Foster Children Program in Kratie, Fall 2024

Written by: WFWP Cambodia

In mid-September, WFWP made its second visit of the year to its foster children in Kratie. The children live on an island surrounded by the Mekong River, which had risen significantly during the rainy season, flooding large parts of the island. Despite this, the volunteers safely completed their program, thanks to favorable weather and the cooperation of the local people.

This time, the program involved making pen holders as a paper craft. The pen holders were created by attaching triangular prisms, with different difficulty levels tailored for elementary, middle, and high school students. Based on a given blueprint, the children worked hard to measure specific lengths, draw accurate shapes, and assemble the craft in a specific order.

For these children, creating a geometry net and crafting something from it was a new and challenging experience. Many of them were also unfamiliar with concepts like using glue tabs and drawing equilateral triangles and hexagons with a compass.

The children seemed to have some difficulty following the instructions—perhaps they were so focused on cutting and pasting that they missed parts of the explanation. However, even when they made mistakes, many were willing to start over, while others found alternative approaches, patiently persevering until they completed their work.

In the end, they decorated the pen holders with colored paper, and it was heartening to see them express their creativity. For example, one child pasted her name on her pen holder, while others used different colored paper to create a collage effect.

Through this craft program, the volunteers consistently saw the children take pride in their work and feel a sense of accomplishment. The facilitators of these experiences were truly happy to witness the children's joy and growth.