Overview

Cambodia has seen a long phase of destruction and war, which heavily impacted the social and economic balance of the country. There still remains the effects from the past, daunting the weaker section of the society as people suffer from poverty and problems such as domestic violence, lack of human rights and proper education, environmental degradation, poor healthcare, and several other issues. Volunteering Solutions, in association with local NGOs in the city of Phnom Penh, aims to help the weaker sections of the society by providing them scopes to earn their livelihood and have a better life.

Volunteers joining the NGO Support Program in Cambodia can commit their time for these projects and provide the necessary support required, matching their skills, qualifications, and interests. For example, A waiter or a hairdresser will be able to support at a vocational training centre. Someone who has worked in the area of tourism will support an ecological tourism project to develop its structure. A lawyer may support a Human Rights Organization with the development or get involved in programs (such as creating awareness). Someone who has studied art or music will focus on imparting these skills to women or children who are supported by local organizations working in this area. A finance professional or student can volunteer for a Microfinance Project, so on and so forth.

Our local partner team in Cambodia has cooperated with different local NGOs including public health, women empowerment, gender equality, advancing community rights, environment issues, natural resource governance, and human rights.

Sample Placement Profile - COCD

COCD is a non-governmental organisation that was founded in 2007 by a team of Cambodian experts who have a shared vision of promoting rural development and child rights in Cambodia. COCD has been working with marginalised and extremely poor communities in remote areas of Cambodia since 2008, with the support of Terre des Hommes Germany and the Cambodian Ministry of Interior. COCD's main focus areas are child protection, education, health, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), and livelihoods. COCD is also a certified Child Safe Organization (CSO) and a member of Cambodia Against Child Trafficking (Cambodia ACTs).

One of COCD's key strategies is to empower women economically through various programs that provide financial support, microfinance and loans for the poor. These programs aim to help women start or expand their own businesses, increase their income and savings, and improve their living conditions. COCD believes that women's economic empowerment is essential for reducing poverty, enhancing gender equality, and ensuring sustainable development in Cambodia.

Volunteers can help with various tasks such as conducting market research, providing business advice, facilitating workshops, monitoring loans, or raising funds. Volunteers will have the opportunity to learn from COCD's staff and partners, as well as from the women beneficiaries themselves.

The volunteer's role is to help COCD enhance its ability to create new projects and proposals that will strengthen its long-term impact. This involves not only developing a specific project design/proposal, but also training the staff in project design and management skills. The ultimate goal is to leverage the acquired skills and knowledge to support the sustainable income generation of the rural poor, which aligns with the Cambodian government's poverty reduction efforts. Moreover, economic independence of poor rural families protects children from sexual or economic exploitation, enables them to attend school, and increases their future employment prospects.

Note: This is a sample placement and participants are allotted placement depending on different factors such as availability, suitability and requirements of the projects. Volunteers joining the NGO Support Project in Cambodia will have to devote a minimum of 5 weeks for the program.

Want to see other ways to make an impact? Check out our Volunteer in Asia programs.

Volunteer Work Schedule

As a volunteer for the NGO Support Program in Cambodia, your general schedule would be:

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
Tuesday to Fri - Volunteer work
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.

Volunteer Roles & Responsibilities

Volunteers in the NGO Support Program in Cambodia, usually have the following major tasks :-

Providing support to the NGO where you'll be placed
Using your skills to bring some positive changes in the required areas in the NGO
Helping with the administrative work in the NGO
Conceptualize and strategize ideas for improvement in the Programs at the centres
Prepare assessment sheets and keep records of the growth
Making Project Reports and writing proposals

Your experience as a volunteer greatly depends on your skills and interests and the length of your stay. If your stay is short-term, you will mainly help out with writing proposals for fundraising, case studies and reports. You may also help with IT skills, teach English to the staff or conduct research on the success of the programs or future plans. You might also visit the fields and projects in the countryside to get a firsthand idea of the problems people are facing. Volunteers having more specific skills and experience may assist in arranging campaigns, meetings or public forums or implementing new projects, as well as developing the internal structures and new initiatives within the programs.

Project Requirement

Volunteers must be 18 years or older at the beginning of the program. Volunteers need to have an open mind and flexible attitude for working in a new and different environment. The volunteer should bring energy and enthusiasm to make a difference. Participants must be physically fit and in good health at the time of joining the program. Participants should have no criminal convictions and should provide a clean criminal background check before joining the project.Volunteers joining the NGO Support Project in Cambodia will have to devote a minimum of 5 weeks for the program. Participants need to bring a laptop as they will be involved in administrative role at the project.

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Living

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 :-

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.
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.
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.

Phnom Penh, Cambodia- Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Dates

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