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Love Volunteers New Zealand

Page history last edited by Harriet Stratford-Tuke 8 years, 10 months ago

 

Partner institution: Love Volunteers New Zealand

Website: http://www.lovevolunteers.org/

 

Contributors (2015):

Harriet Stratford-Tuke 

 

 

Instructions:

Contributors: for details on what is required in each section, please look at the Guidance Notes

Contents: 

Placement Information

Accomodation

Transport

Social life

Things to do, things not to do

Useful Contacts

Before you go

Placement Information

I volunteered in Cambodia, in a small rural village in Svay Rieng Province, for an NGO called Tompeang Russey Khmer Association (TRK). Svay Rieng Province is located an hour from the Vietnam boarder and approximately three hours away from the capital, Phnom Penh. Volunteering typically consisted of assisting a Cambodian teacher with the Kindergarten class from 7:30-9:00am Monday-Wednesday as well as Friday and Saturday. Extra English classes were additionally taught to children within the village with two classes one for children aged 5-8 and another taught at the same time for children aged 9-11. These classes took place from 1:00-2:00pm Monday-Friday. An additional English class was then taught for children aged 9-11 from 4:00-5:00pm. However the latter English class had attendance problems from the teacher and therefore meant I had to teach the class independently with no prior notice, I then took over the class teaching them independently for the rest of my placement. Due to the children being able to speak very little English there was a big language barrier when trying to teach them. Furthermore, the teachers spoke minimal to no English making communication difficult meaning translation had to be made via my host family. This also meant I was not informed when a class was cancelled or the children were on holidays. I had each weekend free which I mainly spent visiting other parts of Cambodia due to the location of the house meaning there was little to do where I was staying. 

Accomodation

On placement I stayed in a homestay with a local Cambodian family. Within the family there is the director of the NGO I was volunteering for, his wife, there three year old daughter and four month old baby. The family can speak fluent English and are very welcoming. The house is in Svay Rieng Province located in a small quiet village. The house has a small kitchen and outside eating area with a large bedroom attached with a double bed in which I slept. The bed is not equipped with a mosquito net. The bedroom has an en suite bathroom with a toilet and a bucket of water for showering. The classrooms were a further attachment to the house making it less than a thirty second walk to volunteer each day. The family cooked three meals a day which included Cambodian food which consisted mainly of rice and sometimes noodles. Appreciation was taken into the western culture and occasionally more western foods were cooked such as meat and eggs. 

 

 

Transport

Transport was not required to placement each day due to the location of the classrooms to the home-stay where I was living. However at weekends I was keen to travel and see more of Cambodia. This meant getting a bus costing $5 for several hours to Phnom Penh before getting another bus to my desired location. The roads are often bumpy which is why the bus often takes so long. When arriving late into Phnom Penh in the evenings buses no longer ran. However, there was the option of shared taxis to Svay Rieng costing $5 although these often were overfull meaning you could be sharing a five seat car with up to ten other people including the driver. In order to see other parts of Cambodia there is a lot of travelling involved especially to fit it in over the weekend. Having said that, the host family I stayed with were very flexible and occasionally let me miss classes either on a Friday or Monday to allow a bit more time to travel.

Social life

The home-stay is located in a small rural village with no English speakers. This made it difficult when having free time and meant a lot of time was spent alone. At weekends there is the option to travel around Cambodia to see more of the country. Alternatively you are able to stay at the home-stay during free time however, there is very little to do meaning you may become bored easily. 

Things to do, things not to do

Do try and learn some basic Khmer (the local language) so you are able to communicate with the teachers when volunteering in addition to the children. I found it useful also learning numbers 1-30 to support the children’s education and learning. It is important to respect the Cambodian culture and to research before you travel to understand their ethos. Whilst there is no dress code in Cambodia and you are able to show your knees and shoulders, it is important when working with the children to make sure both your knees and shoulders are covered both to be professional and to show respect. Cambodian food is very different to what we eat in England and it is important to try and finish every meal due to the lack of money and food available. If you do not like a certain food it is polite to tell the host so they will try and cook you an alternative. Do negotiate prices when buying items and especially when travelling in a tuk-tuk. Cambodian’s will try and charge you almost double the price when they see you are a tourist. Find out the correct price if possible and negotiate to a reasonable price for both and the Cambodian. 

Useful Contacts

If you are interested in TRK or about the host family I would advise visiting the TRK website http://www.trkhmer.org/ you can also contact the director of the NGO who will also be your host by emailing him at trk.cambodia@yahoo.com Additionally his telephone numbers are as follows +855 92 956 270 or +855 11 911 987. These are both Cambodian telephone numbers and therefore will cost considerably if you phone them from the UK. I found the placement by going through a New Zealand company called Love Volunteers who you are able to email about arranging your placement and costs. They will also have further information about Cambodia and volunteering. You can contact Kelly from Love Volunteers by emailing her kelly@lovevolunteers.org alternatively you can visit the Love Volunteers website however this placement is not listed so I would strongly advice emailing Kelly for further assistance and information. http://www.lovevolunteers.org/

Before you go

Go to the doctors and speak to them about the relevant jabs you may need before travelling. In addition you will need to check visa requirements. I was able to pay for my visa on arrival at the airport and then extended it whilst I was there in Phnom Penh. Make sure the relevant people have a copy of your flight and travel insurance details in addition to a copy of your passport encase anything goes wrong or missing. 

 

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