Projects Abroad Volunteer Programs in Cambodia

I did the Public Health Project for 5 weeks with Projects Abroad. The support staff is great, very helpful. I stayed in the apartment in Phnom Penh for most of my time. We spent time in the communities helped by the Khemara Organization, doing public health checks in the communities and childcare centers. It was a great experience getting a lot of hands on medical experience and learning a lot from our public health program managers. I also spent a week with a host family, doing public health checks in a rural community. It was a great to experience how a Khmer family lives. Another week I spent with the conservation project on King Island. We also did public health checks there. Each community had their own public health problems and different common illnesses. I highly recommend Projects Abroad. Although it is more expensive than other programs it has excellent in-country support and organization.

I volunteered in Cambodia for physical therapy, I'm not a qualified PT so that meant I was supposed to go to the hospital but on my first day there we find out that they promoted that wrong, you go to the orphanage... which is fine i loved the children, and the father who runs the organization and his staff are so nice and friendly....LOVED the house moms at the apartments.

CONS: For how much this volunteering costs the living conditions are very poor, and hardly any money went to the orphanage. the administrative management will never let you know how much of your donation goes to the charity.

before volunteering i traveled for two months in cambodia and vietnam staying in hostels that were 5-10$ a night that came with breakfast, AC and Hot water & never got sick.... and the crazy thing is that out of 20 rooms at projects abroad only 3 had AC, and 0 warm water... which isn't that bad unless your sick... i got food poisoning from the food, 103 fever & my coordinator wouldn't respond to my messages for help. I missed 1 and a half weeks of volunteering. :( A lot of people got sick due to the fans blowing in there face because its so hot its the only way to cool down.

Rats/ rat poop and mosquitos dominate the living room and kitchen. I hope they improve the living conditions for the volunteers, and I hope that the organization finally listens to all of the complaints, GOOD LUCK!

For the past two years I have been researching for the perfect program and organization to volunteer abroad. I finally made the decision to travel to Cambodia as it is one of the poorest countries in Asia in need of English speaking volunteers. This trip turned out to be everything I expected it to be. The Projects Abroad staff was helpful and available every step of the way, the volunteer apartments were comfortable and very clean, the food was delicious, and every individual I met while volunteering was grateful for the work I and other volunteers were doing. In just two weeks it felt as if I completed a month’s worth of things on the Khmer Project. I not only was able to help a family in the rice fields and teach English in a school; but, I also learned about Cambodian culture through making a traditional Khmer puppet, cooking traditional Cambodian food, learning traditional Khmer dancing, learning the basics of the Khmer language, visiting the national museum, visiting the ancient temples in Siem Reap, visiting a floating village, meditating in a Buddhist temple in Phnom Penh, and visiting the areas of Cambodia that were used during the devastating Khmer Rouge. All of which was covered in my expenses. The experience was life changing in the way I was able to make friends with volunteers from all over the world, learn about Cambodia first-hand from my Cambodian coordinator who was with me every day, and most importantly how I was immediately exposed to the unfortunate circumstances of this very poor country by teaching young children and simply travelling around the country.
Volunteering is the best way to travel and the only way to truly understand and empathize with the inequalities of this world. As a student studying to become a social worker, this experience gives me an advantage on my resume, as well as the confidence to broaden my career goals to a global level. I left Cambodia an even greater advocate for change and I am already planning my next volunteer trip with Projects Abroad as my trip would not have been what it was without them!

Getting to the island was so scary. I was put on a bus with no other English speakers and told my trip would be 3 hours long, 8 hours later with no food we got to a beach where I was told to get out and ushered onto a small wooden boat that looked like it would sink. Luckily I survived the trip to the island.
The accommodation and bathrooms were so unhygienic I got sick almost immediately. There's no septic system so you have to put all of your used toilet paper in a opened bin beside the toilet which is in the same room as the shower facilities. There's nowhere to wash your hands and to flush the toilet your pour water down the bowl.
I also have a pre-existing medical condition that I was told I would be able to manage over there until I arrived and found the medical facilities on the island were very basic and almost non existent. I was apparently not the first person worried about this as diving is a dangerous activity and can require medical attention. I was also worried when I found out not one staff member knew first aid.
The staff are very friendly at first then become immediately standoffish on the second day. The only time they lighten up is when they are drinking which is most nights.
I'm a young person and enjoy a drink or few but not every night. I also felt very out of place because some of the people in charge were younger than I was and were almost only interested in sleeping with the volunteers. Even though most of the volunteers were already sleeping together or had done in the past.
There are posters all over the accommodation that state no drugs on the program. This couldn't be further from the truth. Almost every volunteer was smoking marijuana and taking pills every day and would come back to the house out of their brains. Not to mention certain staff felt it okay to supply the volunteers with drugs and were happy to do it with them.
There was also very little conservation work happening at all. Volunteers could work on their "own projects" which mostly consisted of us watching movies or reading each other's books. Only a few volunteers had actually collected any relevant data while most of them had not even researched anything, we just tagged along on the dives.
I also didn't even see a seahorse in my time on the island. I was told they'd seen 4 seahorses but I find that hard to believe.
The food was very mediocre to poor quality. If you don't like rice, don't go. That's what I survived on and occasionally ate fish. The chicken was disgusting and pork often still had skin and hair attached as well as parts of bones. There were so many times when no one even knew what the meat was. There are so restaurants on the island that do amazing food though so I recommend those.
There is no interaction with the community other than the children saying hello every time you walk by. I was advertised that we would be teaching and interacting with children as well as teaching them about conservation only to find this was never a part of the program.
When I left not one person from projects abroad contacted me or even saw me to the airport. I was simply put in a taxi and dropped off.
Two weeks after I returned home the project manager emailed me and asked how I was as they hadn't heard from me, they weren't even aware that I had returned home.
For the amount of money you pay it's definitely not worth it. Apparently a girl left before I got there, she changed her flights home. I wish I was fortunate enough to do that because I would have gotten out of there in the first week.

