Theft at the School

I was honestly surprised it took this long. In the 8 years I've been visiting Cambodia, this is the first time I ran into a situation where a PC was stolen. The Kessararam primary school had a break-in about two weeks ago. The thieves took the money box and a computer. They estimate there was about $250 in the box. That's close to the value of the PC too, so a net loss of $500. I could tell the staff were devastated and they were truly concerned that I might be mad at them. I was disappointed of course, but the PC donation is not a one time thing. The whole reason I come back and check on the equipment is to ensure long-term and reliable access to computers. I was actually more worried about the cash. That's money used to help the poorest students in the school to afford tuition.


The staff already had construction workers adding metal bars to the windows and doors to reinforce them. Apparently this was not the first robbery, but it was the most expensive loss. Tomorrow I'll pick up another PC, and I just happen to have a donation from the United Methodist Women at the Hutto Discovery UMC that is pretty close to the cash value they lost. Now I need to do a little research on video surveillance and alarm systems. If I can find a reasonably priced solution we might help prevent future problems.


I asked if they considered putting up a reward poster for information. I think I might have slightly crossed a cultural boundary there. They weren't horrified, but I got a feeling that they were surprised by that strategy. Mony (my driver today) said "Perhaps that is something they do in your country... but not here". Message received! 


Last, here's a call to the few readers of this blog for a way you can help. I'm looking for resources on how to teach people to be teachers. Something like an "Introduction to Teaching" or a "Teachers Handbook" would be good. It should cover the basics of creating a lesson plan, using different teaching methods, and effectively keeping students engaged. That's been surprisingly hard to find online. Feel free to email me when you find something: Sam buildingcambodia.org.