Making a difference from afar

By Sheree Hoddinett  

Going to school and preparing for life in the workforce is something we certainly take for granted here. But for kids growing up in small villages in Cambodia, it’s a different story. With that in mind, Bongaree-based Mark Strazdins decided he wanted to do something about it, even if it was only on a small scale. 

“Angkor Wat is located just outside Siam Reap in Cambodia and the government in its eternal wisdom has decided to relocate all the people that have been living around Angkor Wat for hundreds of years,” Mark explains. “So there are two crowded villages that are about 30 miles out on each side, which doesn’t sound very far, but when you haven’t got money and you’re relying on being able to sell something to the tourists to make money you might as well be on another planet. 

“Anyway there’s a whole lot of kids out there that don’t have access to learn English, so we started a school in Run Ta Ek about a year ago, which we thought we might get 30 kids and it rapidly became 125. We’re teaching them to speak, read and write English so that it gives them a much better opportunity at better work and employment when they get older.”  

The Angkor Kids School For Better Future is run by Mon Kimkhore (also known as Kim) and funded by Mark.  

“If you want to learn English, turn up, it’s that simple and it’s all free, so if you want to learn, it’s there,” Mark said. “Having Kim there running everything, he’s just a nice guy who is very giving and cares about everybody.   

“When you go there and see the poverty, you understand that just simply learning that second language could make a big difference in their life. Maybe a percentage of them don’t really understand it and don't get through, but if you get one or two kids that can actually use it and it improves their life, why wouldn't you do it?” 

Mark likes to visit two or three times a year with his next planned trip in October. He enjoys being able to go into the school and see what it means to the kids involved.  

“Last time I went back, there was a young girl, she’s about six and she always wants to sing for me, it’s the cutest thing,” Mark said. “But if you go back to a month earlier, she couldn’t speak any English and now she can, it’s still basic but she knows how to say hello and good morning, which is just awesome to see. 

“I also had a lot of parents telling me that it’s actually helped with the kids, because they had been getting into drugs and other trouble being bored and with nothing else to do. So these parents believe the school has changed that because they have somewhere to go and a purpose and not out doing things they shouldn’t be.  

“This year we have also introduced traditional Thai and traditional Cambodian dance classes as another aspect for the kids.”  

If all continues going well with the school, the future looks bright with plans to expand and add on further options, including trades.  

“Eventually, in the longer term, I would like to move it from where it is to a bigger building and we would really like to do one in another village,” Mark said. “It’s all dependent on the success of this one and the kids staying interested so it doesn’t dwindle off and become nothing.” 

Due to the large volume of children in attendance, classes are split into younger (aged up to about eight) and older children (aged nine and up).  

“It can get quite chaotic with the younger kids all go, go, go and trying to talk over the top of each other,” Mark said. “But the older kids are more settled and our teachers – we have two of them – tend to be a bit stricter and pull them up, so it’s not quite as chaotic.” 

Mark is quite humble about this venture half a world away and while he won’t admit it, he’s a bit of a softie at heart. But as always, his big focus is about the kids and not about himself.  

“I’m lucky enough to wake up here on Bribie Island every day, we live in paradise,” Mark said. “It’s a tourist destination, we’re lucky to live here and these people they couldn’t even dream of anything like this, wouldn’t even know it’s out there.  

“The bit I do for the school is negligible really, but if more people did it, think of the difference it would make.”