www.abroaderview.org Volunteering Abroad in Chile: Chile, the longest country in the World, claims almost 3000 miles of the Pacific shoreline. This is a land of contrasts and extremes; with glacial landscapes of Patagonia in the south and the heat of the famously dry Atacama Desert in the north. Running almost the entire length of the country are the impressive peaks of the Andes mountain chain which are visible from many towns and cities. Since Chile is one of the narrowest countries – only about 125 miles at its widest point, the sea and the mountains are never more than about two to three hours apart, anywhere in the country. Chile’s striking natural wonders, its rich cultural history, friendly people and security make it an ideal volunteer location. Chile has seen many changes in the past 25 years, now boasting one of the most stable economies in South America. Though Chile’s economy appears to be the fastest growing economies in the region, Chile suffers from one of the most uneven distributions of wealth in the world. There are estimates that almost 60% of Chileans live near or below poverty levels, with almost 3 million living in extreme poverty. Our programs allow you to take part in meaningful community service work, while discovering the people, sights, smells and tastes of Chile. Volunteering in Chile is a way to totally immerse yourself in Spanish culture. This is a great opportunity to make life-long friends, learn a foreign language and discover that one …

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Ever wanted to be an expat living in the sun? Want to live in the sun? Fancy moving to Spain, France, Portugal, or Even Greece? Let us (your fellow expats) show you how to move abroad in just 30 days like we have done. Follow your expat dream & relocate!
Move Abroad In 30 Days – Follow Your Expat Dreams Today!

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You cannot be long in Senegal without noticing the talibé. Shoeless and dwarfed by outsize, ragged football shirts, they weave between the taxis and the stately women in vibrant boubou; crawl between the wheels of stationary carts like cats seeking shade; trot in the wake of well-fed tourists with their trademark cry, “donne moi cent francs” (the equivalent of 10p). If, new to the country and the concept of these skinny, wide-eyed boys, you take pity and dig in your purse, you are suddenly pressed to the wall by talibé tugging at every available shred of clothing, shrieking and shouting, “donne moi cent francs! Donne moi cent francs!”

To understand the talibé, whose youths pass in thirteen hour days begging on the streets and in nights bent over a copy of the Koran, you must discover the cramped Daaras where they live and then the elusive, sometimes almost mythical figures of the marabous, who act as masters, teachers, punishers and a loveless version of parents to the boys. A boy’s life as a talibé begins from the age of five upwards, when his parents, usually impoverished labourers from remote rural villages or sometimes Mali and Mauritania, give him up to the marabout in return for ready cash and the vague promise of a religious education and a better life in the city for their son. Sometimes the parents, who have barely been beyond the confines of the village and are themselves poorly educated, believe the grand stories the marabouts tell; sometimes they simply, conveniently allow themselves to be deceived by the tantalizing sums they’re offered. And so the boy leaves with the marabout, perhaps on his first journey to the city; overwhelmed by the blaring horns of the taxis, the crush of people, the lorries and the diesel fumes. But these streets will be his work and his livelihood; they will support him until the age of 15 or 16, when he leaves the Daara to fend for himself.

He will arrive at the Daara, whose façade is little different to one of the more unkempt houses in the district, and be shown where he will sleep: an alcove the size of a small room, shared with anything between 10 to 15 other boys. Half-heartedly cleaned T-shirts hang from the fronds of a banana tree; the marabout discourages washing, as the dirtier the boy, the more likely he is to be pitied by a toubab or a passer-by and given a few cents. He will leave the Daara early in the morning to beg, or, as he gets older, to carry shopping and run errands. He has to bring 300 cents home a day (30p) – if he doesn’t, the marabout will beat him. This constant pressure will perhaps force him, one day, like many of the other boys, to theft and a lifetime of scrapping with the gendarmes.

