Computer Instruction, high-speed access and Cambodia

I'm writing this entry as a response to Beth Kanter's challenge.

What advice would you offer to Mam Sari about incorporating computer instruction on a REALLY slow connection and with one computer connected to the Internet?

If he has time, he can prepare for the class by printing out a Google results page and then annotating with his own comments. For example, he might have (in colored ink) labels for each part of each results item. Going over these as handouts to the class will give them something to study prior to their own practice.

Perform some searches before class and use the forward and back browser buttons to shorten the wait time between pages.

Use the "wait" time effectively. This is where pre-written or printed materials are helpful. Go to Google Help (available through the About Google page) and use some of the pages, printed, as material to expand the students' understanding of what Google offers.


Are there any web resources or books that you think I should send over to him to read?

We in the developed world, have access to high-quality printers, plotters, etc. Having some color charts and handouts would be helpful. I don't know what your budget is, and if the students can read English well, but providing how-to books for the students would be great.


Dream a little dream with me, if we had a fast Internet connection, what are the possibilities?

What do the students need to be successful? Do they need money to go to school? Having access to a high-speed connection gives them the ability to participate in the person-to-person loans that are becoming more common on the Internet (e.g., fynanz). Actually, I'm not sure this requires a fast connection but it would certainly allow students to do a lot more exploration, to see how they can get additional help, even virtual tutoring.

Just today, a friend suggested that it would be cool to have a microfinance-like site similar to Kiva, which instead of providing money for a business, provides money in the form of loans for education. I think it's a great idea, although to get it to work effectively in countries like Cambodia will require some facilitative or management presence in the country. Making sure that the students have the support of their family, who may see education as a drain on their economic needs, to align students with programs and make sure the funds get to the school, etc. Sorry, I may be getting off topic a bit but the more that the everyday person in Cambodia can access the web as an extension of the market, the more likely such ventures will happen.

Education for Cambodian Children

I've written about America's Giving Challenge, urging readers to support the Sharing Foundation which helps get children out of poverty. We are in the stretch run now for the challenge, with the Sharing Foundation having raised over $14,000. from over 500 donations and are in 4th place in the challenge. The top 4 charitable organizations in the challenge will receive an additional $50,000. Let's help them achieve this goal. Click on the "Give Now" button on the "Route Out of Poverty for Cambodian Children" widget on the right side of my blog.

There's Hope in their Voices

Feeling like I am rising from the ashes of this horrible cold or flu, two wonderful voices have greeted me with hope. The first was Mark Bittner in the acclaimed documentary The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill. I don't remember where I first read of Bittner and this film but the rental arrived over the past week and we decided to watch it last night. Wild Parrots was like a warm blanket and cup of (just the right temperature) herbal tea, a soothing look at how one man has found his calling in life caring for these non-native birds in a leafy hill corner of a bustling American city (San Francisco). The main characters in the film are not human (well, yes, Bittner is but he is also a co-narrator) but they nevertheless have names, like Connor, and Mingus. In his folksy voice, Bittner tells how he was introduced to the parrots, how he became so attached to some of them, and that he had names for all of them as well (at least while he was living there). But there's a point in the movie where he reflects on the whole experience and on whether he was being anthropomorphic, that really allowed us, the audience, a view into the soul of this gentle man. It was a beautiful point in the film. There is also a book by the same name. See the film as it is Bittner's voice throughout that helps carry this wonderful story.

The other voice, written not spoken in this case, is that of Andy Brouwer, an expat Brit living in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. I was unable to keep up my reading pace through the past week due to this cold, and Andy has a tendency to become extremely prolific in his blog postings over a short period of time. Fortunately, today I have felt well enough to flee the home for a coffee shop and get some uninterrupted reading in. I had over twenty unread entries in Andy's blog going back to December 30th, so I decided to start there. And am I happy I did. The mix of travelogue, history, humor and humanity that Andy weaves in his writings is truly remarkable. My heart was warmed by the pictures of Khmer children he met at temple visits or along the road, then it is wrenched from my chest as I observed the piles of skulls at the genocide memorial at Sala Trapeang Sva. Then the "three sreys" restored my hope and the painted pagoda at Wat Kork Ksang made me yearn to visit. I felt myself being very thankful that I had been introduced to Andy's blog (thanks Kilong) for his light-hearted as well as his serious jaunts around that beautiful country have been a joy to follow. And finally, he has recommended a book that I am looking forward to reading: The Judas Strain by James Rollins. Andy's recommendation mentions that he's a Robert Ludlum fan. I devoured the Bourne series and am looking forward to reading another author of a similar vein.

