Arts for Cambodian Children & Teens at Champey

At the present time,  Cambodia has had remarkable success in controlling and suppressing the spread of the Covid virus. One year ago, in  the Spring of 2020, the government closed all schools and most  businesses to defend against spread of the virus.  Although Champey Academy was able to  reopen after just a two week shut down, many parents kept their children at home and did not allow them to attend classes.  Gradually, over  the course of the summer and early autumn of last year,  it became clear that the virus had not established itself inside Cambodia and the government reopened schools and businesses and Champey’s  students returned enthusiastically. 

We are currently  operating with approximately 80 students per day, close to Champey's maximum capacity of about 90 students. The drawing and painting class has about 30 students each day which is below the capacity of the classroom but  which allows for the students to leave some physical space between themselves and their classmates if they choose to do so.

The big story of 2020 and, so far, 2021,  is that  the tourism industry  remains almost  completely shut down ,causing a severe loss of  revenue which we typically earn from the tourist groups which love to visit our school.  The loss of the last month of the tourism high season in the Spring of 2020  has  combined, unfortunately  with what looks like  a complete loss of the 2020/2021 tourism season. As you can well imagine,  this has dealt a most  severe blow to our finances.  Tourist visitors would, in a normal year, provide enough revenue to cover about 60 per cent of Champey Academy’s annual operating  expenses.  The impact of such a   revenue loss  this year for  a small non-profit like ours is so serious that it  has jeopardized the future of our school. We are now looking frantically for replacement sources of income - some  of which we hope might come from online sales or auction  of student art work in the U.S. and other countries, as with no tourism, there are few opportunities to sell these works in Cambodia. 

Champey Academy  is an oasis from the harsh reality of the daily lives of many of our students. Beyond this, as you can see, many of these students have impressive talent and Champey offers them a unique opportunity to develop their craft, discipline, teamwork and enjoy a safe place where all are welcome.We literally have to chase them out at the end of the day with many lingering at the school to the last moment. 

We hope that our update will move you to tell others about our work and to encourage their support !  

Your generous support can help us to continue to keep Champey open and  to provide free dance, art and music instruction to our students . We have long been and continue to be  deeply grateful for your support of our wonderful students.

Barbara & Mark Rosasco

Due to COVID,  all government schools were closed from April until August. Champey was  also closed , with classes cancelled for three weeks in April, as our student numbers were greatly reduced as many Champey students were sent to the countryside to their families’ home villages. Government schools have now reopened and students are back in classes.

According to the US  CDC “COVID-19 risk in Cambodia is low. Over the last 28 days, new cases of COVID-19 in Cambodia decreased or stabilized. CDC recommends older adults, people of any age with certain underlying medical conditions, and others at increased risk for severe illness talk to their health care providers before traveling to Cambodia.”  The current " Level One"  status in Cambodia indicates that cases are stable or declining. By comparison, this is the lowest level, with Level Two being “ Alert” and Level Three “  indicating "Warning".  According to the WHO ( World Health Organization )  there have been just two COVID cases nationwide in Cambodia in recent weeks and  Cambodia continues to remain largely closed to tourist due to stringent health, financial and visa requirements.

Now that the government schools have reopened, our student attendance figures have continued to grow weekly. By the end of September, average attendance figures had reached approximately 70-75 students daily. Our students are clearly eager to get back to work.

Your continued support helps us to provide this oasis of learning and art to our students, showing them a new vison of the world and giving them new goals to which they can aspire.

We deeply appreciate your generous support!

Barbara & Mark Rosasco