Arts for Cambodian Children & Teens at Champey

A work in progress !

Champey Academy of Arts ( CAA)   started dance classes  at our new location   in  Phnom Penh in January.  Champey is the  Cambodia name for the tropical  plumeria flower.  Our new location is centrally located and is  just a  short walk of one block to the Royal Palace, the National Museum and Royal University of Fine Arts.

Our inaugural class included a group of approximately 20  young girls age 9 to 16  from a shelter for abused and formerly trafficked children in Phnom Penh. Now just three months later our  Champey  Academy of Arts  ( CAA) l continues to take shape. 

From a just a handful of children, our classes  have  now expanded to include morning and afternoon sessions with attendance of  about 20 to 30 students per class.  Instruction is presented 6 days per week. Not only does the program of dance and music  at Champey  teach children about their rich cultural heritage, it keeps children off the streets during their free time. Cambodian children attend school for a morning session or an afternoon session, and this alternates each month, so non-school hours are filled with a rigorous curriculum of classic Cambodian dance.  The classes are filled with children from NPOs as well as neighborhood  kids whose parents recognize that Champey provides opportunity while helping to assist  the challenge  of idle children who are often left unattended while parents work.

As school holidays in late summer  approach,  we will be working to develop additional activities, including drawing,  to enrich and occupy these children.

Classes are offered free of charge.

Mark is in Cambodia this week to evaluate progress to date and plan for the coming months.

Again, all of this is possible because of your generous  support.

Stay tuned for more news!

Barbara Rosasco