Anne-Laure: You’re supporting Bayon School? I’ve never heard of them, but it sounds interesting. Actually, I’d like to give my teens the opportunity to give, help and share in a different way.

Babeth, Bayon School ambassador in Singapore: Shall we discuss it around a coffee?A coffee, an Alice, a Marco later, the Tuktuk Team project has launched! Four team members and almost 15 teenagers are working together to create a unique and ambitious experience with Bayon School.

The team in Singapore wants to enrich the French students by connecting them to another world, another reality. The project will motivate them to work hard to supports others.

In Siem Reap, the objective is to give the local students a perspective on the rest of the world, to understand how important learning English is, and especially to enjoy the presence of the French students to get together at Bayon School. This is an intercultural exchange to strengthen the sense of belonging to the school and encourage future support!

The recruitment of the 15 French students has been done through word of mouth and social me-dia. They are doing it for multiple reasons: curiosity, will to be useful and do something meaningful, or get involved in a new activity with their friends. As facilitators, we’ve noticed their behaviour was aligned to the project – they took part in fundraising activities and work as a team to respond to a shared responsibility.

When they arrived in Siem Reap, our French students received a warm welcome from Bayon’s fol-low-up students. For 5 days, they took part in various activities:
• Cooking – made aubergine caviar using the veg produced by our primary school pupils’ par-ents.
• Sports – played football together.
• Talent show – organised a flash mob with French and locals.
• Gardening – restored the garden of a family.

After taking part in fundraising activities ahead of launching the project – table top sales, bake sale, etc.) the Tuktuk team continued to demonstrate strong involvement in all activities.

It has been five incredible days in Siem Reap. We had a wonderful time with the Khmer students:
– Khmer dance lesson and the flash mob with the primary school pupils, exploring body ex-pression and laughter;
– The visit of a nearby village with Soky and the students, which allowed us to understand the significant work that the school is doing for its students;
– The work in the vegetable gardens, which supported a family;
– The crazy farewell party, with youth, music and good food – the perfect environment to bring together teenagers from different backgrounds.

Stay tuned to follow this exciting adventure!

Alice, Marco, Babeth and Anne-Laure
To support us!