Half-year update, vaccinations and a new Tukfamily member

TukTalk 45 looks back on six months of the CLIP project in Pursat, worksheets shared at 14 locations, staff vaccinations and a new baby in the TukTuk team.

From the TukTuk team in Pursat, Cambodia

Welcome new Tukfamily member!👶🏻

A woman in a face mask with two children doing worksheets on the floor

In the blink of an eye, 2021 was half done. Like 2020, 2021 is flying by at a dizzy pace. This year TukTuk took (yep that's 3 tuks in a row 😆) a big leap without despite the continued disruptions of COVID, all thanks to the amazing staff in Cambodia and not a few volunteers as well! As for us, we keep supporting from Japan. Why?

Tuk baby No.2 for 2021 quietly made her way into the world but has been anything but quiet since. So we are busy working from Japan as both new parents and creating educational content for early childhood education. With a new little munchkin to look after, our cause is now more personal than ever.

We can't wait for the 3 of us to be reunited in Cambodia but until the days of easy travel begin again, we will continue to help from afar. After all, it is all of you, our staff, volunteers and supporters that keep the wheels of TukTuk turning. We are just here to support you 😊

Adrian & Mayu & Milly🦘👘 👶🏻

6 months into 2021✨

Collage: TukTuk staff work at laptops, record videos and hand over materials while teaching moves online

Since the CLIP project began in January of this year, half a year has passed. The infection started as a contained problem in Phnom Penh, but has now spread to rural areas. Although vaccines are rolling out fast, sadly the virus continues to spread meaning no firm timeline for schools to reopen.

Teachers continue to teach online or hand out worksheets. It's been a hard half-year for these educators who have dedicated themselves so much to their work. With the changing environment of COVID in Pursat, we have focussed our efforts on supporting these teachers with navigating in a new digital age that they have not previously had experience with. Our 5th resource package is nearing completion and will be revealed soon! In the final 6 months of 2021, we are creating another new picture book, and we will continue to create new digital teaching materials!

Distance learning made tukeriffic..😏

Collage: children in Pursat complete TukTuk worksheets at home with pencils during school closures

Every problem only gives us an opportunity to improve and boy have we had some great opportunities these past 18 months. Lack of technical skills by parents and some teachers has made it hard to effectively bring in remote learning in Pursat. Not having access to the internet or a device to use it means we are down to basics with some parents, relying on SMS to communicate. (pretty tricky to SMS a worksheet)

To combat this, we began distributing worksheets back in April of this year, placing about 1,900 sheets at 14 different locations. This allows teachers and parents to go into local copy shops and education offices to print the worksheets they need to distribute. Further to this, our Facebook teachers group now has 650 teachers from all over Cambodia and our Facebook and YouTube viewers also continue to rise!

The response to our TukTuk teaching materials has been very rewarding!

Khmer of the month

Khmer Word: Hatbran

The Olympics will be starting shortly which brings us to this months Khmer word for exercise. A nice stroll along the river to get a snack, dancing in the park or sports festivals in the schools are all referred to as Hatbran.

Khmer Food: Kompu Chien (Fried shrimp)👇

Crispy fried shrimp, the Khmer food of the month Kompu Chien, with a note on how to enjoy it

Finished the first vaccination💉

TukTuk staff in face masks hold their vaccination papers, framed by mask, syringe and handwashing icons

Cambodia is now the envy of many richer countries around the world as they have managed to rush out vaccines in response to the recent increase in the pandemic. Vaccines were due to be issued for our staff and other front-line workers in August. Not only have our staff already received their first jab, but they will also have their second vaccination by late July.

With 1/3 of the population soon to be vaccinated, we hope that it will be a turning point and get kids back in school getting an education soon.

Hello sweet angel!!👶🏻

Collage of newborn baby photos and a birthday cake as the TukTuk team celebrates the new arrival

Last year was the year of too much time at home so I guess it is no surprise that this year is the year of new life! Following Leakhena's baby, which was introduced in TukTalk 42 in April, the TukTuk family extended by a further member at the end of May. Milly was born to Adrian and Mayu, the directors of TukTuk😆 The staff in Cambodia had been waiting for a while, but the day after she was born, we had a birthday party online. She is growing up in Japan now, but we are all looking forward to meeting her in Cambodia soon.

Rumor is there might be more additions to come in 2021 🧐

Voluntuker spotlight | Aubrey

Voluntuker Spotlight banner with a smiling portrait of volunteer Aubrey

This month our voluntuker spotlight shines on Aubrey Llamas from the Philippines. We are constantly looking for better ways to raise money for TukTuk and Aubrey is now the front runner for driving that charge.

Teachers Pay Teachers is a site where teachers go to buy educational resources and guess what we do??? Yup, we make educational resources. Aubrey has been busy the last 2 months doing research on the platform and creating listings. We already have 3 sales and hope that this might become a platform that helps TukTuk get noticed and brings in some much needed income.

Thanks, Aubrey for all of your hard work 👏.

We are currently looking for volunteers with the following skill sets to help TukTuk bring educational resources to Cambodia;

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Fundraising

If you want to get involved or know someone with skills that could help us spread positive education in Cambodia, hit that link below and say hi (we're friendly, promise).

Get Involved ⇢