Terri-Anne Wilson was only six when she wrote: “When I grow up, I am going to be a teacher”. It was a natural choice. Her mother and grandmother before her had been teachers. Twenty years later, Terri-Anne found herself standing in front of a grade one class at an inner city school in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada which has a reputation for having many students ‘at risk’ within its population. Terri-Anne’s grade one class was no exception. Not surprisingly, many of them demonstrated startlingly high instances of low self worth, self-loathing, apathy and a sense of helplessness. It wasn’t long before Terri-Anne became acquainted with a grade five teacher at the school by the name of Terry Symonds. It was Symonds that first introduced her to a very special Cambodian teacher by the name of Monn Sokchea who was trying to make a difference in the lives of his people. His goal: to create a school for children too poor to afford quality education and to provide a choice to parents growing weary of the corruption and inadequacies of government run schools. His vision inspired Terri-Anne so substantially that she began to think of ways she could help both the victimized children of the Killing Fields along with the children she faced in her classroom on a daily basis. A plan began to materialize which was to address many issues of social responsibility that are part of the curriculum delivered at inner city schools across Canada. Wilson needed a way to teach social responsibility to her students in a way that was meaningful to everyone regardless of culture and in spite of the language barriers that inevitably present themselves in a class with a high and diverse ESL population. She also felt a great need to reach out and help her colleague on the other side of the globe.

In October of 2002, Terri-Anne gathered her class together and told them of the plight of the Cambodian people: limited resources, a war torn country, corrupt practices. The students were asked if they wanted to find a way to help. A brainstorming session followed, in which many suggestions were made. Getting school supplies to ship to Sokchea’s new little school seemed a good place to start. The grade fives wrote letters to STAPLES and asked for the donation of pencils, paper and anything else the company cared to contribute. Next came a teddy bear drive, where students dedicated themselves to asking for, and packaging teddy bears for shipment to Cambodia so that each student at the school could have their own cuddly toy. A variety of other fundraisers ensued: raffles, concession sales, a penny drive. The modes of philanthropy picked up momentum and urgency when the students learned that the landlord who owned the building the Cambodian school was in, planned to kick its occupants out to establish a business for profit. The struggling school was bought time when the chips fell in their favour: the Thai Embassy had been burnt to the ground. The political climate in Phnom Penh was volatile and not suitable to the creation of a Thai business venture. The businessman put off his plans and the school was spared. Temporarily. A sigh of relief was heaved by the Canadians.

Meanwhile, particular Canadian students had begun to show remarkable improvement at school. Ten year old Sharla had come into the world as the product of a rape. After struggling with the decision, her mother had decided not to terminate the pregnancy. Sharla and her family are working hard to overcome challenges of their own, including poverty and experiences with a man who is now being charged for a variety of crimes committed while sharing a roof and relationship with Sharla and her mother. Sharla has put a great deal of effort into the Cambodia project working on public speaking, advertising of fund raisers and organization of these events. She spoke in front of the staff and appeared in the newspaper this year as a result of her efforts.

Alexis Heggs sports a variety of learning disabilities and comes from a family who works at overcoming many obstacles, including poverty. She has a big heart and enjoys the sense of accomplishment she feels when she helps others. She is a highly verbal student in spite of her learning difficulties and makes unique observations about her contributions to the Cambodia project and what it all means to her. Alexis had a rocky start to her academic year with instances of extreme non-compliance and a complete lack of focus with her classroom assignments. Through her fascination with the little children on the other side of the world, she has begun to focus and apply the skills of an emergent reader and writer. She is seven years old.

A special relationship grew between Wilson and Sokchea as they explored the immediate needs of the school and their goals for the future through email and broken internet phone conversations. Excitement grew when Wilson spent her savings on a plane ticket to Phnom Penh to meet Sokchea, work with his teachers and assist in setting up a growth plan, resource room and little library in the school. Battling obstacles such as bureaucracy, corruption and greed, the two teachers began to ask themselves how far they were willing to go and what they were willing to sacrifice in order to see their efforts culminate in the realization of their dream: an accessible, relevant and solid education model that would serve the needs of involved students, teachers and those generations yet to come. Could they do it? Or would the legacy of twenty years’ internal bickering and civil war be too much for the team to bear?