CAMBODIA
We are so excited to finally be in Asia! we are living in Siam Reap and volunteering with beautiful communities while enjoying the calm yet exciting Cambodia
At the Project TEN Center in Cambodia, young volunteers in their twenties from Israel and Diaspora Jewry. The volunteers engage in informal educational activities on a daily basis in order to enrich the learning experience of the local children. The Volunteer Center opened in 2022 inside Siem Reap, the second largest city in Cambodia and home to the famous Angkor temples. Siem Reap boasts contemporary culture, bustling markets and restaurants, along with thousands of years of history and culture. The volunteers work in several villages in the area in different schools and afternoon activities in the villages with children aged 10 to 18.
What we DO
From Siem Reap Project TEN volunteers travel to two counties for their volunteer work. Bakong and Pouk provinces are within a 15-minute drive on a local tuk-tuk, where we have partnered with four schools. The volunteering program was established with the encouragement of school principals and local NGOs in recognition of the added value of enrichment classes for children. New Hope Cambodia and SAAT School are working side by side with Project TEN to effectively make sustainable educational change which is enriched with Cambodian culture and influences.
The volunteers in Cambodia implement a variety of experiential and empowering content in the fields of art, music, group building activities, thinking games and more. The emphasis is on experiential learning and adapted to the different learning abilities of children and youth. This kind of learning promotes the development of personal skills and abilities that will be necessary for children as they grow up. The teachers and students we meet weekly are excited about the enriching hours alongside the volunteers. These hours “break” the routine of the week and adds curiosity, excitement, and passion to the learning experience.
In the afternoons and during holidays when schools are closed, Project TEN volunteers work in an afternoon center with middle school and teenaged youth – this is another opportunity to make education accessible to children of different ages and backgrounds and remind them and volunteers that education can come in different and varied forms.
Enrichment Programs for volunteers
TEN volunteers undergo training before and after arrival at the Center. The training is designed to prepare participants for group life, the volunteering experience, and it enables a connection to the wider global context in which the Project TEN operates. The delegation opens with a week of orientation of in-depth familiarity with the Center. During this week, the volunteers meet the local staff, get to deeply know the work, visit volunteering locations and are exposed to the local culture and lifestyle.
During the three months of volunteering, there are regular weekly meetings led by the Center’s Directors and Coordinators and in collaboration with local professionals. The meetings cover various topics such as international development, education and community, Sabbath and holiday activities, language and group time. The purpose of the meetings is to process the volunteering and group life experiences, to provide tools for the professional implementation of Project TEN’s educational and ethical model, to expose the volunteers to the culture and lifestyle of the community in which they live alongside their own identity as Jews, as Israelis and citizens of the world.
volunteers
Residence: Volunteers share a communal house in the middle of Siam Reap. The living area is secure with clean water and it is equipped with a vegetarian kitchen and well-equipped dining room, toilets, showers, an activity room and a communal yard.
Saturdays and Holidays: Every second weekend, participants are free to go and travel around the country. The program welcomes religious and secular participants. All activities on Saturdays and Jewish holidays are suitable for traditional observers. However, every participant is free to keep the Sabbath as they see fit.
Hiking and Travel Recommendations: Angkor Wat – the largest religious complex in the world, with tenth century beautiful temples, Phnom Kulen – an amazing national park with impressive mountains and powerful waterfalls and of course Cambodia’s famous night markets where you can buy food and clothes and have a drink in the local pubs.
Download Project TEN international flyer
Cost
The 3 month cohorts cost $3000. This includes: accommodation, three nutritious meals a day, clean water, transportation to volunteer sites, professional staff in the field, basic Wi-Fi and security. The cost does not include: flights, health insurance, vaccines, visas and free weekends.
