A new playground at primary school

A new playground at primary school

by | 14 May 2025 | General education, Primary school

Last April saw the opening of a new playground at primary school, much to the delight of the 206 students.

Built by Playparx, a committed social enterprise based in Run Ta Ek, this new space enriches the children’s daily lives by offering them a place to learn through play, essential to their development.

This project would not have been possible without the generosity of Fanny and Stève, volunteers committed to the Bayon School this year, and the support of their family and friends. They worked in close collaboration with Vantha, principal of the elementary school.

Our heartfelt thanks go to the Armange Mamou Mani family for their energy and willingness to make a difference.

Thanks also to all those who support us every day: together, we are building lasting actions.

A square named after Élodie, in memory of a precious commitment

A square named after Élodie, in memory of a precious commitment

by | 14 May 2025 | General education, Primary school

A square named Élodie, in memory of a precious commitment last April, the town of Ouistreham inaugurated the “Square Élodie”, in tribute to Élodie Douillard-Potet, former project coordinator at our school, who died in a tragic accident on April 20, 2014 during her mission in Cambodia.

Élodie left her mark on the history of the Bayon School through her commitment and energy. In particular, she dreamed of creating a canteen to enable the most vulnerable children to benefit from balanced meals. A project that her family decided to bring to life through the 46-member “Le rêve d’Élo” association.

Thanks to the actions of the association, this dream has become a reality and continues, year after year, to support the functioning of our school canteen.

Every year, the association organizes two fund-raising events: a hike in the spring and an evening event in the autumn. Profits from these events help finance meals for elementary school pupils for two terms.

We salute this tribute to Élodie, whose memory lives on in the projects we carry out every day with our young beneficiaries.

Exclusive Lactalis and President training at Bayon Coffee Shop

Exclusive Lactalis and President training at Bayon Coffee Shop

by | 11 Sep 2024 | Primary school, Social and families support

 Formation exclusive avec LSH / Lactalis au Bayon Coffee Shop

Le Coffee Shop a eu le plaisir d’accueillir une formation exceptionnelle organisée par LSH, filière basée à Siem Reap du groupe Lactalis, spécialisée dans les produits laitiers de qualité, les 5 et 6 mai derniers.

Pendant deux jours, les cuisines du Coffee Shop se sont transformées en véritable laboratoire de transmission, où nos étudiantes en pâtisserie et chef·fes, formateur·rices ont pu enrichir leurs savoir-faire autour de recettes, pâtes, pains et techniques professionnelles. 

Cette session de formation autour d’un buffer salé a été animée par le chef Maxime Michelot, basé à Hong Kong Chef ambassadeur chez Président, Maxime a généreusement partagé son expertise, ses astuces et son exigence professionnelle.

Son approche bienveillante et rigoureuse a permis à nos équipes de :
– Découvrir de nouvelles recettes de pain et viennoiseries
– Approfondir les techniques de travail de la pâte
– Mieux comprendre l’usage des produits laitiers professionnels dans la création culinaire

Un immense merci à LSH et notre sponsor Lactalis et au chef Maxime Michelot pour leur engagement à nos côtés et leur soutien. Ces échanges renforcent la qualité de notre enseignement et ouvrent de nouvelles perspectives à nos apprenties.

Discover how the Bayon School integrates art and culture into the heart of its educational program !

Discover how the Bayon School integrates art and culture into the heart of its educational program !

by | 11 Apr 2024 | Agroecology training, Bakery and pastry school, General education, Primary school

For 7 years now, our school has had the pleasure of welcoming Gilles, a talented artist specializing in creation using recycled materials. Every year, he travels to Siem Reap to propose unique artistic projects to our Pastry School and Primary School students. For three weeks, in collaboration with our teachers, he imagines and realizes artistic installations designed to improve the daily life of our school community.

Two years ago, Nathalie, an artist specializing in driftwood creations, joined this initiative to enrich our joint project.

The previous year, their creativity transformed our café’s environment, adorning its walls with magnificent paintings.

This year, their vision focused on creating a warm reading space for our pastry students, both in their classrooms and in their dormitories. Their project includes building a library and furnishing the space with mats and cushions, inviting relaxation and literary discovery.

As for the Primary School, our director Vanta has come up with an equally inspiring project: a giant KHMER alphabet created from unused tires, offering a playful and innovative approach to language learning.

At the Bayon School, we firmly believe that art and culture are essential elements of education, and we’re proud to see our students flourish through these creative initiatives.

Offering these artistic activities to our students every year allows them to open up to new horizons, to discover their talents and to develop their skills.

We look forward to seeing them again next year !

Welcome to the Bayon family !

by | 10 Apr 2024 | Agroecology training, Bakery and pastry school, Coffee Shop, General education, Primary school

Marie returns : Agroecology expertise for new horizons

Back in France to complete her studies after a year spent at the Agroecology School, Marie returns to us with her agronomy engineering diploma in hand, specializing in agroecology. Drawing on this experience, she brings a holistic approach to agricultural development, enriched by a network of agroecology players in Southeast Asia that she has built up through her travels and encounters.