When he returns in the evening, if he has the requisite amount of money, he is fed before two hours of Koran study. They learn to write in Arabic and to recite vast tracts of the holy scriptures. Mostly, they have no idea what they are saying means. Depending on how liberal the marabout, some of the younger boys will be sent to a conventional primary school to learn a smattering of French and basic maths and science, but some will not go at all. And so their time passes, shaking tin cans on street corners, until they receive their leaving certificate: a ticket to an adulthood of petty criminality and the most unskilled of jobs. Some boys save religiously for years to scrape together the fare to go back to their villages and the parents who sold them years earlier and with whom they have had no contact since, which, all considered, demonstrates an astonishing capacity for forgiveness.

To the casual tourist, this complicated story translates, after the initial stab of pity and sympathy provoked by their buck­toothed, grinning faces, as a daily battle to avoid them. They quickly become a nuisance; you cease to see a face but rather the trademark grubby shorts and the bare feet, and you look to see if you can cross to the other side of the street. Picnicking in the park, the chanted “j’ai faim, j’ai faim” becomes a minor irritation, like seagulls hopping round your feet watching for crumbs, instead what it should be: a hungry; thirsty, parentless small boy, who is desperately eyeing your feast of nuts, cheese, fruit and bread for any chance bits of leftovers you might happen to throw him.

So what exists to help the talibé? Who, if anyone, tries to pacify the secretive, possessive marabouts, who are quickly roused to anger if they perceive you as trying to ‘compete’ in the upbringing of the boys, and at the same time tries to offer them some kind of security; a place to go to relax, free from the stresses of the Daara? The answer: talibé centres like the ATT, staffed entirely by local volunteers and, occasionally, foreign helpers. The ATT centre, And Taxawu Talibé, is situated on a patch of rubbish-strewn wasteland in one of the poorest quartiers of Sor, St Louis. The local children, who come out to watch the toubab go by, are grubbier and their faces more closed than those in other neighbourhoods, and they too benefit from the centre, which treats them for cuts and grazes and, on occasion, feeds them.

The doors of the ATT are always open, and it offers card games, swimming, sport activities and, most importantly breakfasts and dinners three times a week, which about 80 children have come to rely on. These are run by Projects Abroad volunteers, and also funded by the organization. There is a shower room (which the boys only use after much persuasion!) and a room with mattresses where they can sleep. However, there are only two or three regulars, as the marabouts send the older boys – who often develop a loyalty to their masters as strong as to a parent, despite the fact they are often treated appallingly – to round up the younger ones and bring them back to the Daara and the inevitable beating. One of the youngest boys, 6, returns every day to the centre with a broad grin across his face, thinking he’s free, only to be taken away again towards evening.

The Projects Abroad volunteers can arrange to drop by and participate in some of the activities (recent ones including drawing and a treasure hunt). It’s strange to watch the talibé playing Uno, giggling, wanting to show off and win in front of the toubabs , making rapid and fervent attachments to any adult figures who come into contact with them, joking amongst themselves, slapping the cards down, hiding them under the table. At times like these it’s hard to see their energy, their charm, and know that they sleep where and if they can, sometimes on the streets; they eat what rubbish they can; and that whatever innocence they have they will soon lose. It’s also at times like these that they seem most like boys.

Sometimes they snap from play to barely controllable rage, squabbling viciously over a slice of bread or over some throw-away comment. At times like this, no amount of shouting will distract them from their blind fury. This is in evidence in Assane, who thinks he’s about 12, whose right eye is misshapen, missing a pupil and a milky blue. Look closer, and you can see bubbles in the film that stretches across it. He says that a fellow talibé attached him with a stick in 2002, after which his sight gradually deteriorated until he is now completely blind in that eye.

Many boys suffer from skin complaints: Malick, 8, has great tracts of swollen, weeping redness over his legs and scabies all over his head. Katrin, from Germany, and a foreign volunteer at the centre, has to clean and cover it every day, despite his protests. Seydou, 16, is a mere 5”2 and lives at the centre. He seems much younger than his age, and gets a childish pleasure out of reciting ‘head, shoulders, knees and toes’ in French. And then there is my favourite, Touba, whose face is so open and happy and who always reaches over to take your hand….

