One team, one week and hundreds of memories!
“The atmosphere was great!”
Group volunteering in a great way to make a difference while forming lasting bonds! Late in February, a group of 12 volunteers joined us from the UK to get involved at Helping Hands in the Siem Reap Province.
AMIGO is a UK guarantor loan provider based in Bournemouth. Their first mission is to offer alternative credit to those who would otherwise be excluded by mainstream lending and who have few options. Among this inspiring and caring company, a group of 12 young people decided to fly to Cambodia to give a hand at one of Globalteer's projects! Throughout the week they were involved in different projects such a teaching, gardening, painting, cleaning, and much more! Everyone’s help was needed and greatly welcomed.
Thumbs up for AMIGO!
One main reason the volunteers committed to come to Cambodia was to make an impact on the children’s lives and to help out as much as possible. Additionally, they had the opportunity to get an understanding of the school operations, as well as an overview of what Globalteer do in the field. Moreover, they saw how important their donations are for the project and how a simple dollar can have such a great impact on the improvement of many children’s lives.
Besides helping the children at the project and gaining an understanding of how they live in the countryside, they could see how different it can be from city life and experience two different sides of the Khmer culture.
English Teaching Assistants
During their time at the project, volunteers had an insight on how the lessons are made and supervised in Cambodia. They had the freedom to take part in the class by supporting the tutoring of students in English lessons. The children were excited to learn from them and gave them the warmest of welcomes. They made the volunteers feel comfortable in this new and different environment.
As native speakers, the group helped teachers with new teaching methods, ideas and games to get the students even more interested in learning English. Teaching a new language is quite a challenge. However, everyone showed positivity, enthusiasm and passion in improving the education of the students and the local community.
“The best week of my life.”
Paintings, sports and arts
Under a challenging heat, volunteers were courageous enough to paint a mural and make a big outdoor lesson for students. An amazing and useful idea! The paintings will be used by teachers for outdoor Math or English lessons. Kids love learning with pictures and it is easier for them to remember. As paintings last, it would also benefit the students in upcoming years!
Likewise, the group has been involved in sports programme. Playing football, running and stretching was exhausting in 35°C heat but still fun! The arts and crafts classes were entirely lead by volunteers. The kids were taught how to build handmade paper planes, and made beautiful drawings!
“Friendly people, lovely polite kids, great weather, just a nice vibe overall”
Community Clean-Up
Teachers, students, AMIGO volunteers and Globalteer’s interns participated in a community clean-up. Understanding the impact of plastic on the environment helps students make better decisions when it comes to disposal of plastic rubbish. As the future leaders of this country, teaching them to make a change in their community from now on is more than essential. They were enthusiastic and loved to pick up plastic trash and clean their own village. Volunteers worked hand in hand with students to pick up every little piece of plastic they could find. After they passed through, the village was very clean! They did an amazing job!
“The community clean-up was a fantastic experience, as the children were instantly engaged and excited to get out there. I worked with a girl who was very passionate about finding even the smallest plastic rubbish.”
A Journey to Remember!
Volunteers will definitely keep this experience in mind for the rest of their life. Even though they had short time at the project, they learnt a lot about the Cambodian culture and how resourceful people are. They loved seeing how the children have such a passion for knowledge and the extremely hardworking teachers. Despite the language barrier for volunteers and kids, the children’s smiles were enough. On the group's last day at the school, the students gave them letters of thanks and drawings. This was an emotional moment for everyone. After lasts hugs, high-fives and goodbyes, the group left with beautiful memories in their heart. We can't wait for them to come back and help more at the school!
“This truly has been a life changing experience I will remember forever.”- Julia, Bournemouth, UK.
“Great experience.”- Jaime, Customer Relations Team.