Your Meaningful Vacation : Volunteer in Cambodia
Cambodia is one of the rising countries in Asia after many difficult years in the past. The country has so much to offer and the world is discovering it as travelers are heading for this wonderful country. Travelers are also getting more and more interested in getting to know Cambodia in a more meaningful way. And so the idea of volunteering in Cambodia is becoming more and more popular and is a great way for a meaningful trip to this great country.
There is lots of poverty in Cambodia and with lots of help needed. As the country is rebuilding there is so much that needs to be done and most people are still very poor. As a volunteer you will be able to make your personal contribution to a child life and to the country in general.
To volunteer in Cambodia means to help out and work with local charities, shelters for street children, community projects, schools, orphanages, projects for disabled children and other projects. This is a great way to create a worthwhile vacation and give back to the local people.
Volunteering whilst on your vacation is the ultimate meaningful travel experience. You will be able to give back to the ones in need and you will also be able to get to know Cambodia and its people in a much more worthwhile way. And what you will hear again and again from volunteers after their experience is that they had the time of their life and learned so much about themselves. Talk about a life changing experience!
You can do your volunteering in Cambodia from one week up to a few months which makes this wonderful opportunity available for people on a short term or long term basis. Even on a short term basis you can make a great impact on the lives of the local children.
A great destination for your volunteer vacation in Cambodia is Siem Reap. Siem Reap which is the gateway town to the world famous heritage of the Angkor temples. The Angkor temples are world famous and for a good reason as they are wonderful. Also the countryside around Siem Reap is so beautiful that is worth exploring. Siem Reap is easily reached with direct flights from Bangkok for example.
There are many great projects available in Cambodia for your volunteering with many orphanages, shelters for street children, projects for children with disabilities, soup kitchens and community projects available. There are so many projects available that you are easily able to work at a project that suits you best.
Here are some volunteer opportunities in Cambodia.
Teaching English in Cambodia: teach English as a volunteer during your volunteering holiday in Cambodia and teach English to children at orphanages, schools or shelters for street children.
Street Shelters in Cambodia: do volunteer work at shelters for street children is a great way to contribute to the development and education of children in need. It is so important for these children to see a good role model so they can break out of the cycle of poverty and become a success story themselves.
Projects for Children with Disabilities in Cambodia: work at projects for disabled children and teach English to the children, interact with them and help in their rehabilitation.
These are some of the more popular volunteering opportunities available in Cambodia. Have a great trip to Cambodia!
For more info go here Volunteer in Cambodia , Volunteering Cambodia or Vietnam Cambodia. Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/travel-tips-articles/your-meaningful-vacation-volunteer-in-cambodia-914227.html
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For those people looking to give back when they travel to Cambodia, there is also the possibility to “voluntourism”, typical designed as more short-term tourism combined with volunteer work. Some of the benefits of choosing voluntourism is that those who do not have a long time for their vacation can see the sites they want to see while still giving back.
For me, if you choose your voluntourism operator wisely, I think voluntourism can often be the best option for a first visit to a place as the best voluntourism operators (in my opinion) offer a chance to LEARN first, and give second. In a place like Cambodia, with one of if not still THE highest NGO to population ratio, it sometimes feels like there are just as many development agencies doing good as there are those doing harm. By taking a trip designed to teach you about development issues in the area and expose you to well researched NGO programs, you will hopefully walk away with a better understanding of how and where you might want to volunteer more long-term in the future.
This is how we design our tours at PEPY (www.pepytours.com). There is a chance to physically support the projects you visit, but that is secondary to the learning incorporated into our trips. In addition, there is funding provided to the groups we spend the our volunteer time with on our tours. Why? Because a) we wouldn’t be partnering with a group unless we had researched them and found that we wanted to support their work in the long-term, not only for a few days of volunteers b) we recognize that volunteers are not free. Taking the time to train someone, bringing the Executive Director away to give a talk about their programs, etc, are all at the expense of the opportunity cost of lost work which is more in line with the core of their mission. We want the impact of our volunteers to last far beyond the duration of their stay so we invest funds from their trip in these groups and commit to updating our travelers on their impact of their stay for years to come.
As you can see in the documentary film “Changing the World on Vacation” by Daniela Kon, in most cases volunteers “do not change anything. They START something, they spark an idea.” and those are like seeds which need to be tended to and need time to grow. You can see the selects reel from the film here: http://deedaproductions.com/trailer.htm
In other words, I’m very skeptical of short term volunteering and “voluntourism” if it is marketed as THE change agent. Instead, as travelers to a new place, if we recognize that we need to learn first in order to support the development of the area/programs in the most sustainable way, I believe we can have a better impact.
More of my thoughts on voluntourism and “volunteer tourism” here: http://pepyride.ning.com/profiles/blogs/volunteering-or-voluntourism