AJWS - Volunteer Corps Program in Cambodia

Prior to my 3-month volunteer experience in Phnom Penh, friends at home asked me why I would even go to Cambodia, not exactly a tourist must-see destination. After my return home, I told them about my work, my deep respect for the Khmer people, and my new attachment to a country that hadn't been on my radar before. My experience as an educator allowed me to write curriculum for training youth 18 to 30 years of age, and how to organize themselves to create and actualize volunteer projects in their own communities in eight provinces. In addition, I wrote grants for my organization, Cambodian Volunteers for Society, and even felt the immense satisfaction of receiving funding while I was still there. I know that my work was valuable to CVS, but I never anticipated the personal rewards I would receive as I was embraced by my new Khmer friends, devoted to improving conditions in their beloved Cambodia. AJWS provided me the necessary support to find housing and an in-country representative was available to help solve potential problems. AJWS has an uncanny ability to match professional skills of potential volunteers with the needs of local grass-roots NGOs. My experiences as a volunteer were some of the most fulfilling in my life.

I was placed with a local NGO that worked with vulnerable children in Phnom Penh and around Cambodia. The work was very interesting -- I edited reports, wrote proposals, attended site visits, and advised on fundraising and marketing strategies. The most valuable part of my "work" was sitting in the office of the NGO's deputy director and just talking in English to him. We spent long periods just talking with me helping him improve his English and learn more about the world.

I used the volunteer experieince to integrate into the lively expat scene and loved living in Phnom Penh. Using common sense and heeding the advice of other expats, I felt completely safe.

I absolutely loved me experience, feel like I made a minor contribution, but took away a profound connection to that part of the world.

Would highly recommend the AJWS experieince to other mid-career professionals looking to do something meaningful.

AJWS placed me as a volunteer with the Cambodia Women's Movement Organization (CWMO) in 2010. I worked in Phnom Penh for six months, helping CWMO develop a strategic and fundraising plan for their work supporting female garment factory workers. AJWS provided a great orientation for the volunteer cohort prior to volunteer time, which set our expectations well and prepared us for the challenges and joys of our upcoming experience. My colleagues at CWMO were immensely appreciative of my work with them, and I learned so much about Cambodian labor issues. I participated in meetings with other key organizations and traveled around the country with CWMO. My AJWS volunteer peers were all wonderful, thoughtful people. I have remained close with some of them upon my return to the U.S. I would highly recommend the AJWS Volunteer Corps program to anyone interested in making a meaningful impact abroad!