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Volunteering in Cambodia
This January Project Trust were excited to send Volunteers back to Cambodia for the first time since the pandemic.
Below Anna and Skye tell us what their first 5 months living and volunteering in Phnom Penh, Cambodia have been like.
Skye and I embarked on our Project Trust journey in January, volunteering at Don Bosco Technical School Phnom Penh where we teach English, assist with extra-curricular activities, and help look after the boarder girls. We have currently passed the halfway mark and it’s difficult to put into words how fantastic our experience has been thus far despite a few difficulties in the beginning. It’s been wonderful to talk to the students and watch as they gain more confidence while speaking English and interacting with us.
There have been many memorable times so far spent with the students and staff. The Khmer New Year celebrations have been a highlight. During the month-long celebration, we played numerous traditional games including lots of running, and danced every day. We’re quickly becoming fans of Khmer music. We were able to engage with and have fun with both students and staff. There was nonstop joy and laughter. We all wore traditional Khmer dress for the day which contributed to our discovery of the various traditions and cultural aspects of this celebration. One of our favourite moments was when we danced and sprayed water at each other with hoses, as playing with water is an important part of New Year celebrations here. These moments will live with us forever.
The Don Bosco Feast Day which was held in January was yet another extremely memorable occasion. This was a four-day celebration where we remembered the founder of the Salesian community, watched the students play football matches and other games, and ate traditional Khmer food. It was an exciting atmosphere as the students claimed the football championship. The following day we had mass and got assigned our team colours – green and blue respectively and joined the students in a quiz about the life of Don Bosco. Over the course of the 4 days, the colour teams competed in various events culminating in the distribution of trophies. It was lovely to learn more about the Salesian community and the important values Don Bosco represents.
One piece of advice we can share is that the best days are the ones you don’t expect. We can’t wait to see what the next few months looks like and hope to continue sharing these special moments with our students.
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Abbie Brown, Ghana
Hi, I’m Abbie and I am currently living with Eliza, my project partner, in Anyako Kpota, Ghana.
Even though my time volunteering is slowly coming to an end, I want to share the amazing experiences I have had over the past 7 months.
Anyako Kpota is a very small town which is located in the Volta Region of Ghana. Anyako (the main town) is located on the island which is in the Keta Lagoon. We are based only a 15 minute walk away from Anyako and a few minutes walk away from the lagoon (we get a lovely breeze so are not suffering too badly from the heat!). Our school is only a 2 minute walk from the house and compared to other schools, it looks very big. We have the Basic School (which contains Kindergarten, Primary and JHS – Junior High School) and then we also have the Senior High School (equivalent to Sixth Form or College). I teach JHS 1 which contains 24 students with ages ranging from 12 to 20. I also teach JHS 2 which contains over 50 students and are between the ages of 13 and 22!
The subject I teach is Career Technology and it is certainly a challenging subject to teach. Career technology is a mix of life skills, science, home economics and business (it certainly covers a wide variety of different topics).
Despite being very busy with teaching and writing exams, I have had a chance to explore many different regions in Ghana. Some of the places I have been lucky enough to experience is Accra (the Capital city), Ho (the capital of the Volta Region), Tamale, Kumasi, Mole and also all the way across the coast to Busua. Even though every different area of Ghana has its own attributes, I have noticed that Ghana as a whole is such a warm-hearted country. Everywhere I have been to, everyone has been so welcoming and helpful even when we do not know them! This is something I am definitely going to miss.
The last 7 months have definitely been an emotional rollercoaster but I have had the best experience of my life! The initial month in Ghana was such a culture shock but I was too excited about starting to teach and explore a different country. Personally, I found Christmas time the hardest as I had been in Ghana for a fair amount of time and was starting to miss home. However, home was only a phone call away and I was able to talk to the other volunteers if I needed to. This start of this year has flown by and it will not be long till I have finished my journey in Ghana.
Between all the teaching and travelling, I have also been able to help with netball at the school. We have a full sized netball/basketball course that is well used! I have been sharing my journey on both Instagram and Facebook so people who have supported me throughout my Project Trust journey and also people who are thinking of volunteering, can gain a deeper insight on my experience. Recently, I started up a blog where I am going to share more about my day-to-day life; it is going to take a lot of work as I have only a few posts but it is a start!
Keep up with Abbie’s adventures here: Abbies Volunteering Year in Ghana (site123.me)