The main problem is how to attract more boys to the centre, particularly during the day when there are sometimes as many stagiaires as talibé, without totally alienating the marabouts, whose support is vital if organizations like ATT can continue to try integrating boys into society and giving them skills – like French, dyeing clothes, sewing and practical training -that they would never have gained otherwise. It is extremely rewarding to work there and even just to be there and see the invaluable work that Katrin, Hajime (a stagiaire from a US university), and Maimouna and Marie, the local coordinators do.

Find Out About Our Projects in Senegal

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From the first time she set foot on the beach in St Louis teaching volunteer Danielle Paffard wondered what could be done to help clear the litter that spoils an otherwise idyllic spot. Having decided to extend her placement by a month at the end of January, she set about finding a way to organise the big clean-up.

At first it all seemed simple – surely plenty of St Louis’ Talibés – street children, would be happy to help, in return for a day off from begging, a bit of lunch, and the chance to play on the beach. But the Marabouts weren’t so sure. So, with the help of Issa (one of the Projects Abroad staff in Senegal) , Danni set of on a tour of local Marabouts to explain the plan and ask them to let their Talibés participate. Together they managed to put across a convincing presentation, and one by one the Marabouts agreed to cooperate. Donations from the volunteers, Projects Abroad and friends at home had begun to mount up and it was decided to pay each Marabout a small amount as a gesture of goodwill.

With around a hundred Talibés now able to come to the beach, the problem was how to get them from the Talibé Centre in Sor on the mainland to Hydrobase, about four miles away on the peninsular. Danni’s skills of persuasion meant that after a meeting at the local barracks, she found herself in charge of two army trucks and ten men for the day! The local council had already agreed to provide a tractor, refuse sacks and litter-picking sticks, and suggested that when we’d done the beach we could maybe start on the rest of the town…

By 9 o’clock on Sunday morning the lorries had ferried over 100 Talibés to Hydrobase beach and they were getting stuck in to the litter picking – although many of them seemed far too distracted by having a free day on the beach to do too much work. Luckily the volunteers were also up early and in a more industrious mood and were soon filling up their sacks… Following announcements on the local radio and in St Louis schools, several more willing pairs of hands turned up throughout the morning, as well as a few curious onlookers.

Meanwhile, back at the Projects Abroad office a mission was underway to make enough sandwiches and juice to feed 150 hungry workers. Three different bakeries were relieved of all their bread and got to close early for the day as we gathered up enough loaves. The arrival at the beach of two chocolate-spread-smeared people carrying three sacks of ‘lunch’ prompted a mini stampede of Talibés, but once some crowd-control measures had been put in place, everyone somehow ended up with a sandwich and settled down in the (litter-free) sand to tuck in. The day proved not to have been too educative when several Talibés had to be reprimanded for throwing their plastic cups away on the beach! They were last seen disappearing back to their compounds on the backs of the army lorries, happily singing improvised songs about chocolate spread and orange juice, while several truly dedicated volunteers worked well into the afternoon finishing off a great clean-up effort.

Find Out About Our Projects in Senegal

www.projects-abroad.co.uk

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Medical volunteers in Bolivia, at the same time as doing their main work at the Burns Unit of Viedma Hospital and the Centro de Salud Sarcobamba, have taken part in important community projects. These have included vaccination programmes and dental hygiene campaigns.

The vaccination campaign was organised by the Head Doctor at the Centro de Salud Sarcobamba who passed a huge “Gracias” to Projects Abroad for providing her and her staff with “caring and dedicated volunteers.” The volunteers helped the local medical staff to vaccinate over 600 school children against Yellow Fever and Tetanus in schools in and around Cochabamba, where the Projects Abroad office is based.

Medical volunteers have the opportunity to gain experience in a wide variety of areas, including physiotherapy, nursing and assisting with surgery at the Burns Unit, as well as paediatrics, gynaecology and pharmaceutics at the Centro de Salud Sarcobamba. Working on the medical projects can be challenging and emotional at times, but the medical staff appreciate the volunteers’ help, and medicine in Bolivia is one of the most rewarding projects in which to get involved.

Current medical volunteer, Kyle Saggers from Australia, says “Bolivia is incredible. I can safely say I have never been this happy in my entire life. This is an awesome experience and when I get home I will be recommending it to all of my friends.” Kyle has decided to extend his stay in Bolivia to continue his medical placement.

