Each day at the end of class, all of the children at school line up and sing the song "Yesterday's Dream". To hear the kids sing it in unison, especially when you consider how little most of them have, well... it's pretty touching stuff. They are so sweet, bright and motivated to learn.
"We are the children of yesterday's dream
We are the promise of the future we bring
Waving the banner of love to all
To every nation the rich and the poor
We are the world of the restless and young
And we need a hand to guide us
Helping each other, build each other
As long as we're together you and me
For together we stand, divided we fall
Together we climb to the top of the world
We can be what we want for the world to see
That we are the children of yesterday's dream
We have the yearning to do what is best
Be someone special from all of the rest
Nation and brothers in unity
Building tomorrow for you and for me"
We are the promise of the future we bring
Waving the banner of love to all
To every nation the rich and the poor
We are the world of the restless and young
And we need a hand to guide us
Helping each other, build each other
As long as we're together you and me
For together we stand, divided we fall
Together we climb to the top of the world
We can be what we want for the world to see
That we are the children of yesterday's dream
We have the yearning to do what is best
Be someone special from all of the rest
Nation and brothers in unity
Building tomorrow for you and for me"
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| Sokunthy |
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| Sokuhn |
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| The lovely grade twos! |
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| Kimhang and Srey Pov |
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| The kids singing at the end of class |
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| Teacher Alex and Cheanang |
4 comments:
Can you speak about the socioeconomic status of these children? Are they from middle class families? Is there a middle class in Cambodia?
I don't know the exact status of each of them but generally speaking I think it's safe to classify these kids as poor. The school is free to attend but the one thing the kids do have to pay for is a uniform (Cambodian law requires children to wear uniforms to school) which I believe costs about $6 US, and you can tell by the looks of them that most kids can only afford one - so that should say something. I think most kids live in small, "rural" houses near the school and live mostly off food they grow or raise themselves.
Is there a middle class? Good question. I've met people who I would consider to be middle class (ie. people who rent apartments and who look a little cleaner/well kept) but they might not consider themselves as such so it's hard to say. Most people I have spoken with often refer to the "poor people of Cambodia", suggesting that pretty much everybody is poor.
Any chance of getting some video of the kids singing?
I have a video but I haven't been able to load it onto my blog, it took ages when I tried. But I will try again! If not I'll put it up on Facebook :)
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