The Get Ready Girls Graduated

On Friday the 27th of March the 3rd group of girls graduated from the “Get Ready Girls” Riverkids Program. In total 15 girls had participated in this course and of these 10 completed the program. Friday saw the end of a very hard but fulfilling 6 months for these girls. The reasons for the other 5 girls dropping out were varied. One was forced by her family to stop and to work for a beer manufacturer to make some money for her family. One ran away to Vietnam to get married while another went to the country to get work .The other 2 had reasons which were similar. A ceremony was held at the school for the successful students to mark the occasion and was attended by the students, their parents and family and also some of their friends.
Another special guest who was present on the day was Dale Edmonds the President and founder of Riverkids. Dale made a short speech is which she expressed her sincere thanks to “All the Riverkids staff who work very hard with the children at a grass roots level” She also thanked the parents of the girls for encouraging and allowing their daughters to study at Riverkids. Finally she had some kind words to say about the Local Authority who support both Riverkids and the Community.
Sophon the director of Riverkids Foundation also gave a speech at the ceremony. He started by congratulating the girls who had completed the course. He said that all the girls that completed the course will continue in further education. 8 will attend state school while the other 2 will continue cooking training at Changi Vile which sponsored by a group of SIA Cabin Crew. Mr Sophon said he was “very proud of the girls and all that they had achieved together in the 6 months that they worked together.” He stated that the girls looked brighter now and had a new air of confidence about them.
He continued by saying that he was very pleased with the results of the program and that this was achieved through the following:
The time and effort put in by the girls
Encouragement from their parents
Knowledge contributed by the teachers to the girls
The support of the Changiville Tutorial & Training Centre
Support of donors
He reserved special thanks from the staff, the children & the parents to Dale Edmonds the President of Riverkids who he referred to as Sister Dale Edmonds (as she is known among children and staff due to her generosity). Dale he said has given so much to the charity since she started it both in financial terms and the effort she puts in to get new donors for the centre.
Sophon finished by saying that this is only the start for the Get Ready Girls. With their newly acquired training they will be able to improve their living situation and can look forward to a brighter future He warned that this can only be achieved through further hard work and study and the living of an honest life. Sophon also expressed his desire see more girls like this one graduate and hopefully put an end to human trafficking in Cambodia.