Water Drop

We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop. ~ Mother Teresa

For the last several years SEAPC has served the 488 public schools and 130,000 students of Banteay Meanchey’s emerging generation through Banteay Meanchey Arise. This program was commissioned into action in 2014 in response to the abnormal achievements obtained by the students within Banteay Meanchey’s Rongko cluster schools as part of the Cambodia Christian School Network. The national missionaries are focused on offering coordinated weekly educational outreaches within the nine provincial districts. Part of these outreaches involve teaching english through Water Drop, an initiative providing every fourth, fifth, and sixth-grade teacher with weekly English lessons through the use of video and technology.

Water Drop began as a dream in Mark Geppert’s heart. He wanted to create an English program that would include a Bible-based curriculum. To accomplish this, he dreamt of using My Precious Book as a way to teach English, and make Jesus’ name known throughout the province. Meanwhile, in China, God was preparing the perfect person to spearhead this new program.

In the 4th grade, Jenni Taylor loved Amy Carmichael, a well-known missionary of 55 years in India. In fact, she vividly remembers wanting to own a sari just like her hero, Amy. This memory followed her to Peru, Shanghai, and her current residence –– Sisophon, Cambodia.

Before Water Drop was even on the horizon, Jenni spent two years in Peru and was near the end of her fourth year teaching English in Shanghai. Things were shifting within her workplace and it was time for her to consider transitioning, but she wasn’t sure what was next. When Mark heard about this, he told her father, Dan, “tell her we have a place for her in Cambodia.” A few months later, Jenni met Matt on one of her visits home and he mentioned the opportunity again. With a loose possibility in the works, Jenni left China and reached out to Mark who encouraged her to come to Cambodia to talk more. Despite the unknowns presented in her transition, she vividly remembers knowing that God would take care of her.

After visiting Sisophon, Jenni felt hesitant to move. She enjoyed the city life that Shanghai offered. Cambodia was a world apart. Nevertheless, without having even said yes, she began emailing with Mark about what would later become known as Water Drop. Her decision to move came down to recognizing that she had the skill set and the time. Having now spent nine months in Cambodia, Jenni is amazed by how everything worked out, “now everything is falling into place and it feels right.” It is truly miraculous.

Mark recently told her, “This (Water Drop) is probably is bigger than you think it is…” After interviewing some of the teachers and witnessing a few English classes, this is evident.

Meet Kim, a 5th grade teacher in Preah Net Preah. Her favorite subjects to teach include math and science. Kim feels excited to come to learn English with the other teachers. She has been a teacher for 14 years and is happy to have this opportunity.

Tysovanndara has been a teacher for 9 years. As a 6th grade teacher, he is happy that his students are now learning English. He believes that “the program is good for me. And it is important for the students.”

Chhet Ratha has over 6 years experience as a teacher and currently has 36 students in his class. His favorite subject is English and this program is equipping him to teach with confidence. Ratha aspires to not only teach english to the children in his class, but make sure that all Cambodian children have this opportunity. For Ratha, “it is very important for the children in Cambodia to learn english and this program is helping me improve my english, teaching, and writing.”  

Chun Samit teaches 9th grade. With a huge grin, she shared how this program is “very good” and she is “happy to come and study here.” She is not alone in her sentiments. A handful of other teachers shared the same thing.  

These are just a few of the many teachers that are personally impacted by Water Drop. For their weekly classes, the teachers come from all over their districts. This means that some of them have to drive up to 1.5 hours to get to class. It is apparent that they are hungry to learn.

When asked if Jenni ever imagined spearheading a program to this magnitude, she chuckled. For her entire life, she knew that she wanted to work in other countries to change the world, but she never imagined it looking like this.

Learn more about all that is happening in Cambodia through Banteay Meanchey Arise.