Background to the Project

Since finishing my degree, I have wanted to make a difference through music. I just didn’t really know how or where. I visited the Wat Opot Community (AIDS orphanage) in Takeo Province, Cambodia on a 6-month trip around Asia and saw a lot of potential in the arts, but little resources or know-how.

Finally, in my fifth year of teaching, it struck me to involve the kids that I’m currently teaching at the German American International School (Menlo Park, California) in a music outreach project. This is the first private school I’ve taught at and the kids are very bright and motivated. They do all kinds of community service projects, but often don’t feel much connection or relevance to their lives. By starting a new band program last year, it is apparent the kids are really excited to be a part of something that they can feel enriches their day to day lives. Drawing from their new passion for music, I engaged them in a project that would make a big difference in the lives of others. They learned about the orphanage and wrote letters to the kids. We held a Play-a-thon to raise money to buy instruments and made posters to advocate for our project. Our school community and families raised over $5000 in 4 months. The next step was actually getting to Cambodia.

Flights to Asia are expensive at Christmas time and 2 weeks was not much time to justify 20 hours of travel each way. Also, Wayne suggested that the best time to come would be early December due to their hectic schedule surrounding Christmas. I decided to take off the last 3 days of school so Xander and I could get there and make the most of our time. Another expensive decision, but totally worth it! The first week of our trip would be dedicated to Cambodia and the project, then we’d still have almost 2 weeks to relax and climb in Thailand.