher Bo

 

 

Teacher Van Tol

 

 

Math workshop with teachers and kids

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lunchtime

  

Play time

  

Work time  

 

 

 Learning time

 

Sometime

 

This photo essay about Center for Children's Happiness, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, captures a small slice of time in July, 2006.

Many of the photos here record the enthusiastic response of CCH children and staff to a library of 200 books in English which my wife, Halimah, and I brought to CCH. Halimah is an experienced school teacher, and organized a group of student librarians to care for the books. The highlight of the whole library adventure was the sharing of the books with younger children at CCH's second facility, known as "CDCC," through reading time and dramatization of stories. The older children read the books to themselves in English (with help), and then retold the stories to the younger kids in Khmer.

For those of you who may not know, Center For Children’s Happiness currently has two facilities, separated by a distance of 2 or 3 miles. “CCH 1,” the original facility, currently houses 35 children, many of whom have been with CCH since its founding 4 years ago. “CDCC,” named in honor of the Cambodian Dump Children’s Committee in the UK, whose efforts led to the founding of the second facility almost 2 years ago, has experienced rapid growth over the past year, and currently cares for 82 children. Mr. Mech Sokha is the director of Center for Children's Happiness.

Elia Van Tuyl

Palo Alto, California, USA

friendsofcch@gmail.com

 

 The End