Traveling and Playing Through Voluntarism

Volunteer facilitator

English and art classes

2007,Cambodia

The best way to travel is by connecting to the land, and its people.

In February 2007, a couple of friend and I embarked on a volunteer trip to Cambodia . Before the trip, Amira and Reeza who left to Cambodia 2 weeks earlier did some research online and offered their services to two NGO's in Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville. Upon completing their volunteer stint at an orphanage and a art project by the beach, I met up with them in Seam Reap where we spent 10 rewarding days of fun and well, more fun!

When he got to know about my trip, a priest gave me a couple of euro notes to buy gifts for the children in Cambodia. I went to one of the wholesalers near Petaling Street and bought some shakers,clappers, a plastic drum, candy, educational charts and some stationery. Amira who is from Singapore got colleagues and friends to donate story books and stationery as well.

Amira and Reeza arrived in Siem Reap a day earlier, and being Muslims, wondered around the town in search for halal food, and maybe also a mosque ... As luck would have it, they managed to find one in the village of Stung Tmei not too far away from the town centre of Siem Reap.

A community of about 200 Muslims Cham families lived around the mosque. Besides attending regular school, the children attended daily religious classes at the madrasah in the mosque's compound. Amira and Reeza went up to the Ustaz and asked if we could volunteer to conduct some extra English and art classes for the kids. The Ustaz was very elated, and gave us the green light to start anytime.

We went in 3 hours a day to conduct classes. Reeza taught the older secondary children, while Amira and I worked with the younger ones.The children had a lot of fun learning English through play, songs and movement.

We camped outside the classroom and splashed around with colours, played games, and experimented with rhythm work.Before we left, the children decorated their classroom with the artwork they created.
We promised to go back. In December, we will be organising a charity art exhibition to raise funds for the madrasah's educational programs.