Do your homework on the NGO and socio-political landscape prior to arrival. Have an idea of the main issues/challenges, local and international players, and development strategies. You want to be able to offer your help from day 1 but getting your head around the context and situation takes time. The more you can prepare in advance the better, so you can make more of an impact. This is also applicable to other programs, i.e. the needs of children and/or child care centers in your placement country. Placement staff will appreciate you taking the time to learn and are more likely to offer you increased responsibilities, more quickly.

Another tip is trying to stay up to date with local affairs - taking 10 minutes each morning to read the paper goes a long way! You're likely to do this at your workplace at home, so why not here?!? Ask questions, show initiative and actively engage in your surroundings. It'll pay off!

Ultimately you get out what you put in! I typically worked Mon-Fri 9-5pm - adding up to an hour on each end for travel. However, it depends on the needs of the placement, at a certain time, and your individual capabilities. I worked on tasks including but not limited to; strategic development, funding proposals, internal policies, program development, and staff capacity training. My roommate also worked with an NGO but focused on media and online engagement tasks, matching her individual skill set and educational background.

When we had big projects due, the staff were in early and home late! This was not an expectation for me as a volunteer, but I appreciated the opportunity to learn and be involved in more meaningful experiences - and if they were offering, why not! On quieter days, if I wanted to leave early on a Friday afternoon to get a bus to the province this was not a problem.

I was predominantly in the office each day. However, I was also provided opportunities to visit the province/s to engage in program implementation, participate in staff events/meetings/training, and attend varied local NGO events/activities. One afternoon, my boss had double booked himself so he sent me to represent at an event at the US Ambassadors House!

Having said all this, there is no average day. It's incredibly difficult to compare one's experience to another volunteer's. How one engages with their environment, tasks, people etc. varies. But I'll say it again, you get out what you put in!

Traveling solo as a young woman has its challenges. More so, in countries with profound gender inequality and concerns for personal safety like Cambodia. I don’t say this to scare you… I live here now so it can’t be that bad! But it’s important to keep in mind that precautions one might take a travelling solo as a woman in Thailand or Vietnam, need heightening here. Local knowledge of English and the availability of wifi is also lower.

From my experience, there are no particularly dangerous spots or areas to avoid in Cambodia, and for the most part, locals are respectful. But it pays to be careful and you must always keep your wits about you. Getting to travel on weekends with other volunteers, if you choose, is one of the perks of going with a program. Having said this travelling independently is empowering and I never had any trouble. But Cambodia is not as ‘touristy’ as some of its more popular neighbors, so it’s best not to wander too far off the beaten track. Plan and be practical – if your bus arrives at 1am you should have transport to your guesthouse or equivalent sorted in advance. No loitering. User-friendly transport apps like GRAB and PassApp are only available in Phnom Penh.

Dressing modestly and acting more conservatively are easy adjustments. As is being mindful of gender dynamics/roles. You’ll catch on quick to how men and women behave and interact with each other – or more so, don’t interact with each other. As travelers/volunteers, we have an obligation to do our research before we arrive, to be respectful to the culture, and adjust behavior accordingly. But I know who I am and what I stand for, and there are things I won’t adjust to or accommodate for – like being hassled, harassed or treated poorly. The female voice isn’t very loud here in Cambodia, but that doesn’t mean you can’t and shouldn’t use yours when needed.

Being a smart, capable, and young western woman working in a conservative country has daily challenges. It’s obviously also hard for local women, hence the gender inequality! But navigating these socio-cultural barriers in Australia is no walk in the park either! The challenges are real but are not a deterrent to me volunteering and now living here. If anything, they spur my determination to stay here and keep contributing. If it were easy, everyone would be doing it!

Raksmey: The orientation, as I can provide all the important information to volunteers about Cambodia. I enjoy meeting with volunteers, listening to their problems and advising them with solutions. I also have fun helping volunteers organize weekend trips to other places in Cambodia.

Raksmey: Volunteers should learn about the Cambodian culture and local customs before traveling here. It is also important volunteers are aware of the orphanage business in Cambodia, where some people raise children in orphanages and use them to get money from tourists or foreigners. We advise all volunteers to avoid giving money to children on the street and we tell them that if they have watched the film Slum Dog Millionaire - it is no different! All volunteers in Cambodia should not miss visiting the Angkor Wat temple in Siem Reap, as it is a very famous temple, known throughout the world.

Raksmey: There are many stories, but I will pick one of them which I can remember the most. We have a placement called Cambodia Independent Anti-Corruption Committee/Human Rights Organization for Transparency and Peace (CIACC/HROTP). One volunteer we had placed to work with CIACC/HROTP visited a rural area where the villagers had land issues. The village is very remote and the villagers do not have land to grow rice because their land was taken by private companies as a land concession. And they live in very, very poor conditions, not even in a proper house. The villagers survive on little pay, working as grass cleaners in a rubber plantation farm. Some girls in the village are forced to leave their homes and look for jobs in the cities. Most of them decide to work in Malaysia as housemaids. However, many of the girls become lost. Our volunteer tried to help a family to look for their daughter and they found her through the placement with which the volunteer worked.

At the same time, there was a family whose house collapsed due to a storm and the husband had a very, very bad injury and became paralyzed. We visited the family many times, interviewed them, and at the end, our volunteers raised funds to build a new house for them and our organization kept helping them. We donated a water well, as the family did not have clean water. CIACC/HROTP saved their children and took them to live in their shelter after the father died.

Raksmey: Volunteers should know about the cultures of the countries they are traveling to and take precautions to keep safe during their time abroad. Every country has their own culture. Every country can have safety problems, however we can avoid bad things happening to us if we are careful and learn how to take care of ourselves while we are abroad.