Gaul finds her calling in Cambodia

Wilmot graduate teaching orphaned children

By Jason Arndt
Editor

Behind Kimmy Gaul’s wide smile is a person with a wider mission to help children across the globe.

The wider mission for Gaul, a 2012 Wilmot Union High School graduate, involves serving as a volunteer at an orphanage in Cambodia.

Her volunteer work, coordinated by New Hope for Cambodian Children International School, consists of living and teaching 13 children affected by HIV and AIDS.

Wilmot Union High School graduate Kimmy Gaul, 23, is in the midst of a mission trip to Cambodia, where she is volunteering as a teacher to children at an orphanage.

Gaul started her mission last September, just months after she graduated from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse with a double major in Spanish and pyschology along with a minor in English as a Second Language.

Gaul, who responded to an email Tuesday, said her mission is to offer support and love to children.

“I share love, through the work and care I put into my classroom, and through play, hugs, and encouragement, and that feels as good as it would in the States with any child,” Gaul states. “Love is love. Care is care. And children are children regardless of where you encounter them in the world.”

New Hope for Cambodian Children International School opened its doors in 2014.

Since then, the school has grown to more than 200 students ranging from kindergarten through high school.

According to her mother, Doreen Bratt, the 23-year-old Gaul has weathered temperatures near 100 degrees since she arrived last September.

“When she first got there, it was 98 degrees, it was tropical,” said Bratt, who communicates with her daughter via email and social media. “It’s very hot and humid there and they have no air conditioning.”

However, in spite of the scorching weather, Bratt reports her daughter’s caring and loving demeanor have kept her going.

“She is extremely caring and loving and wants to make a difference in the world,” said Bratt. “They don’t have a lot, but they are very grateful for anything they have. That is what struck her.”

With an open mind and caring soul, Gaul has broadened her cultural awareness through the mission, which she reportedly enjoys the time she has with her students at the orphanage.

“Otherwise, she is loving it, she loves the kids, she is loving the culture,” Bratt said. “The kids have been through a lot, they have HIV or AIDS, and their parents have died of AIDS.”

Gaul feels her purpose extends beyond the role of a teacher.

“Many of the children here have experienced traumas in their lives. They are all healthy with their medicine they take twice a day, but that doesn’t take care of the emotional pain some carry. I fill more than just the ‘teacher’ role,” said Gaul.

Her cultural awareness comes as no surprise, noting her studies at UW-La Crosse.

Her minor, according a bulletin released on the UW-La Crosse website, set her up to succeed.

“The internship and practicum experiences Kimmy had during the TESOL Minor helped her develop strong cross-cultural communication skills, but this will be Kimmy’s first time in Cambodia,” the bulletin wrote, adding Gaul had a proactive approach, including research of the culture and connecting with other teachers at the school.

TESOL is an acronym meaning Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages.

Before Gaul attended both Wilmot Union followed by UW-La Crosse, she was Wheatland Center School student from kindergarten through eighth-grade.

Gaul, scheduled to return to the United States in July, has not ruled out extending her stay.

“I’m not finished learning here yet and am strongly leaning towards staying for one more year of teaching 3rd-grade,” said Gaul.

As the continues her volunteer work, Gaul’s church, Messiah Lutheran Church in Twin Lakes has raised funds to help students in the organization.

To date, Bratt reports the church has raised about $815.

Bratt said school supplies are in high demand.

“They are in need of everything…they started the school three years ago,” said Bratt. “Crayons, paper, any kind of school supplies.”

Overall, the organization serves about 270 vulnerable children infected with HIV, with some attending education programming and others living with extended families at Camp Lotus.

Prior to the creation of the school, the organization helped adults infected with HIV and AIDS, but when they died from the illness, it left their children behind.

The abandoned children led to the development of the school.

To help, visit www.newhopeforcambodianchildren.com


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