Find Out About Our Medical Placements in Bolivia

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Schools separated by over 5000 miles have been brought together by two Projects Abroad volunteers in a pen-pal story that has captured the imaginations and even the hearts of the students involved.

Students from Secundaria 45 in Mexico and Selkirk High School in Scotland began emailing each other back in January as part of their respective English and Spanish lessons. Since then, two other Scottish schools – Kelso and Earlston High – have also got involved in the project.

This idea was the brainchild of Hector and Violet Christie, a retired couple from Selkirk in Scotland. They went out to Mexico with Projects Abroad for a three month teaching placement at the start of the year, living and working in a district of Guadalajara called Zapopan. Seeing the benefit that the students were gaining from having native English-speakers taking their lessons, the Christies discussed the idea of putting the students in touch with people of their own age from their local school back in Selkirk. Although school from the UK generally concentrate more on teaching French and German, Selkirk High did have 5 students who were studying GCSE Spanish, and within days emails began to wing their way across the Atlantic.

Students were initially asked to write in their pen-pal’s native language, but as time went by and the scheme became more popular, the schools began experimenting with writing in their own languages and translating the replies. In this way students were able to improve in all the four areas of writing, speaking, reading and listening.

The two sets of students exchanged information about themselves, their families, their interests and their local areas. But it wasn’t until Kelso High School got involved that the student’s began sending each other their photographs. Hector and Violet explained to us the huge impact this had on one of their Mexican students – a 14 year-old boy named Ulisses: “He developed a real crush on his pen-pal. When we pointed out that she was 16, and maybe a little too old for him, he paused for a few moments before announcing in perfect English: ‘Love knows no barriers’ ! “

The Christies have recently returned to Scotland, but have left safe in the knowledge that the schools’ students will continue to benefit from the link. “I was originally concerned about the longevity of the project, because the lack of email resources at Secundaria 45 had meant that the emails had to be sent out by myself from a local internet café” Hector told us, “however it was pointed out to me that Internet Cafes are incredibly popular with the youth in Mexico, and the school was so happy with the positive impact this project had had that it would not only continue as part of their own curriculum, but would be offered to other schools in the local area as well”

Find Out About Our Teaching Projects in Mexico

www.projects-abroad.co.uk

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Assistant Country Manager, Jo Walton, has been working in our Cambodian team after working for us in Sri Lanka for one year. Jo coordinated regular ‘Dirty weekends’ in Sri Lanka – a concept where a big group of volunteers generally get messy whilst helping one of our projects by cleaning, painting and numerous other activities. Here she tells us about the first Cambodian ‘Dirty Weekend’.

The first outing for our brand new Projects Abroad Cambodia ‘Dirty Weekends’ is a clean up day at the Lighthouse orphanage just south of Phnom Penh.

The lighthouse orphanage is funded purely on donations from tourists, and as a result various aspects of it are in a terrible state of disrepair. The kids are happy, wonderfully welcoming, and mostly speak ok English, which makes a change! It is set in a spacious plot of land – there’s a huge play area with volleyball net, a concrete classroom, a small farm that some previous volunteers set up, and recently a French couple has built a pig sty and donated them some pigs. The whole place is covered in asbestos, which the kids break up and play with it – a small girl came over to me the other day with a play dinner set with some dried fish (asbestos) and salad (chopped up nettles) and offered it to me. Nice.

Despite their huge smiles, some of the kids here look pretty grim. Many of them have rotten teeth, that cause them considerable discomfort, so we bought them soap and toothpaste and had some volunteers teach them the basics of keeping themselves clean. The older ones are pretty good at this, but some of the younger ones are more lax (understandably, how many 5 year olds do you know that don’t have to be reminded to have a bath?). And so, one team of volunteers began the unenviable task of cleaning the children, laundering all the bed sheets and blankets, and doing locker inspections and sorting out the worst of their clothes to give them a scrub like they’d never seen before! I genuinely wouldn’t have believed that their blankets were actually multi-coloured – the dirt was so engrained that I really thought they were all shades of brown and grey. I’ve also never seen the volunteers so clean either – none of them even had the traditional grubby flip flop marks!

