Due to a fortunate set of circumstances I ended up visiting Cambodian Children's Destiny English school whilst on a break from teaching in Australia during the September holidays.
As an educator it was so encouraging to see both the optimism of the staff and the supporting expats and the level of professionalism that they are striving to incorporate into everything they do.
The founder Sokhun, and it seems his extended family and community, make you feel so welcomed and valued. My husband and I even had special time with the teachers and friends to explore the local dam area and were included in the cultural life of the village when we visited the local pagoda during Pchuem Ben celebrations.
Needless to say that as soon as I returned home to the Gold Coast in Australia, I booked tickets to return to help out in a greater capacity for a further 3 weeks in December.(My hubby will join for one week)
The children in my class in Australia have been collecting and making things to send over and have loved hearing about this amazing school, about the founder Sokhun's selfless work and dream to leave the world a better place by helping the children of his village learn English and for the school to one day be a model of sustainability and self reliance.
Just spending time with this wonderful group of people and the student's is nourishing for your soul, and believe me you will want to come back.
I will be doing a part-time home stay at a local village house during the week and spending the weekends in Siem Reap in December.
Book the flight, enjoy conversing with the students and experience a unique side to Cambodia!
Kate
What would you improve about this program?
The home stay arrangements are in their infancy so stay tuned to how it pans out for people who want to be closer to the school. A Go Fund me or another social media event to help raise funds for the school would be helpful if we had someone to coordinate this.