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NGO Support Volunteer Program in Cambodia
Volunteer at a local NGO in Cambodia to support the Cambodian civil society and community, verticals include Human Rights Support, Women Empowerment, Micro-Finance Raising
This program places you with a local NGO in Phnom Penh, working on human rights support, women's empowerment, microfinance, NGO administration or a vocational training center, depending on your skills and interests. Day to day you help with administrative work, write proposals and reports, research program outcomes, and may visit field projects in the countryside. It suits students and professionals who want international development work experience and can commit to a desk-based, office-style role rather than direct frontline care.
Placements run 5–24 weeks, starting twice a month (sundays), with the next intake on 20 Sep 2026; the minimum stay is 5 weeks. You live in a shared volunteer house, host family, or guesthouse in Phnom Penh, with three meals a day covered at a partner restaurant near the house or with your host family, from $1,219 (deposit included). Because roles are matched to your background, someone with finance, legal, teaching or admin skills can be placed accordingly rather than doing generic tasks.
- Opportunity to support the Cambodian civil society and community
- Placement provided to do volunteer work for a local NGO
- Ideal for students looking for international development work experience
- Volunteer work is based on requisite skills and interests. Verticals include Human Rights Support, Women Empowerment, Micro-Finance Raising, NGO Administration, Vocational Training Center
- Minimum 5-week commitment, volunteer work during weekdays
- Weekends are free for exploring the country
Your role on this program
- Provide administrative support to the local NGO you are placed with
- Write project proposals and fundraising materials for the organization
- Prepare case studies and reports and help keep records of program progress
- Support IT tasks and teach English to NGO staff
- Conduct research on the success of current programs and future plans
- Visit field projects in the countryside to see firsthand the issues communities face
- Help arrange campaigns, meetings, or public forums if you have relevant skills or experience
- Assist with project design, monitoring, and developing internal program structures
Exact duties vary with the placement's needs, the season and your experience.
Role boundaries
This is an administrative and capacity-building role: you support NGO staff with proposals, reports, research and office tasks rather than delivering direct services to women, children or other community members yourself. Local NGO staff supervise all work and decide what you take on based on your skills; a clean criminal background check is required before you join, since placements are with organizations that work alongside vulnerable groups.
A typical day and week
As a volunteer for the NGO Support Program in Cambodia, your general schedule would be:
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Sunday – Arrival at the destination (Phnom Penh)
An orientation session will be conducted by the local coordinator, covering the major topics such as safety, culture, language, places to visit, behavior, food, and other suggestions for things to do in Cambodia. -
Monday – Orientation and Welcome Lunch
Morning :
8:00-11:00: Orientation at office
11:00-12 noon : Bring to buy local Sim Card or necessities at market or currency exchange at market or Bank
12:00-1:30 pm : Welcome Lunch and orientation/advice by the team to set up the Grab App or Local TukTuk App and how to use it.Afternoon:
1:30-4:30 pm: City Tour
4:30-5:00 pm : Traveling back to Office or Volunteer House -
Tuesday: All volunteers will be brought to work at their respective placement and begin volunteer placement
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Tuesday to Fri – Volunteer work
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Weekends – Free to explore the city / Head out to discover Siem Reap
Breakfast – 06:30 am onwards
Working hours at the placement – 09:30 am to 11:00 pm and 01:00 pm to 04:00 pm
Lunch – volunteers get two hours break in between work hours. You can either choose to return to the accommodation for lunch or you can carry packed lunch to the placement
Dinner – 07:00 pm onwards
The same work schedule continues from the second week onwards (Monday – Friday).
Note: Please note, the schedule may vary depending on the particular project the volunteer is participating on.
Timings are the placement's usual pattern; the local team confirms your hours at orientation, and they can change with school terms, clinic rotas, weather and the project's needs.
Who can join and what you need
- Minimum age 18
- Minimum stay of 5 weeks
- Open mind and flexible attitude for working in a new environment
- Physically fit and in good health at the time of joining
- Clean criminal background check, issued within 12 months of the start date
- Bring a laptop, since the role involves administrative work
- Travel and medical insurance, your own policy or the one Volunteering Solutions arranges
- No criminal convictions
The placement, its limits and your part in it
You are placed with one of several local NGOs that the Cambodia team partners with, covering areas such as human rights, women's economic empowerment, microfinance, NGO administration and vocational training. One example partner, COCD, works on child protection, education, health and livelihoods in rural communities and is a certified Child Safe Organization; other partners work in similar fields. Which organization you join depends on availability, your skills, and the project's current needs at the time.
