Milton interacts with Cambodia

Art Teacher Ms. Lauren Richie is the new advisor of Team Cambodia following the retirement of Social Studies Teacher Mr. Michael Conn, who founded the organization.

“Interact Club has merged with Team Cambodia, making Team Cambodia a sub-set to the now combined club,” said Ms. Richie. Interact, which is the student version of the Rotary Club, focuses on improving communities locally and internationally.

Regular meetings are held on Day 4 for Team Cambodia, and more than 30 students have been in attendance at the Pride Time meetings, said Ms. Richie.

Ms. Richie said in 2008, a group of Milton students raised funds to build a school in Cambodia. Now Team Cambodia helps sustain and update the school. For the last 11 years, the club has kept the Milton school in Cambodia up and running, she added.

According to the Team Cambodia website, teamcambodia.org, the public Milton School is located in a small village called Mean in Kampong Cham Province. The five-classroom school holds around 320 students from grades six to nine, according to the website. Ms. Richie said before the Milton School was created, the closest school for many of the students was miles away.

“We will raise the necessary funds to sustain the school,” Ms. Richie said.

Their main goal is to raise $5,000 throughout the school year and get more computers with extra funding money or by donation, Ms. Richie said. “The school only has three computers to support hundreds of students,” she added

Ms. Richie said to help reach its goal, Team Cambodia has some upcoming events including a craft show on Dec. 7, which will take place at the Milton Middle School in the cafeteria, back parking lot and gymnasium. The Winter Committee, a town organization which works with the Harvest Festival, is partnering with Team Cambodia for the events, and are splitting all proceeds they receive at the show with Team Cambodia, Ms. Richie said. There is also an Annual Chili Cook-off on Jan. 4, she added.

The Air Charting Service “ACS” Travel Company is planning a school trip for Milton High School Students to visit Cambodia and Vietnam in the 2020-2021 school year, according to Ms. Richie. “If students can see the impact they are having on the school system, maybe it will give them a small push of inspiration to keep going,” she added.

The Cambodian students are learning English and general education; their main focus being on Language Arts, said Ms. Richie. “We are going to better their community,” she added.

Junior Regi Wendt, is the secretary of Team Cambodia. “I know that what we are doing is impacting their lives, and that makes it so much more worth it,” she said.