Another one of the major issues here is that the pathway to the bathroom, via the pump where they get all their water from, is actually made of a pile of raised rubble and broken tiles, so the kids constantly cut their feet whenever they’re running around, or every time they go to wash. Projects Abroad donated all the raw materials to build a proper concrete path over the whole area. After a bizarre start, which involved digging a big hole elsewhere and transporting more mud and broken tiles to the area (I don’t know a huge amount about concreting stuff, but I’m not sure that’s the way I would have started!), and naturally lots of tea breaks, Projects Abroad’s Assistant Manager – Sophan, the volunteers and two of the orphanage staff got started.

Once they did, I’m amazed at how quickly it all went down. By the end of the day, they had a full path, about 1.5m across and 15m long, running from the play area to the bathroom, past the pump. The boys who worked on this deserve a medal! I’ve never seen people sweat so much and not give up. I think Sam can freely go around Phnom Penh this weekend using the phrase “I am all that is man” as much as he likes after that effort!

The final hurdle is the rubbish. Unfortunately, the Lighthouse is too far from the main road to have a rubbish collection. Since they’re not allowed to dump rubbish at the main road for collection, and assuming that they’ll start separating and recycling their rubbish is more than a bit hopeful, it was decided that the only alternative left was to burn it. Not exactly my favourite method of refuse disposal, being a bit of a green bean, but let’s face it, this is Cambodia – anything else just isn’t going to happen.

So, we hired a couple of guys to dig a nice deep hole for them to burn their rubbish in at the back of the farm area, well away from where the kids play. It was a slow start, I could be heard at various stages saying that in no uncertain terms, Cambodian builders were even slower than their British counterparts, and cursed myself for allowing myself to be talked into paying them by the day and not by the job. For the first few hours there was a single spade being passed around the four of them (despite the fact that there were three other spades leaning against the tree that they were sitting smoking under….), but once they got started….. I’ve never seen anything like it! They basically dug an Olympic sized swimming pool out the back while I wasn’t looking! The rubbish hole turned out to be in a handy location, as it dawned on the manager that it could double up as a run off for the pig manure from the new pig sty – not that I think they’ll be making much manure for a while – they’re soooo small!!

Even though we can’t get them recycling, we can get them to separate out raw foodstuffs and leaves to make their own compost for the farm. Some old volunteers had set up a compost heap here, but due to the high winds blowing in plastic and all sorts, and the fact that it had no lid so the sun was cooking it everyday, it wasn’t rotting down successfully. So we bought them three old oil drums with lids, that can be filled in succession, so that once the last one is full, the first will normally have rotted down sufficiently that they can empty the fresh compost, and start to fill it again.

This was by far the hardest part of my shopping list to get hold of (except possibly nit combs – try explaining what a nit comb is to a man who thinks you’re already slightly bonkers without ending up in the hair accessories section of Olympic market doing impressions of small bugs, and demonstrating picking through someone’s hair like a gorilla), so I’ll have to admit I’m a little disappointed when they arrive and they’re still half full of oil. Far be it from a bit of oil to get in the way of a Cambodian, and Sophan (who’s in his element with all this manliness and I’ve never seen so excited – and excited is his default setting so we’re going through the roof) runs off to get some laundry soap and a rag and proves to me that it can indeed (with plenty of water) get oil out of drums.

After a short tuition session on what asbestos looks like, why you shouldn’t go near it if you come across it, and the doling out of heavy duty gloves and masks, all the volunteers take part in a final sweep of the whole area to remove all the rubbish that’s blowing around the site. By this time, all the kids and their belongings are clean, the compost all separated, the path’s well on it’s way to being finished, and my lot are started to look more than a little bedraggled. So I collect everyone’s Projects Abroad T-shirts (whose idea was it to make those white?!) to donate to my washing machine at home, which I don’t think knew what hit it, and it’s off home for a well earned shower.