NGO staff supervise and direct the work; your task is to support them with proposals, reports, research, IT or training rather than to run programs or make decisions on their behalf. A background check is required before placement because partner organizations work with vulnerable communities, and your contribution is best understood as freeing up and strengthening staff capacity, not as delivering services to beneficiaries directly.
Start dates
Weekly start dates, year-round — pick any week across the next two years.
Program fees by duration
Prices include your $249 booking deposit — which is deducted from your total program fee. Your deposit stays valid for one year, during which you may enroll in multiple programs. A 5% international banking fee applies to credit-card payments in USD or AUD.
| Duration | Total price | |
|---|---|---|
| 5 weeks | $1,219 | |
| 6 weeks | $1,289 | |
| 7 weeks | $1,439 | |
| 8 weeks | $1,509 | |
| Each additional week | +$200 / week |
Indicative conversion — your booking is charged in the currency you choose at checkout.
✓ What you're paying for
- 24 hrs Assistance and support from staff
- Comprehensive Pre- Departure Information
- Pick up from the airport
- Orientation and Welcome lunch/dinner
- Food
- Accommodation in volunteer house, host family or guesthouse
- Travel & Medical Insurance (Available at an extra cost)
- Certificate of Participation(On Request)
Not included
- Airfare
- Return Trip to Airport
- Local Transportation
- Visa Fees
- Vaccinations
Accommodation & meals
Airport Transfer
Volunteers are picked up from the Phnom Penh International Airport by a local representative of the team in Cambodia.Upon arrival, you will be greeted at the airport by a member of the local team and taken to the volunteer accommodation in Phnom Penh. Your accommodation is covered by your Program Fee and includes the Sunday night before your program orientation
Orientation
The program orientation begins on the first and third Monday of the month and volunteers need to arrive in Phnom Penh on the Sunday before orientation.
Orientation and briefing of the volunteers is conducted by our local team in Cambodia team at the volunteer house or team office. During the orientation information is provided about Cambodia history, safety, culture differences, expectations, working conditions, your project placement as well as weekend travel opportunities in and around Phnom Penh.
After the orientation volunteers are given a local tour of Phnom Penh city and also taken for a welcome meal.
Accommodation
Volunteers in Phnom Penh are provided accommodation in the shared volunteer house, host family or in a family operated centrally located guesthouse in Phnom Penh.
The volunteer house is conveniently located in the heart of Phnom Penh City near the Russian Market and Boeung Trabek market. The house provides volunteers with a comfortable, simple and relaxing place to live. Presently, the volunteer house can accommodate more than twenty volunteers in five rooms. Rooms in the house are on a shared basis with generally 3-5 volunteers sharing a room together. Rooms have fans and AC. If the volunteers need any help or assistance they can always come to the local team office, which is in the same building and literally right next door. Wifi Internet is available at the volunteer house.
Participants also have the option to choose to upgrade to a single private room at an additional charge at the guesthouse accommodation. In case of non availability at the volunteer house during busy periods, participants are provided accommodation in a guesthouse.
For those participants wishing to stay at a home stay, host family accommodation is also available.
All the locations provide a welcoming family or staff of helpful individuals who will always be available to help with any questions or issues you may have.
Laundry can be done from a laundry service and usually costs $0.5 – $1/Kg.
Meals
Cambodian cuisine is a fusion of cuisines from other countries in South East Asia such as Vietnam and Thailand. Cambodian food is light and healthy and is not very spicy and hot.
During your stay at the volunteer house, food will be provided at a restaurant which is 3 minutes walk from the house.
The menu will offer for selection of the foods you prefer :-
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Breakfast: Usually starts from 6:10 AM -7: 30 AM, foods such as Baguette or slide bread with Butter jam or honey, peanut butter, fried eggs, scrambled eggs, scrambled eggs, omelette or fruit plate.
