About hundreds of Cambodian villagers welcomed the arrival of the new school on Wednesday, December 26. This would be the Christmas present from an American teenager named Rachel Rosenfeld who had raised fifty-two grand after reading about the hardships of growing up in Cambodia which is located in Southeast Asia.
Rachel Rosenfeld herself is not that much older than the rest as she is only seventeen years of age. This is Rachel’s first visit to Cambodia and a special visit. She was there for the opening of the R.S. Rosenfeld School. This school brings five computers along with internet access to 300 primary school students of Siem Reap.
Siem Riep is the home to the famous Angkor Wat temple. However, the village is a poverty stricken area. Rachel Rosenfeld learned about Srah Khvav after reading an article the previous year on the plight of Cambodia’s children who usually do not have access to education.
She explains that it horrified her to learn that some of the young girls were sold into prostitution by their own parents. Rosenfeld set out to help after she had to spend most of the previous year fighting a stomach disorder that caused much pain. Due to the medical treatments, she had to miss a year of school.
The missing the year enabled Rosenfeld to help out the children of Cambodia. She sent out hundreds of fundraising letters along with selling T-Shirts along with naming rights to several structures. The money raised was supplemented by both the World Back and Asian Development bank.
Rachel Rosenfeld was accompanied by her family at the school opening. They were greeted by the children that pressed their palms together as a sign of respect.
The R.S. Rosenfeld School is only one of two in the village according an education official from the province.
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