All the volunteers who took part were taken out for dinner on us, to say thanks for all their huge effort. I’m not naïve enough to think that you can change the world in one day, but we put some basic things in place today that will hopefully encourage some grass roots change in the way they deal with their rubbish, made it safe for the kids to wash, and by getting the kids involved in the washing process in a fun way, hopefully inspired them to do it properly more often!

Thanks so much to everyone who helped out; Mr Lee from the orphanage asked me to pass on his gratitude to you all – he was really impressed by the way everyone got stuck in!

Find Out About Our Projects in Cambodia

www.projects-abroad.co.uk

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Projects Abroad are delighted to have supported ICTC this summer to bring a hugely successful summer course to the children of low-income families. Support for the project in the Mexican town of Cd. Guzman came in the form of financial help through sponsorship of pupils and volunteers lending their time to teach.

ICTC (International Cambridge Training Centre) organised a summer school course for young children between the ages of 6 to 12 years old. The Institute which normally specialises in providing English tuition for all ages hosted a course of activities which covered arts & crafts, drama, computing sports as well as English lessons. The initial response for the course was overwhelming, 50 children immediately applied to take part.

The first aim of the institute’s work is to provide good quality English lessons and so Projects Abroad were more than happy to arrange for our volunteers to assist the local Mexican teachers. The teachers were able to focus on the grammar side of things. The volunteers meanwhile with their skill of being native English speakers focused on the conversational side and how the language actually works in practice. With everyone participating and playing to their strengths all the pupils received a really enjoyable and well rounded curriculum.

Furthermore, the institute does its utmost to create programmes which integrate an element of community service in its work. With that in mind Projects Abroad worked with them to sponsor 10 children from very low income families to participate in the course. The orphans chosen were from the DIF (Desarrollo Integral de la Familia) a government department which carries out a lot of a lot of social care work in local communities.

One of the highlights of the project was undoubtedly the closing ceremony. The students all performed a series of four plays in English. The enthusiasm from both the volunteers and students was quite evident to everyone watching and was a sight to behold. The students put on a seamless performance and were thoroughly deserving of the diplomas they were presented with at the end of the course.

Projects Abroad would like to thank everyone involved but especially Vanessa Reufsteck, Verena Linke and Kate Turner who selflessly dedicated their time, effort and commitment to make the project so successful. We are sure that they must be as pleased with the results of their hard work as everyone else is.

Find Out About Our Teaching Placements in Mexico

Visit Our Main Website

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Cambodia was my second stop during 6 months of travel through Projects Abroad. Having just come from Thailand I knew that this experience would be very different.

I arrived full of nerves and feeling very uncertain about things, having just left what I considered to be my home in Thailand and some very good friends. After a variable nights sleep, the next day was my induction to this new country.

My first impression of Phnom Penh was that it was extremely hot, busy and dusty, not to mention the chaos of the traffic. The induction included visiting Toul Sleung Genocide Museum (S-21) the former high school converted to a prison by the Khmer Rouge, and Choeung Ek known as The Killing Fields. I found these visits extremely difficult to cope with. To see what the Khmer people had been put through was very painful and it was a horrible experience, but I also think that it is one that everyone who visits Cambodia should endure. Although difficult, I feel it is vital to experience this to gain some kind of understanding into what the country and the people have been through. My day also included a trip to the Palace, which was a welcome break from the horrors I had been faced with in the morning and a visit to The Russian Market. So my first day in this new country was very busy and quite hard going and I wondered upon my time in Cambodia and whether I would ever feel like I could be happy there.

However my next day turned everything around. I was taken to my placement which would be at the Maryknoll Little Sprouts group homes. This day was special because all the houses had got together to hold a party for the Prince of Denmark who is one of the donors. I was left in the garden of one of the homes and faced with a multitude of children and before long I had a number of them climbing over me. The party was a success and the children clearly had a great time dancing on the stage. After my lunch I went back to one of the houses and played with the children all afternoon, pushing them on the swings, providing numerous piggybacks and then feeding them at the end of the day.

