Make a REAL difference in Cambodia with Love Volunteers!

Hello fellow travellers, future travellers and everybody else. I am Sangy, Im from England and I'm 28. So here I am in Cambodia, Siem Reap teaching at Kidtea, a NGO school. So what brings me out here? When I was younger I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to be or do. But one thing I was sure about I wanted to help people. In what manner I did not know but from anything that would better someone's life even if it was by the littlest margin would be worth my time. Often as we get older you get swallowed by daily life and busy working away in much different sectors than you thought you would. But that desire to get out there and help people was still there so I finally took the plunge and booked myself on a project. This was a few years ago and still to this day I still hold such fond memories. To locals who take you in as their own family, to the children who are introvert at first who then go on to give you the biggest and warmest hugs, the loudest and happiest greetings, create such infamous drawings and humorously mimic my English accent.

As cliche as it sounds it has changed me. The world is such a vibrant and unique place with hundreds of different cultures and way of living, so to be a part of one and immerse yourself in a different way than solely visiting or passing through a place, is beyond eye opening.

This is my third voluntary project I have done abroad with Love Volunteers which itself speaks volumes and I just love it more and more each time.

But forget the 'Sangy Story'. If you have or are pondering about doing it, just go out there take the leap and make your own incredible story and journey.

My volunteering experience with the media project was beyond words. The wonderful woman who runs the organisation, Theary, was an absolute treasure. She took a lot of time to explain how the nitty gritty of how NGOs operate, and would take me with her to everything from conferences and meetings to her family friend's wedding. Needless to say that thanks to her I saw so many different sides of the real Cambodia. On top of that, the work was really fulfilling. The days were long, so you felt your time is being used well and you can really see the effects of the effort you put into it.

Alternative Housing and Urban Planning Volunteer

STT work in a variety of sectors which help support and protect the poorest communities in and around Phnom Penh, providing advice on human rights issues, architectural solutions, detailed mapping and land rights documentation as well as acting as a voice for these otherwise unheard communities.

Although my role within STT was to predominantly produce architectural solutions that address the needs of these communities my role also encompassed the land mapping process and working alongside the human rights team to protect those who are vulnerable and in need.

My role gave me with the opportunity to understand the Cambodian culture and architectural process within it.

Meeting with the communities and understanding the wider issues concerning the families within them provided me with a deeper understanding of the challenges they face and allowed me to experience a social side of architecture which I had not previously been involved in. Enabling families to have a voice and hope of a better future has been incredibly rewarding.

I handled a number of projects in varying scales, from individual dwellings to more recently the Chrang Chamres project which is situated on a land area of 6.5 acres and proposes to provide 13,000 new homes and a variety of commercial opportunities for the communities living within the development. My drawings for this project were presented to the local communities, individual residents, directors of NGO's and to donors to make these a built reality in the near future.

Another project I was heavily involved in since my time at STT has been the White Building - a complex and political project concerning the threatened displacement of some 2,500 residents. As well as providing architectural documentation I worked with the human rights team and fellow NGO's in providing feasible solutions to help save the building and secure the tenure for the residents of the building.

As well as the fellow NGO's on this project I worked hand in hand with the residents and village chiefs to ensure any proposals have the full support and approval from all key stakeholders in order to provide a attainable vision of the future in these uncertain times.

My time at STT has been extremely insightful - the roles undertaken, the responsibilities, the respect and the appreciation received from both the communities and my colleagues has been very fulfilling. Working in a third world environment has exposed me to the challenges, constraints and stark realities of life for many people which I hadn't fully appreciated. This first hand experience took me beyond my initial understanding of the Cambodian people and exposed me to new ways of thinking in a new and interesting side of architecture which I believe has helped my professional develop and progression.

Volunteer in Cambodia is an experience for lifetime to me -- Ive seen the things Ive never seen and done the things Ive never done before there!

Love volunteers and the local organisation which was directly responsible for my accommodation and placement were both very helpful. The airport pickup, orientation, city tour as well as the local contact that we could seek help from all contributed to a safe and pleasant stay. The staff of love volunteers always give me prompt response addressing my questions and the local staff never fail to give me a hand whenever I called up asking for help ( they tried their best to offer me assistance even my prob was entirely extraneous to the placement). I do appreciate their help n assistance a lot.

I was both happy with the work and accommodation in Cambodia. The work kept me pretty much busy all the time and the tasks I was assigned to could be challenging sometimes. The host family was nice and clean, above all, the food they cooked was
fantastic!

Hope that you have a great time in Cambodia!

I signed up for 5 weeks Community Development in Phnom Penh. I did not have any work to do at my placement. I went along to meetings, training sessions, conferences and visited the local communities, but I never actually contributed anything. I spent a lot of time in the office, googling things to keep myself amused. From speaking to the others staying at the volunteer hostel I know that I was not the only one in this position. I brought this to the attention of Love Volunteers and the local NGO organizers but nothing could be done about it. They said the end of year is often quiet in the Community Development sector. The disappointing thing is that it looks like volunteers (such as myself) are being accepted without anyone checking if there is a specific project for them to work on.
That said, the pricing of this program is very good and the on the ground staff were very attentive and helpful (when they could be). The volunteer hostel accom is very basic (a little shabby around the edges) but I enjoyed the social side of life there, the saving grace of my 5 weeks.

It was a lovely experience, but I would recommend that you inform a bit more about the local organization. And maybe review, look into the places you locate people more thorough seeing as a few of the volunteers had very little work to do.

And I would have liked to know more about my work beforehand -

A Friend and I went for a few weeks and lived with a host family who were lovely. The in country staff were so helpful and the orientation day at the beginning of your stay allows you to meet others who are doing similar work to you (and are equally as new to the country as you are!) Our actual placement was just outside Phnom Penh (staff helped us organise transport too and from the orphanage) The kids were great, so full of energy even in the heat! We taught English for 2 hours a day and then looked after the children for the rest of the time, it was lovely as it had such a relaxed atmosphere, this was possibly because it didn't feel like we were in the city surrounded by fields and the river! In our free time we explores all the markets and visited Choeung Ek killing fields and S-21. At the weekends we went down to Sihanoukville and up to Siem Reap to see the temples of Angkor (Both are reached very easily- and cheaply- from Phnom Penh!) Overall, had an amazing experience and have already booked to do another placement with Love Volunteers for this summer!