A true enthusiast, Marie loves to pass on her knowledge of agroecology. She does this enthusiastically through participatory workshops, study tours, experiments and demonstrations, as well as various communication media. We look forward to sharing with you the many projects she is planning for the coming months!

Welcome back Marie ! 

 

After working for an organic certification body in Latin America, Juliette is continuing her exploration of the world of agroecology by joining us in Cambodia.

With a degree in agri-food engineering, Juliette began her career working for major agri-food groups. In search of a mission combining agroecology and social commitment, she wanted to participate in a sustainable, healthy and safe food system for consumers. That’s how she came to join the Bayon School family.

Agroecology quickly became an obvious choice for her. Juliette works with us to develop local, healthy and safe food products for the elementary school canteen and our solidarity coffee shop.

From producer to consumer, she aims to control food safety.

A warm welcome to Juliette!

Jean Pierre & Michèle

Jean Pierre & Michèle

by | 10 Apr 2024 | Agroecology training, Bakery and pastry school, General education, Health, hygiene and food, Primary school, Social and families support

Michèle, an executive at Danone Eaux (Evian), discovered the Bayon School when it was created in 1997 by Marcel Bertaud, Director of Danone Japan and co-founder of the Bayon, with whom she works. In 2006, Michèle and her husband Jean-Pierre, a doctor by profession, came to Siem Reap with Marcel Bertaud to visit the Bayon School. It was an unforgettable experience, as close as possible to our beneficiaries.

In 2016, they decided to invest in the Bayon School by supporting the education and health of young people. Touched by our pupils, sensitive to the need to ensure their long-term quality education, and aware that good health is an essential condition for their development, Jean-Pierre became the NGO’s medical referent, assisted by Michèle. The Bayon School has become like a second home for them. In Siem Reap 6 months a year, they take care of the annual medical check-up of all our beneficiaries, namely :

  • 184 elementary school pupils
  • 20 female pastry-making students
  • 20 agroecology students
  • The program team

The health and well-being of individuals are fundamental to their personal development and their ability to lead active, productive lives. As part of our mission within the organization, we have undertaken a series of actions to promote health and provide social assistance to those in need. This report details our efforts in these areas over the recent period.

Health

The introduction of health check-ups for all students and beneficiaries is one of the pillars of Jean-Pierre’s health initiatives for the Bayon school. This initiative aims to detect potential health problems at an early stage and provide the necessary interventions to ensure students’ well-being. He has been running a dental follow-up program for all students for several years. It has also provided complex medical follow-up for several students with specific health conditions:

  • Colostomy for an elementary school pupil
  • Medical care for an agro-ecology school pupil suffering from a spinal injury following a traffic accident
  • Medical care for a student from the pastry school with a leg injury requiring surgery
  • Medical care for a university student suffering from tuberculosis

Thanks to its network of competent doctors built up over the years, it is able to offer comprehensive medical care and recommendations tailored to each individual case.

 

Social

In parallel with their healthcare initiatives, Jean-Pierre and Michèle conducted an in-depth survey of the needs of the students’ families. Working with our social team, in particular Romain, they identified the challenges these families face and implemented concrete solutions. Among notable achievements, they facilitated the installation of sand filters and latrines for 160 families, improving their living conditions and environmental health. In addition, they assisted social workers to strengthen their skills in responding to families’ needs in an emphatic way.

Administrative management

As part of their activities, Jean-Pierre and Michèle also collaborated on the implementation of the “Team Desk” management tool, which facilitates the coordination and monitoring of our actions (social, educational, health). This platform enables us to manage our resources efficiently and ensure better communication within our organization.

Specific intervention: “Run Ta Ek

Jean-Pierre and Michèle know our families well and visit our students’ villages every year. Deeply concerned by the recent displacement of several families in Run Ta Ek, they decided to monitor the families’ conditions of displacement, in order to assess with the NGO’s social teams their needs and provide the necessary solutions in terms of housing, health, social and educational support.

The aim was to help them achieve sustainable autonomy by strengthening their resilience and providing them with the resources they needed to improve their quality of life. Thanks to this work, the École du Bayon teams, together with Jean-Pierre and Michèle, identified the help these “former” families needed (assessment of assistance, identification of partners, action plan and budget). All this was done with the aim of giving the students and their families the means to get out of this precarious situation, an essential anchor to be able to study in good conditions and give birth or rebirth to their future projects.

  • Every 6 months, we come back to the Bayon School to help out – it’s an addiction we’re not trying to cure.
  • Our involvement is amply rewarded by the smiles of the families and the joie de vivre of the pupils.

Michèle and Jean Pierre