VOLUNTEER IN COMBODIA

HIV/AIDS is not just a health problem but also a social, developmental and economical problem that has a great impact for development in Cambodia. The HIV/AIDS epidemic and drug abuse have promoted poverty, low life expectancy, high infant mortality and malnutrition. Drug use, poverty and HIV/AIDS epidemic are still the major problems in Cambodia. HIV spreads more rapidly among injecting drug users as the injecting equipment is shared between people and it leads people to have unsafe sex and multiple sex partners as they trade sex to buy the drugs.. It is estimated that there are 2500 drug users who are HIV positive in Cambodia.

Asia Horizon offers its HIV/AIDS and Drug Abuse program in Cambodia to provide treatment, counseling and education. Our program focuses on promoting awareness on HIV prevention and sexual health along with other community activities such as community education and income generation. The goals of this program are to prevent further spreading of HIV/AIDS in Cambodia and to reduce the harm caused by the disease. This program also targets the high-risk group of drug users, educating them about detoxification and capacity building and the links between drug use and HIV/AIDS. We always ask for the support from the interested volunteers in this project, your small effort may help to stop and prevent the epidemic of HIV/AIDS in Cambodia.

Volunteer’s Activities
As a volunteer, you will be counseling about HIV/AIDs especially to the females, about harm reduction, prevention, hygiene, sexual health. You are strongly encouraged to dedicate your time taking care of HIV/AIDS infected children and people, and get them engaged in various educational activities to increase their awareness on the disease. Volunteers can also help in administrative work of the organization.

Project Skills Required
There are no specific qualifications required for the volunteers working in HIVAIDS and Drug Abuse awareness project. However, you must be at least 20 years of old. This project is open to any volunteers who are willing to share their love, time and compassion with the HIV patients and drug users. The basic requirement you need is genuine interest and open to counsel the patients and make them aware. Volunteers should also be flexible, self-motivated with open mind to learn and serve the people of new culture and religion. Finally you need to be kind, generous, helpful, learning and unbiased.

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 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.

Living, Working and Safety Issue
Living and working in a poor and developing country is really challenging. It demands courage, some experiences and the ability to adapt. It can be overwhelming to adjust in a completely new environment. The climate, food, and atmosphere – everything is different than your hometown. You will be faced with a harsh social reality every day of your volunteer work and experience things a tourist never sees.

Independence, maturity, flexibility and the desire to do social work are required if you want to take part in the volunteer work program. Asia Horizon takes full responsibility for your safety and tries its level best to bring sense of security and peace of mind in you from the time of your first arrival to the completion of your project in a host country. When we receive your flight information, we will make the necessary arrangements here for your airport pick-up. Generally, volunteers arrive on Sunday. Our country coordinator will be there to welcome you at the airport, to pick up and take you to your accommodation, and you will receive basic orientation about your itinerary and placement along with a comprehensive briefing on the country and specific locale by the coordinator and transfer to the project on the following day or after the one week orientation. The staff/ coordinator will accompany you until you have a sense of complete safety. You are allowed to contact 24/7with an assigned person directed by Asia Horizon during your stay. We will be fulfilling our additional duties such as monitoring, guiding and counseling. Our staff/ coordinator will be there all the time supporting, assisting and coordinating you.