About the Program
A wide variety of abilities and skills will be welcomed by this holistic community support project. The project enables responsible volunteering with children as each placement will be specifically designed to make good use of the volunteer's skills and expereince, within the broader community.
- education - early childhood development, basic literacy and numeracy
- teaching assistants to work with the excellent local teachers
- artists & musicians - particularly guitars and drums
- sports coaches
- health professionals
- human resources practitioners to help with organisation, employee and community members development
- marketing and promotion
- small-business skills
- practical - DIY and construction and electrics,sustainable energies and horticulture, arts and crafts
This program offers a responsible alternative to the volunteer who would like to work in childcare but is rightly concerned about the ethics of short term volunteer work abroad in an orphanage.
About the Community Centre
The Community Centre meets the needs of families who are on or just above the poverty line in 3 farming and fishing villages between Siem Reap and Tonle Sap Lake. Life in these villages still revolves around subsistence farming and fishing.
Every week day, 250 children and young people, aged between 3 and 24, attend the English language programme and 30 young people and adults are learning in the vocational training section. Training is given in domestic electrics, weaving and wood-working skills, supported by adult literacy classes. A crèche is provided for younger siblings and the vocational training students’ children. There is a junior football team who compete in local tournaments.
This program has built immense respect within the local community. The challenges are huge - poverty, loss of natural habitat and traditional income, lack of resources, children's need to work, chronic health problems, a violent history. For many, the centre is their hope for the future, whether through a child's education or a micro loan to fund a livelihood initiative.
Context
Cambodia's bloody history has had a massive effect on the country’s infrastructure, as well as on its citizens in very specific and personal ways. During the Khmer Rouge rule, Cambodia experienced a traumatic and unforgettable genocide that changed the country forever. Approximately 1.7 million people were killed in a little less than 4 years.
Thirty years later, Cambodia still struggles to provide basic education and healthcare for its people. Literacy is a significant issue, with the majority of Cambodia’s illiterate population living below the poverty line, in remote and rural areas. Without improving the access to and quality of affordable education and healthcare, there is very little hope of Cambodia pulling itself out of poverty. Thje lack of clean water and adequate sanitation is still a major health risk in the majority of rural villages.
More than one third of Cambodians live below the poverty line, struggling to survive on less than $1 a day. Economic poverty is especially pervasive in rural areas and among children, who constitute more than half of the country’s population.
According to UNICEF, Cambodia has the highest infant and under-five mortality rates in the region, at 97 and 141 per 1,000 live births, respectively. Vaccine-preventable diseases, diarrhoea, and respiratory infections are among the leading causes of childhood death. Maternal mortality is also high.
Cambodia's main income generating industries are textiles and tourism. The long-term development of the economy after decades of war remains a daunting challenge, as the population lacks education and productive skills, particularly in the countryside, which suffers from an almost total lack of basic infrastructure. More than 60% of the population still gets by on subsistence farming.
Typical day
This will vary according to the individual placement outline written for each volunteer to maximise the use of their skills and experience to meet local needs.
If they are working with teachers and children, they will repeat the work they do in the morning with a different group of children in the afternoon - children attend school for half a day only, and come to the community centre for the part of the day when they are not at school. Within each part of the day, volunteers will attend two sessions to support the teacher and class they are working with. The first session is an English lesson, conducted by the Khmer teacher - volunteers will provide classroom support. The second session follows a curriculum of topic-based work, and will be led by volunteers. They will receive details of the topics to be covered during their placement in good time before arriving in Cambodia.
Details on Arrival
Volunteers may join at any time throughout the year. The centre remains open during school holidays but is closed for some national holidays, most notable Khmer New Year and Pchum Ben, and for some national festivals, some of which are announced at short notice. Volunteers will be notified during the application process (as far as possible) of any times of year when the centre will be closed.
Free-time activities
There are lots of tourist activities in Siem Reap - ranging from the bars and restaurants around the Old Market to visiting the World Heritage Site temples at Angkor Wat (not to be missed!).
You will be given a bicycle to use while you are there so you can explore the countryside around town.
If you want to travel further afield, for example a weekend trip to Phnom Penh, our local partners in Siem Reap can advise you and help you book transport and accommodation.
Meditation
Program Requirements
- teachers and classroom assistants
- healthcare professionals
- practical skills eg gardening
- art, drama, music specialists
- sports coaches
- therapists - physio, speech and occupational
- marketing, proposal writing and fund-raising
Included Services
Before your journey
On-site services
- Bed and breakfast accommodation in a locally owned guesthouse
- Airport transfers
- Full local orientation
- Child protection workshop
- Social event
- Local SIM card
- Project and placement liaison
- Contribution to project
When you leave the arrivals hall our local partner will be there to meet you, holding a board with your name on it. You will then be driven to your accommodation - about 30 minutes away.
You will stay in a small locally run guesthouse, used by many volunteers of all ages.
You will have a single room with en-suite facilities. Some rooms have a fridge - if you would like one you only have to ask. Air conditioning is available for an additional cost.
There is a social area/dining room downstairs where meals are available all day long. There is no pool at the guesthouse but a small hotel just a couple of minutes walk away allows people from the guesthouse to use their pool, as long as they buy a drink.
The guesthouse owners are extremely friendly and will help you organise any trips you want to take part in at the weekends. The guesthouse is situated about 20 minutes walk away from the tourist centre of Siem Reap - or 5 minutes if you use a bicycle.
Breakfast - meals can be bought at the guesthouse but there are also many good places to eat nearby where you can eat for $6.00 or less
Program Fees
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