Cambodian Children's Education - thank you Nhuong Son

Beth sent me a link to Nhuong Son's blog and in particular the entry about his support for the Sharing Foundation. After reading this you will see why even a little bit of aid for children in such a poor country means so much. Truly inspiring! Thanks Nhuong and Beth! If you agree, consider giving to the Sharing Foundation using the widget on the right side of my blog.

Technology and Service in Cambodia

I've been doing a lot of reading about Cambodia lately including Michael Freeman's book, various blogs and some MDG materials. Tonight I came across a growing social business named Digital Divide Data (DDD) that is set up as a 503-C in the US and as an NGO in Cambodia. DDD's mission is two-part: to deliver high-quality digitization services to clients (one of which is the Harvard Crimson newspaper, and to provide to their employees "fair wages, health care, education, and career advancement opportunities". Many of the employees, moreover, have physical challenges suffered because of land-mines, polio or other misfortunes of their poverty-striken lives in Cambodia.

I can't say enough about an organization like DDD. They not only bring technology work to a country trying to raise itself out of poverty, but they bring work to the very people who have the most difficulty finding work: the physically challenged!

Their latest newletter reports that their employment has now reached 450 (from an original 18 in 2001) with an annual budget of $1.5 million, sixty percent of which is from earned revenues with the remainder from donations. There are a lot of people in need of work in Cambodia, both in the city of Phnom Penh and in the countryside. You can participate in DDD's mission to raise up this wonderful country by helping their employees with their education. DDD has a scholarship program where an employee (referred to as an operator since they operate using computers) pays half of their educational costs and the donor pays the rest. They ask for $240. per year from a donor to cover the educational costs of the scholarship.

If you're moved by this type of investment in a country's and a person's future, go to their web site and look at some of the videos. They are moving.

Buy a brick to build the theater

Last Thursday night, I attended a fund-raising event at The Monkey and The Rat store in Old Town. The event was to raise funds to build a permanent theater in rural Cambodia for The Reasmey Angkor Bassac Theatre Troupe, which is the last remaining traveling theater in Cambodia. The atrocities brought on the people of Cambodia by Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge from 1975 - 1979 also nearly obliterated the cultural life of these wonderful Southeast Asian people.

Initiated by the Portland-based actress and philanthropist, Helena de Crespo, the fund-raising event was both fun and instructive. My good friend Kilong Ung was the master of ceremonies and his personal involvement with Cambodian causes (he is the president of the Cambodian-American Community of Oregon) shined through in his inspiring introductions and encouraging words. The highlight of the night was the dancing of Cambodian teenagers who performed the Coconut Dance, a traditional Khmer dance.

After their show, the dancers were individually introduced to the audience and it was then that I learned how much the Cambodian community is thriving in Oregon. One student is headed to Stanford University in the fall to begin college and another to Columbia University. They are all involved in either sports or music programs as well. When I talked to one of the students, Sidney, who had been selected as a member of the Caddy program through his involvement in The First Tee golf program for youth, I met a confident young man who is thinking positively about his future.

Helene de Crespo needs to raise $10,000. to build the theater. At the event, each person that contributed at least $10. will have their name displayed in both English and Khmer on the legacy wall within the theater. Donations are being handled through Village Focus International, a non-profit 501c3 organization.

Here are some pictures from the evening:

Cambodia Backstage

Through a good friend, Kilong Ung, I have come to learn and care about the work being done to rebuild the country of Cambodia that went through years of horror at the hands of the Khmer Rouge. Next Thursday, August 16th from 7pm to 10pm, a free event called Cambodia Backstage will highlight the live arts of that beautiful country. It will be held at The Monkey and The Rat at 131 NW 2nd Ave and Davis. Here is a map.

Actress and philanthropist Helena de Crespo is trying to raise $10,000 to build a theater that will be the only indoor theatrical performance center in rural Cambodia. Attendees to this event can help by sponsoring bricks. For $10 per brick, a sponsor would get his/her name imprinted on the brick in both the Cambodian and English alphabets.

Please consider attending this event if you're in Portland next Thursday evening.