A Dream Come True

Less than five months from its conception, Sokha Phally high school's dream of a warm and welcoming library with hundreds of reading materials and two trained librarians was fully realized this past Friday. Nearly 100 students filled the room throughout the opening day poring over the new novels, textbooks, dictionaries, and maps as if they were gifts under the tree on Christmas morning. Despite the pleading of the librarians, many students found it hard to contain their excitement as they read. The room was full of smiles and laughs which were only interrupted by groans when the school's bell signaled the time for students to get back to their classrooms.

As I looked around at the tables, chairs, bookshelves, maps, and books, I imagined those of you who gave so generously to make this space possible. I wished that I could share the fun and excitement in the room in a more real way than the pictures I've included below, and I wished that these students could know the amazing people who had given so generously to this project.

As a sign of friendship, I hung the American flag which had adorned my room over the past two years on the library's wall. I hope it will be a lasting reminder of the kindness so many of my American friends and family showed by supporting the school and giving thousands of students over the coming years a chance to read, learn, and grow in a way that wasn't possible before.

From all of us at Sokha Phally high school, thank you so very much.

 

Before

 

After

 

 

One of the two new librarians helps a student sign in. 

 

 

The register allows librarians to track how many students have used the library (measureable by sex/grade), how much time they spent in the library, and which materials they are reading (optional). The school's current objectives are: 1) at least 150 students will visit the library per month, and 2) at least 40% of students will spend at least one hour per week in a library.

 

 

Once signed in, students have over 150 English and 250 Khmer books to choose from. Books are organized by category with colored dots to aid librarians with re-shelving. (One of the librarians knows no English.)

 

Novels

History

 



 

Math and Science

 

 

There were so many girls!

 

This girl is brilliant. She even stands up to the English technical leader when he teaches something incorrectly during our classes, no small act in this culture.

Another one of my favorite students, Diamond. This guy went straight for the English science books when he came in. Most of his peers were engrossed with Khmer romance novels.

 



While this guy's smile is great, I love this picture for another reason. I can only imgaine that the boy with the mask had been reading Harry Potter (in Khmer) and is now using that huge dictionary to look up something like "muggle" or "quidditch."

 



 

I brought my 1,000-piece puzzle into the library, and these students loved it! It was a great teamwork and critical thinking exercise.

 

A Sign of Friendship