Experience:
Organisation:
Name: Hannah
Hometown: Southern California
Destination: Cambodia
Project type: Art & Activities Teacher
Organisation: Globalteer
What were your impressions of your destination?
I have visited Cambodia many times because the warmth of the local people keeps bringing me back. They are some of the happiest people I have ever met, despite living in one of the poorer countries in the world. While living conditions are pretty basic, the lifelong friendships that are so easily established there make up for it tenfold. Many of my former students and their parents I now consider family.
Was the work interesting and challenging?
I worked at an orphanage with about 75 children on a daily basis, so I didn't have time to be anything but interested and challenged! I organized art projects, taught songs and games, and went on many home and school visits to rural areas. Getting accustomed to the slower pace of life and being ok with not having something to do every minute of the day was challenging at first, but in the end was what provided the best opportunities for building relationships with the children and the staff.
What was your accommodation like? Did you feel comfortable and welcome at all times?
My sister and I shared a rather luxurious room (for Cambodia) at a very clean and quiet guesthouse in Siem Reap. We had a large bathroom with a hot shower, a fan (no a/c), and cable TV. The only drawback was that being in the biggest tourist destination of the country meant that we had to deal with daily solicitations from tuk-tuk drivers upon exiting our guesthouse.
Were you happy with the organisation and the staff that were responsible for you during your stay?
I would highly recommend Globalteer to anyone interested in an organization that is conscientious in their approach to volunteer work in foreign countries. Globalteer provided ongoing support throughout the two months of our assignment and also introduced us to many outside projects that we otherwise may not have heard about. Most importantly for some, I did a lot of research on volunteer organizations and Globalteer offered, by far, one of the most affordable programs I found.
Do you feel that you got value for money on the project?
Absolutely. This is where Globalteer rises above all of the other volunteer organizations out there, as the director is passionate about this. A third of our program fee went to accommodation expenses, and the rest was donated to the orphanage where we worked and to other projects supported by Globalteer - in other words, put straight back into the country instead of to overhead and administrative costs.
Would you recommend the project to others?
Yes