On the plus side:
I made some amazing friends who were equally as disgusted as I was at the organisation and overall let down of the program.
I also enjoyed the experience of seeing another country and culture.

I would not however recommend this to anyone unless they are into 'cheap drugs and alcohol' and watching movies every day and going for the occasional dive.

I attended the Marine Conservation Cambodia project this summer and had a really terrible time with it. Diving courses take place very infrequently: I had to wait over a week for my first dive, and other volunteers I met had to wait significantly longer. There is essentially no interaction with the villagers living on the island, and, unlike advertised on the website, no "training programs on sustainable fishing" take place. Since diving courses are very badly organised and take place infrequently, most volunteers do not reach sufficient proficiency to actually take place in marine surveys.

Additionally, accommodation is really basic and unhygienic, with mold covering the walls and rats living in the bungalows where the volunteers are sleeping. The food is of really low quality, which is completely unacceptable because in general even cheap food in Cambodia is really good. The staff is very unapproachable and generally gives you the impression that they do not want to be bothered by any problems the volunteers might have. While I was there, two of the volunteers ended up in a hospital because the staff did not take action when they first were injured/became ill. Some of the lack of organisation/responsibility of the staff may be explained by the fact that binge drinking is one of the main ways to pass time on the island (for both staff and some of the volunteers).

I had originally paid for four weeks on the project, but left after a week and a half, after a very upsetting incident with the diving instructor. I have written at length to Projects Abroad about this incident, the shortcomings of the project, the fact that the project description on the website is misleading, and that some of the staff are treating the volunteers is completely inappropriate. However, most of my emails were ignored, and even when I did receive a reply Projects Abroad refused to refund any of my money.

In conclusion, the project is badly organised, falsely advertised, completely overpriced and health and safety is non-existent. Do yourself a favour and save yourself this negative experience. If you want to experience Cambodia, go travelling instead. If you want to do volunteering, pick another organisation!

I spent 6 weeks in Phnom Penh as a Pro volunteer - this is the part of Projects Abroad that is marketed to experienced professionals in mid or late career, or those who are retired. I am a lawyer with decades of experience; I made the most of the opportunity in PP to assist a coalition with human/land rights. Most of that was due to my own efforts, with little support from Projects Abroad (PA).
My overall impression of PA is that is focused on young gap year volunteers, and that it is ill equipped to understand or support experienced professionals. When I was introduced to my placement, the coordinator asked no questions, and appeared unaware of the coaltion's work. This continued through the 6 weeks that I was there; the checking in was perfunctory and superficial. Fortunately, I understood not to rely on PA, and to deal with various issues at the placement on my own. I was quite comfortable doing this - but seriously question the value PA offered to me. I also observed that PA did little, if no vetting of at least one other volunteer at my placement. This person was clearly in over their head, creating a difficult situation.

At the accommodation, my experience was the same. Requests for a lock box for my and other volunteers' rooms, to repair a flooding shower were met with indifference, and delays. I asked PA to organize a trip for volunteers to the ECCC; although I sent PA all relevant info to make this easy for them, many texts were required. Essentially, I organized it. I would have preferred to use this time contributing my professional expertise, not doing PA's administrative work.

Again, if I had organized this volunteer placement on my own, I would accept the incompetence, but I paid a significant amount to PA, and it was not clear to me what value they offered.

The staff on the island were nothing but friendly and welcoming. On my very first dive I had a bad panic attack and wasn't sure if I could continue. I was very close to switch to an english teaching position at the school there. The staff were very understanding and allowed me to continue my dive lessons at my own pace. I had the best time on the island and discovered a new found love of diving and marine conservation. I met other volunteers from all across the globe. A day on the island consisted of breakfast at 7am followed by a beach clean up and a dive before lunch at 12 then if possible another dive after lunch. You have the weekends off so you can go to sihanoukville if you choose or stay on the island and relax. Other days we played games with the local childern followed by a jump off the pier or hung out at Hua's bar or One's. The local fishing village is a small tight knit community and they will welcome you with open arms.

I can honestly say this was the best experience of my entire life. Projects Abroad made it so easy for me to feel comfortable and confident with my decision to go through their program. They answered every question and concern I had right away and were happy to do so. While in Cambodia, the Projects Abroad team made sure that everyone was happy and comfortable not only with their accommodation but also with their food, placement, driver, etc. I genuinely felt like they cared about me and even more so about their purpose as being a Projects Abroad staff member.
I volunteered doing physical therapy at an orphanage with all disabled children. It was the most rewarding experience and I truly fell in love with the kids. They were the happiest/ cutest kids I have ever met and their appreciation for my help was astonishing. I had a member of the Projects Abroad staff drive me to and from the orphanage everyday and had an in-home cook that made us the best meals. Projects Abroad member Seang planned group events for the volunteers every week and made the experience outside of the orphanage fun as well.
I am so grateful for choosing Projects Abroad and can't wait to go back to Cambodia next year!