PNC students and staff from Nippon Paint Cambodia before starting the painting activity.
11 years after we started to operate in Cambodia, we decided that it was time for our centre to be redecorated. The first step of this project involved redecorating the two rooms on the top floor of the building.
The overall project is to redecorate the entire building. To do so, we decided to proceed step by step, one floor at a time. Step 1 involved redecorating our third floor because one of the rooms, Amanjaya Multi-purpose room – B32 is the most important one in our centre as it’s the largest. The plan was to repaint and refresh the decoration.
Paint, create and share
First, we needed to find a partner who could provide us with the paint but also expertise. Once we found our partner, Nippon Paint Cambodia, we found a convenient time for everyone to get together and paint.
So, on Saturday, 16th June, our first-year students, PNC staff, Alumni and staff from NPC (Nippon Paint Cambodia) got up early to start painting.
From early in the morning, students began to cover the floors, clean the walls with sponges and abrasive papers, tape the baseboards… Once the room was cleaned, staff members from NPC gave advice about painting, since most of the students didn’t know how to proceed.
To stick to the PN colours, we were provided with three buckets of paint: orange, blue and white to decorate the rooms.
Students and NPC staff during the painting activity
As sharing knowledge and skills whilst focusing on the same goal is very effective and rewarding, this activity reinforced team spirit among the students. The great team effort was also a great way to reflect one of PN’s values: Solidarity.
Painting these two rooms was quite a challenge and everyone who came to help was so happy to be part of this, that they have stayed all day long, helping the best they could. I was impressed by this commitment and very glad at the same time because I had never really managed this kind of activity before, so I guess it made my job easier.
The students had a lot of fun painting all together and it was funny to see how impatient they were to see the result! Hence, I had a hard time making them understand that we had to wait for the paint to dry before starting the second layer. We finally managed to finish everything properly in one day and that was a real pleasure to see the result and the smile on everyone’s face who felt part of it.
Now our students and guests can enjoy a colourful and friendly environment. The first who enjoyed the freshly re-painted rooms were the students we welcomed for the Selection process (written exams & interviews), just one week after the painting activity!
Meanwhile, we also worked on collecting Alumni’s photos to prepare banners, print them, and stick them to the walls of B32.
Our alumni network, an asset to PN success
In room B32, we are now displaying the portraits of all former PNC students, from the beginning in 2007 to the batch 2019 to honour our Alumni.
Those banners are a way to thank them for building PN reputation among companies in Cambodia and abroad years after years. But also because they keep spreading PN values around them – such as solidarity through the Solidarity Act Project.
Finally, they act as a role model for the next generations and having them all on our centre’s wall is a way to motivate our current students to follow the path of their predecessors.
This project is far from being over, as we plan to follow a new tradition: add one banner every year for each graduating batch.
The inauguration party
On August, 17th 2018, all the stakeholders had the chance to meet over and celebrate their work together during an inauguration party.
Mr Huon Chun, Representative from JCM Nippon Private Ltd. and Mr Phou Sophorn, President of PN Cambodia Alumni Association joined the party with all our first-year students. Let’s read about their views about the project and involvement.
Mr Chun said that “JCM Nippon considers Social Responsibility as one of our business activities. We usually make donations to some NGOs and other social projects in the community, so we are happy to be part of PN Cambodia’s centre decoration project today.”
On the other part, Sophorn said that “We all together at Alumni Association are happy to be a part of the centre decoration project. We’re glad to have a chance to make our school more beautiful and for younger generations to have nice classrooms for their studies. Especially, we’re excited to have all alumni’s portraits in the school where we can remind our time in PNC. [To our students] However, beautiful classrooms are not enough. As a student, you all must study and work hard if you want to succeed in your life”.
After, Mr Vibol, on behalf of all our first-year students delivered a special thank testimonial and Mr Saroem, representative of PNC also handed Certificates of Appreciation to the sponsors to acknowledge their support.
Finally, our sponsors cut the ribbon together formalising the official opening. They also visited the classrooms and enjoyed refreshments as well as group pictures with students.
The next steps of the Centre Decoration Project are about to begin. The following one will be the decoration of all the classrooms on the second floor except for the Library and Learning Lab. Then, the first floor and the ground floor, until the yard which we would like to have in concrete.
Thank you to everyone who took part in this project: the students who painted, the Students Association members who designed the banners, PN Asia communication manager for making the banner template, the Alumni to raise fund for the banners and the PNC Alumni Association for collecting it. A special thanks to Nippon Paint Cambodia, which provided us with paints & painting equipment, Full House Decoration and MekongNet ISP for table donations and helping us to repair student’s study desks.