CLIP 2 kicks off, mobile library restarts, student help

CLIP project has begun its 2nd term 🎉

This is great news! As we mentioned in the past TukTalks, the CLIP project, which we had been working on for one year, will be relaunched as "CLIP 2," which will include new activities and run for two years starting in 2022.

The meeting to officially kick off CLIP 2 was held on January 14 with lots of anticipation and excitement. It was attended by over 30 participants from the province, four districts education offices, and principals/preschool teachers from ten targeted schools, all of whom confirmed the start of CLIP 2 and future activities.

Since the pandemic had restricted us from meeting the teachers until recently, it was a wonderful opportunity to introduce them to TukTuk and hear them express their concerns about their current situations. We also believe that everyone's interest in this project and their attentiveness to our presentations are positive indicators of future expectations for the project's activities.

We will begin full-scale activities later this month, so we are working hard to get everything ready. 💪

Start again! TukTuk's mobile library project🛺

TukTuk's Mobile Library project had been put on hold for about two years because of the pandemic, but now it has been restarted! Children from the 13 target schools will benefit from our supporters' donations of storybooks and toys, made available through this project.

Considering that most preschools do not have enough of these materials, and even if they do, they are only available in a limited number of different types and quantities, this project has been well-received by our teachers.

With the support of Rotary Club of Calgary Downtown and Rotary Club of Pursat, we were also able to hand over cabinets for storing teaching materials as well as speakers for playing music in the classroom to the schools that are taking part in the CLIP 2 project this year.

The teachers sent us photos showing children playing with the toys one after the other. We hope to provide you with an update on the progress of this project in the next issue. ♪

Khmer of the month

Khmer Word: Chaul Chhnam Chen

'Chorchunam Chan (=Chinese New Year)' was celebrated in Cambodia this month, marking the country's second New Year this year. Many families have Chinese ancestors, which means that during times of celebration, bright red lanterns and other festive food products can be found for sale everywhere!

Khmer Food:

Prahok Chamhoy (Steam Prahok) 👇

Thanks to the student Voluntukers 🙌

Last September, Professor Kris from Seinan Jo Gakuin University in Japan approached TukTuk and asked if we would be interested in collaborating with a class of international volunteers. TukTuk said yes, and the rest is history. We were thrilled to have the opportunity to collaborate with her and her students! After listening to TukTuk's presentation in November, the students were given the opportunity to participate in volunteer activities remotely.

A number of working groups were formed: one that is translating TukTuk's 6 original storybooks into Japanese and showing them in preschools in Japan, another that is creating a storybook in Khmer, another that is creating activity videos of Japanese traditional plays in Khmer, another that is creating worksheets for the English alphabet, which preschool teachers we work with have been asking, and a final group that is promoting TukTuk at their university.

We had Zoom meetings once a week for the students to ask questions and exchange opinions, and all of the groups were enthusiastic about participating.

Unfortunately, the visit to a preschool in Japan has been canceled due to the spread of COVID in the region. However, the completed works that they have created will be displayed on the Cambodian preschool teachers' Facebook page in the near future! Thank you so much to Professor Kris and the students at Seinan Jo Gakuin University!

Tukstaff spotlight | Keiko

The focus of this month's staff spotlight is on me, Keiko, who is in charge of the editing of TukTalk.

A little bit of trivia about Keiko 😉:

• Favorite activities: Exercising in a park in Pursat, riding a bicycle to explore my neighbourhood, and calligraphy.
• What I do for TukTuk： Task management of Khmer staff, preparation for upcoming workshops, and other duties.
• A word for everyone： Thank you so much for supporting us! Through my work, I feel that TukTuk is only possible with the cooperation and support of all of you. Because the pandemic situation in Pursat has calmed down compared to last year, I'm looking forward to delivering a variety of news to everyone through this newsletter. I would be grateful if you could continue to support us warmly this year, too. 😊

It's only been a year since I first started working for TukTuk. During this time, I was able to connect with a variety of people, including the wonderful TukTuk staff, the staff in educational offices, and the teachers, all of whom were extremely helpful to me. I hope that all of you will have the opportunity to meet those friendly Cambodian people and see what the local preschools look like. Pursat is waiting for you when you are able to easily fly abroad. 😉

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

• Google Ads
• 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 ⇢

Tuktography highlights 📸