New Hope School
We believe that the key to changing a society begins with training the children. New Hope School provides quality biblical education to young children whose minds, like sponges, soak in and retain principles and beliefs that usually remain for life.
Our preschool seeks to:
1. Nurture a young child’s relationship with God.
2. Instill biblical values deeply into a child’s heart.
3. Build a biblical foundation, one precept at a time.
4. Create an environment where children are loved and valued.
Nearly half of Cambodia’s population falls below age 15 and immense poverty forces most children to leave school at an early age to find difficult and dangerous work to support their families. This grim scenario gives the church an incredible opportunity to set a new standard for this nation by teaching and evangelizing the children.
Burdened by the great need of Christian education, in the year 2000, Sally and Keat had a vision to start a church-based preschool. We teamed up with the Impact Center of the University of the Nations (YWAM), and Hong Kong Small World Christian Kindergarten, and from there our vision began to germinate.
A team from the U of N’s Early Childhood Education along with Christine Roberts a kindergarten principal from South Africa came to New Life in Christ Church in Phnom Penh to launch the preschool. Led by Kikuli Mwanakuzi (Tanzania), they conducted a “Biblical Foundation in Early Childhood Seminar” to train 25 participants who work with children, prepared activities and created materials for the preschool. Cheryl Griffiths (New Zealand), the director, committed to stay for two years in order to direct the preschool until the teachers were properly trained and all curriculums were translated and organized in 26 units for one school year. We now have over 200 students in 7 classrooms. 2 preschool classes, 1 kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, 3rd & 4th grade .
By using the U of N’s Early Childhood Education Curriculum, the children experience a wide variety of learning, including language arts (English and Khmer), mathematics, pre-reading and pre-writing, music, physical activities, and art. Teachers nurture indirect skills such as order, concentration, problem solving, inner discipline and initiative. Solid biblical principals taught and modeled by the staff give the children opportunities to begin and develop an intimate relationship with God Almighty, which we hope will impact their families.
The future looks bright for New Hope School, where God’s blessing and favor shines through the faces of happy children and developing staff. We anticipate for more children to enroll in the school so we can open up more classes.
The school is directed by Sally Kove. Sally received her training of “A Biblical Foundation for Early Childhood Education” in the year 2000. Sally was born and raised in Cambodia and is a survivor of the Killing Fields. She can relate to the physical, mental, emotional, social and spiritual needs of the Cambodian children. Her love and compassion for children has challenged her to commit to a long-term ministry among Cambodian children. Her personality is one that attracts children and she rejoices in seeing lives changed and souls saved.
