SECOND QUARTERLY REPORT - 2023

Dear Supporters, Teachers, Students, Parents and Family Members,


ODC’s dream of offering an excellent English education for underprivileged children in Cambodia is being fulfilled, only with your support. With Covid-19 no longer a health emergency, we are operating at capacity, serving nearly 200 children from the surrounding villages. The ODC community; teachers, students and parents are all in good health and we do hope you are all safe and well, too.

In Cambodia, life is back to normal with people resuming their careers, some in new jobs; people travelling without any restrictions; schools, businesses and many other public and private institutions are open. Last month, Cambodia hosted the SEA Game and with the upcoming opening of the newly-built international airport in October, more and more tourists are returning to visit the many attractions such as Angkor Wat. We believe that this will surely improve the daily living conditions of Cambodian people. There is a hugely significant event coming up in Cambodia on 23rd July – the National Election.


Students at ODC are in great spirit and are highly motivated to come to school every day. They meet the high standards set by their teachers to show up to class on time and do their daily homework. Academically, 106 of our students exceed our desired standard of 80 per cent of their total exam score. 169 have met the expected attendance rate of at least 90 per cent. These high standards are set to bring the best out of them. Our good news story relates to one of our graduates who has recently completed her Year 12 study. She has been awarded a place at Paññāsāstra University of Cambodia (PUC), majoring in TOEFL. As a way of “giving back” she is teaching English to one class of students at ODC. The children see her as an excellent role model who exemplifies great values.

ODC team has grown in size and ability; a headmaster, 5 qualified and well-trained teaching staff, three teaching scholars and two volunteers. Our team attends monthly professional development conducted by experienced trainers. They learn critical and innovative teaching skills in classroom management and the teaching of the four macro skills in English. Moreover, all the teachers are working hard to reinvent ourselves. The standard set for our teachers are also very high and all of them will be required to sit for the IELTS exam by the end of this year. Most attend a remotely-run class on IELTS training and are enrolled for a course at a private institution to further improve their proficiency in English. Recently, we have selected one of our outstanding students, whose dream is to teach English, to receive our teacher-training scholarship. She will work with a qualified teacher and learn the essential skills.

A safe and nurturing environment has been created at ODC to ensure that students can come to love learning and reach their potential. With more than 40 students on our waiting list, we would like to create 2 more classes but this will mean additional wages for teachers. This year, we have no plan in improving the facility. However, we aspire to have better classroom / learning facilities; we wish we would have smart TV sets equipped in each classroom. In addition, our aspirational plan is to build a library and a reception room for our staff to meet, work, and meet students’ parents and community members.

Each year, in the month of July, we run a fundraising campaign on the Global Giving platform. You can increase the impact of your donation on July 12, when Global Giving is running a Bonus Day campaign when your donation will be matched.
• 15% on donations from $100 - $499
• 30% on donations from $500 - $749
• 50% on donations from $750 - $1,000
• Matching Fund rates will apply to donations up to $1,000 per unique donor per organization

The Bonus Day campaign starts on July 12, at:
09:00 US EDT,
14:00 London,
20:00 Cambodia,
21:00 Singapore,
21:00 Perth AWST,
23:00 Sydney AEST,
21:00 Malaysia, 22:00 Japan

If possible, please consider donating within the first hour as matching funds from Global Giving run out very quickly.

In closing, we would like to reiterate our whole-hearted gratitude for your on-going support and generosity. It has been very clear that your commitment to ODC’s cause has been tremendously significant in keeping us moving forward in our endeavor to achieve the betterment of Cambodian society and in particular to open opportunities for our students.

Sincerely,


Chhaiya IM

Founder and Headmaster, ODC Organization