The north-western city of Battambang is the second largest in Cambodia. There were a few things we wanted to see and do here, but the main reason for our visit was to spend a week teaching English at AKD School.
AKD is a school that provides free English classes for underprivileged children and adults in Cambodia. Unfortunately, only a little English is taught in Cambodia’s state schools, even though it is pretty much essential for those who wish to carry on through to further education.
The school itself is run by Kamnat and his family. These guys are truly amazing; they put all their money into the school while they themselves live in a shack made of corrugated metal.
They are so committed to the cause that they won’t even stay in the house which they have had built on the school grounds; instead, they offer this up as a place for the volunteers to stay.
The school survives partly because of Kamnat and his family, but also relies heavily on donations and help from volunteers.
If you want to find out more about the project, check out:
https://akdproject.com/
When we arrived, we were immediately made to feel welcome by the family and other the volunteer teachers. They were a great bunch!
After dropping our bags off, we tagged along on a trip to go and ride the bamboo train (one of the things we had wanted to do in Battambang). It was also a nice opportunity to get to know everyone.
In the evening, we learnt a bit more about the school and the classes we would be teaching. Even though we are teachers back home, Siwan and I were both pretty nervous about the week ahead.
Meeting the children the next day was brilliant! All of them attend regular school before coming to AKD in the afternoon so I expected their energy levels to be a bit flat... I was wrong.
At around 12:30pm a tuk-tuk arrived at the school carrying some of the children.
They came bouncing into the playground and straight up to the tuck shop to buy an assortment of sugary treats (I guess this was where a lot of the energy came from).
Lessons began at 1:00pm. I was assigned to help in class E which consisted of children aged between 7-10, all of whom had a very basic understanding of English. The class lasted 2 hours with a 20 minute break in the middle. It was definitely a challenge, but a lot of fun at the same time.
Afterwards, I had a few advanced classes with some older students. I loved getting to know these guys; they put in a lot of effort and were really motivated to learn. Also, they taught me a lot more about life in Cambodia :D
I was exhausted by the time the lessons ended at 7:00pm (after just one day!) We had some dinner which had been prepared by Kamnat’s wife, Rath, and then chilled out a bit before bed.
During the week, we went out for dinner a couple of times with the other volunteers and the family. At the weekend, a few of us took part in a pub quiz and placed second (I won’t tell you how many teams there were...)
Friday 9th November was a national holiday in Cambodia so, as school wasn’t on, we got stuck into some gardening.
Later, Kamnat took us on a tour to some of the tourist spots around Battambang. We visited the Killing Cave (similar to the Killing Fields) and the Bat Cave (but not that bat cave).
While on the tour, we saw lots of monkeys. This fella was not a fan of having his picture taken and so attacked me moments after I snapped this shot.
Luckily, Kamnat came running over with a stick and shooed him away before he could do any real damage. No rabies shot needed. 👍🏾
We were gutted when it was time to say goodbye. It’s hard to express what it was like living and working at AKD (even if it was only for one week). Kamnat and his family, the other volunteers and all the students made it an incredible experience: one that will stick with us for the rest of lives!
Thanks AKD, you will be missed!