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Lunch: Usually starts from 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM, foods such as soup or stir-fried with a main dish consisting of rice, noodles, fresh vegetables, chicken, beef, or pork, volunteers eat with the other volunteers at a restaurant near the volunteer house with other volunteers.
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Dinner: Usually starts from 5:40 PM – 7:00 PM, food is similar to lunch, so you typically come together to eat with others.
Participants staying in the guesthouse and host family accommodation are provided meals there itself.
During your Free Time
Phnom Penh has a lot to offer and you will always find something of interest to do and see during your free time. There are a lot of temples, museums, and historic sites to visit such as Toul Sleng Genocide Museum, Royal Palace, National Museum and Wat Phnom. You can also join the local Khmer cuisine cooking classes if that interests you! Volunteers work from Monday to Friday and you will have the weekends free to relax and explore the country. The local team can also assist and suggest some options of destinations to visit. Other popular places to visit outside Phnom Penh are Siem Reap, Sihanoukville and Kep.
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Life on the program
Getting there and who looks after you in Cambodia
Airport pickup
A local team representative meets you at Phnom Penh International Airport (PNH) on the Sunday before orientation and takes you to your accommodation. The Sunday night is covered by your program fee.
First night
You settle into the volunteer house, host family, or guesthouse and have your first meal there or nearby before orientation begins the next day.
Orientation and welcome lunch
Monday morning runs 8am-11am at the office, covering safety, culture, and your placement, followed by help buying a local SIM card and setting up ride-hailing apps. A welcome lunch and city tour of Phnom Penh follow in the afternoon.
First day at the placement
On Tuesday you are taken to your NGO placement to begin volunteer work, which continues Monday to Friday from the second week onward.
Ongoing support
The local team office is in the same building as the volunteer house, and 24-hour assistance is available throughout your stay.
From volunteers in Cambodia
Frequently asked questions
What kind of work will I actually be doing?
You support a local NGO in Phnom Penh with administrative tasks, proposal writing, case studies, reports, research, and sometimes IT support or teaching English to staff, with the exact mix depending on the placement and your skills.
Which NGO will I be placed with?
Placement depends on availability, your skills and the current needs of partner NGOs, which work in areas including human rights, women's empowerment, microfinance, NGO administration and vocational training; one example partner is COCD, which works on child protection, education and livelihoods.
Do I need specific qualifications or experience?
No specific qualification is required, but your background (finance, law, teaching, tourism, IT, and similar) affects which NGO and tasks you are matched with; the role suits students and professionals seeking development work experience.
What does a typical week look like?
You work Monday to Friday, generally 9:30am-11am and 1pm-4pm with a two-hour lunch break, and weekends are free to explore Phnom Penh or travel to places like Siem Reap.
How long can I stay and when do programs start?
Placements run 5–24 weeks, with intakes twice a month (sundays); the next start date is 20 Sep 2026, and the minimum commitment is 5 weeks.
What does the program fee cover, and what does it cost?
Prices start at $1,219, deposit included; the fee covers airport pickup, accommodation, three meals a day, orientation, the welcome lunch and city tour, and 24-hour local support. Airfare, return airport transport, local transport, visa fees and vaccinations are not included.
Where will I live and eat?
You stay in a shared volunteer house near Phnom Penh's Russian Market (rooms of 3-5 volunteers with fans and AC), a host family homestay, or a guesthouse if the volunteer house is full. Meals are three a day at a partner restaurant three minutes from the house, or with your host family.
Will someone meet me at the airport?
Yes, a local team member picks you up at Phnom Penh International Airport (PNH) on the Sunday before orientation, and that first night's accommodation is included in your fee.
How does support work if something goes wrong?
The local team office is in the same building as the volunteer house, and 24-hour assistance is available throughout the program.
Is a background check required?
Yes, a clean criminal background check issued within 12 months of your start date is required before joining, since partner NGOs work alongside vulnerable communities.
Do I need to bring anything specific?
Bring a laptop, since the role involves administrative work, along with your passport, background check documents, and proof of travel and medical insurance.
What about visas and vaccinations?
Visa fees and vaccinations are not included in the program fee; specific guidance on these is sent to you before departure.
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