Students and staff from Assumption Catholic School on Cornwall Street have been growing their own fresh and organic vegetables. The produce is then sold and the funds collected go to Bellingham Community School, a sister middle school in Cambodia which Assumption School has been supporting for years.
“Part of the fact is that this is what we want to teach our children: teach the children they can make a difference in the world. This is making a difference,” Monica Des Jarlais, principal of Assumption Catholic School, said.
Assumption School has also brought over this project to Bellingham Community School. The school has donated $7,500 to Bellingham Community School to start their own garden, known as “Peace Garden” where the children and staff can grow their own produce and sell it to raise funds. The project helps Bellingham Community School to increase accessibility to fresh food and to be self-sufficient.
“We call it the ‘dirt-to-dirt’ project,” Des Jarlais said.
A group of three teachers, five students and two parents visited Bellingham Community School on Nov. 11 and stayed through the Thanksgiving holiday in Cambodia to immerse in the culture and learn how much resiliency exists within the human spirit, Liberty Sponek, one of the teachers who went to Cambodia, said in an email.
“While we were there we also bought a month’s supply of food for the 20 people living in a dorm at the school and many gardening tools so they can grow their own vegetables,” Sponek said.
“They are still desperately trying to recover educationally, economically, politically, and physically. Witnessing that struggle is something one cannot fully describe with either words or pictures.” Sponek explained. “I had done some reading before I went, but it did not come close to preparing me for this experience.”
Assumption School did many fundraising events to prepare the group for the trip. A portion of the money went into paying costs such as driver and an interpreter and the remaining funds are used to buy school supplies such as globes, computers and white boards for Bellingham Community School.
The group spent three days in the school itself and 10 days with officials from the organization.
“While we were there we all participated in sports events, games, dancing, singing, and conversations,” Sponek said.
The group provided many opportunities for the Cambodian children to practice their English language skills by having custom-made flashcards of their own lives and power point presentations focusing on school and home-life in Bellingham. They taught the children with songs such as the Hokey Pokey, Head and Shoulders-Knees-and-Toes and Itsy Bitsy Spider. This is to teach the Basic English vocabulary and have fun together, Sponek said.
Students and parents also offer their services to find out more about the health needs in Bellingham Community School.
“One of the parents is a doctor and one of the teachers’ husbands is a doctor too,” Des Jarlais said.
Assumption School has consistently sent a fund of $2,500 annually to Bellingham Community School. It also send a group to Cambodia every three years to find out about the needs and progress of the school.
“$2,000 to pay for a Computer and English teacher and $500 for the books and supplies,” Des Jarlais said.
Bellingham Community School started when a local businessman, Ham Hayes, went about asking for sponsorship to help build a middle school in Phnom Dek, Cambodia, where the rural region is still devastated by the Khmer Rouge era.
“Knowing he can’t does it on his own, he went around to places in Bellingham to ask for sponsorship,” Des Jarlais said.
The partnership between Hayes and Assumption School started in 2005 and together, they worked to sustain the salary of a teacher with English language and computer skills.
In 2006, two Assumption school families and an Assumption teacher travelled together with Hayes and his wife, Gloria to Cambodia to witness the opening ceremony of Bellingham Community School.
Ever since then, Assumption School has constantly support Bellingham Community School, not only in a teacher’s salary but towards the identified school needs as well, Des Jarlais said.
Assumption School also accepts volunteers who want to help out in their garden or financial contributors who want to support Bellingham Community School.
“We are excited to teach the children what they can do in the garden, can impact other students’ life,” Des Jarlais said. “This is part of our mission: To be a global citizen and take care of the world.”
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