Securing a safe future for the children has become an issue of great concern in Cambodia. Due to decades of war, exploding land mines, extreme poverty, illiteracy and the diseases like HIV AIDS, many children are destined to shelter into orphanages, and this tendency is increasing the overall number of orphans in the country. Many poor families are not able to bring up their children properly and send them to an orphanage, with access to education, vocational training and health care. Many of those orphan children have been affected by sexual exploitation, trafficking or kidnapping. These disadvantaged children need attention, love, care, and the opportunity to further their education. Various NGOs are implicated in setting up orphanage centers in Phnom Penh, the capital city and in other provinces to contain the ever growing number of orphans and give them a safe and homey environment. On the same way Asia Horizon cooperates with 10 orphanages in Phnom Penh and two other provinces and works to improve the lives of some of the most neglected children in Cambodia who live in orphanages. The children living with the organizations are between 1 and 18 years old, and their parents have died because of poverty or AIDS. Furthermore, many of the children have been affected by sexual exploitation, trafficking or kidnapping. In the orphanages the children have found a safe and secure homey environment.
Although some orphanages receive funds from international donors, many of others are suffered from different problems such as inadequate funding, understaffed; they are struggling to cover daily living expenses. Being an orphanage volunteer in Cambodia, you can make a great difference in the life of these needy and destitute children who are 1-18 years old.
Volunteer’s Activities
As a volunteer in orphanage project in Cambodia, you will primarily assist to boost the knowledge, skill and competence of disadvantaged and poor children of the country. By serving the orphans in orphanages, you will be offering them a different perspective on life that they can carry into adulthood.
In an orphanage you will stay as an elder brother/sister to these children and work alongside the existing staff to care for the children in orphanages. You may have to help in different ways rather than just helping these children out. You are expected to teach English, help in repair work, mending, planning activities or cooking. After the children return from school, you will have to help them with their homework. As a volunteer, you can also organize tours, games, drawings, singing, dancing, painting and helping the children to learn the traditional Khmer dance, strengthening organizational ability, fundraising skills and other activities that the children enjoy and also learn something at the same time.
Project skills required
No specific skills and qualifications are required. However, you must be at least 20 years of old. Volunteers joining orphanage projects should have love and passion for serving poor kids and it will be beneficial if you have some experience in the field of teaching, nursing, construction, gardening or organizational skills. To maintain the physical and mental well being of the children, the volunteers are required to learn about the 'UN convention on child rights' and must sign the 'Code of Conduct' of the orphanage they are placed in. Finally Volunteers should also be flexible, self-motivated with open mind to learn and serve to the people of new culture and religion, patience, kind and supportive.
Arrangement of Food and Accommodation
Asia Horizon makes an appropriate provision for food, room and supervision for its volunteers from the very beginning of their arrival to the country to the end of their project. You will get a brief orientation about the premise and the schedule of the program, living with the Cambodian host family is a great opportunity to understand the Cambodian life, language (especially Khmer), culture, tradition and people. In your volunteering programs, volunteers’ accommodation and food management is provided by a host family and in the placement, cooks prepare a variety of Cambodian food three meals a day (rice, noodle, drinks, various soups, salad, a main fish dish and a Cambodian dessert). You can also get the food from outside if you wish; there are numbers of affordable restaurants and hotels in Phnom Penh. You can’t expect a luxurious bedroom while staying with the host family. However, volunteers joining Asia Horizon-Thailand’s orphanage program stay with the children in a hostel. Asia Horizon arranges a separate room along with a communal bath with cold water and fan for volunteers in both the host families and hostel accommodations but sometimes they may share the room if the number is large. Volunteers are expected to share same life style while staying with the host family; they may join the daily activities such as cooking, cleaning, washing and so on. Though the local fare will be provided twice a day, you will be really enjoy the way of Cambodian hospitality and generosity to the guest.
Project Location
The orphanages are located in the nearby areas of Phnom Penh city, the distance of half an hour drive by motorbike or taxi from the center. Phnom Penh is a charming, rapidly developing city situated at the convergence of three great rivers: the Mekong, Tonle Sap and Bassac. The town offers many tourist attractions such as the Royal Palace, Wat Phnom, National Museum, majestic temples of Angkor Wat in Siem Reap province, Toul Sleng Genocide Museum, the beautiful coconut beaches of Sihanoukville and is an ideal initial point for daily or weekend trips to the provinces and the beach.
The orphanages in Pursat and Kampot are in the province capitals. Both of these calm and average sized cities are situated by a river that invites the volunteers to enjoy sunset on the riverside. It is a half day trip from Pursat to the temples of Angkor Wat and the Tonle Sap. Kampot is close to the beautiful beaches and islands in the gulf of Thailand. In Pursat and Kampot the local people take pleasure in showing the volunteer around and giving the volunteer an idea of country life in Cambodia. The more volunteers have interest, the more will have the opportunity to discover the country and the culture of Cambodia
Visa Information
It is the responsibility of volunteers to manage their own tickets and visa.Any traveler to Cambodia can stay on a tourist visa (20 US $) or a business visa (25 US $) for one month. The visas can be obtained at the Cambodian Embassy in your country or at the Pochentong International Airport in Phnom Penh upon arrival. But we strongly recommend you to get a tourist visa prior to your arrival. It saves time and hassle of filling out the form in the airport, making sure you have all the documents required, and queuing up to apply for the visa.The tourist visa can be extended for one month (40 US $) and the business visa can be extended for a maximum one year (for 3 months 80 US $, for 6 months 160 US $ and for 12 months 290 US $). Lastly, if you wish to stay for longer period, we will take care for that.
Project Fee & Date Information
Program Date: Asia Horizon volunteer Program begins with your arrival at Pochentong International Airport in Phnom Penh on Sunday, the day before of your project. A one-day orientation about the program including project sites, types of work, local food, climate, safety issues, health issues, culture people etc. will be provided in Phnom Penh office before you start the project.
Program Fees: Our program fee is 80-100% less than most international volunteer organizations.
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