This group home was known as the ECD (Early Childhood Development) House, and was home to 13 children aged between 2 and 5 years. All of the children that are cared for have HIV and are mainly orphans because their parents have died from AIDS. It is quite hard when you first learn this and you feel sorry for the children, but after spending only a short amount of time with them it is easy to see that they are some of the happiest children you will ever meet and it is clear that the carers that spend everyday with them love them all and give them the best care you could imagine.

I spent my two months with these children and had the best time looking after them, no two days were ever the same. The children are all amazing and I fell in love with each and every one of them. As well as being adorable they were also often very mischievous, and never ceased to amaze me in the things they would get up to!

My mornings were spent playing with the children outside, and sometimes we would watch tv – they used to love it when karaoke was on so they could all dance. Then they would have lunch, and a nap.

At this time I would go home for my lunch and have a break which was welcome because anyone who has ever worked with children knows how exhausting it can be, not to mention the extreme heat we were faced with. Why didn’t anyone tell me that I would be going to Cambodia during the hottest time of the year?!!

After lunch I would help get the children up from their nap. They were then bathed and I would dry them and cover them in talcum powder (which they loved). Next I would help to dress them, though some were quite particular about which clothes they wanted to wear, often causing tears when they started to fight over a certain t-shirt or dress! Once they were all dressed they would spend the afternoon playing outside and I used to sit and do their hair. The girls loved lots of plaits, and even the boys would get me to put a band in theirs! The afternoon session normally went quite quickly and soon enough I was collected and taken home for the evening.

Away from work we found lots of things to occupy our spare time and got to know the city pretty well. Including going to mediation at Wat Lanka, quiz night at the Lazy Ghecko and sampling their amazing desserts, and happy hour cocktails and delicious pizzas at The FCC. After my initial doubts about being happy there, I soon grew very fond of Phnom Penh and all it had to offer.

Outside of the city there are so many places within the country to visit, even in the two months I was there I didn’t get to see everything, but what I did see helped me to really gain a feel for the country and grow to love it. During my stay I visited Kampot and Kep in the south of the country, and Kratie to see the rare Irrawaddy fresh water dolphins in the Mekong river. Sihanoukville is a must if you want a break from the city and a chance to relax at the beach, however my visit wasn’t quite the same as most, as me and two other volunteers went there with the children from work – almost 200 of them! Although not the relaxing weekend we perhaps could have done it was a lot of fun and really great to see the children and their carers enjoying themselves building sandcastles and playing in the sea. It is something I will never forget.

Finally no trip to Cambodia would be complete without a visit to Siem Reap and the ruined temples of Angkor. A group of 7 of us headed off first thing on a Saturday morning for the long bus journey, and that evening we went to the temples to watch the sunset. Another early start the next day in order to watch the sunrise over the most famous temple, Angkor Wat. It was a shame that our guides’ definition of sunrise somewhat differed from ours, however it was still good to get such an early start as it meant we had about an hour before the temperature soared and the crowds became extreme. Visiting the temples was pretty remarkable, they really are a sight everyone should see, but it was also a tiring experience, and after a time it does begin to feel that you aren’t really able to appreciate any more of what you see. Although exhausting I would definitely recommend the trip to anyone, and in the evening we were able to make use of a few of the bars that Siem Reap has to offer.

I will be the first to admit that I had a bit of a shaky start on arrival in Cambodia and had doubts about the whole experience, but once I saw the children it made me realise what I was there for. In time I settled into the house and the city, had a lovely time and made some really great friends, with whom I shared some truly memorable moments.

Leaving Cambodia was very hard; once again I was leaving a place that had become home to me and a group of volunteers that had become like a family. But the hardest part was to leave behind the 13 smiling faces that would greet me every day. It was really one of the most difficult things I have ever had to do, their lives really touched me and it was my pleasure to be able to spend so much time getting to know each one of them.

Cambodia is a country that I grew very fond of, and although you may have to look a bit deeper to find it, it is truly beautiful and the people are amazing and friendly especially considering all they have been through in the past. I had an amazing 2 months there, so much so that I am already thinking about my return trip to see more of the country and of course to visit my adorable children who I miss so much.

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