Cambodia Service Learning Trip (Jan 2019)
In January 2019, the 16th Cambodia Service Learning Trip was held, with a total of 20 students from different disciplines. Throughout the trip, participants visited 3 organisations: Wat Opot Children’s Community, a local primary school in Takeo, and the Cambodian Children’s Fund (CCF). Participants had the precious opportunity to serve and interact with the Cambodian community, understand the history of the country and to reflect on their purpose of life.
Participants attended pre-trip workshops and joint-trip workshops. Throughout the workshops, participants gained better understanding of the current situation of Cambodia and needs of the Cambodia children. Participants designed and planned activity session plans to be carried out in Cambodia.
During the first four days, participants stayed in Wat Opot and a local primary school. Participants and kids from Wat Opot hiked to Chisor Mountain and conducted ice-breaking activities. Starting from Day 2, participants held English Classes at the primary school in the morning. Participants taught children vocabulary of fruits, body parts and months of the year. In the afternoon, participants organised a series of workshops on topics such as public hygiene, global warming, festivals, Chinese lucky knots, drama, and general education.
On Day 5 and 6, participants visited the Neeson Cripps Academy of CCF. Participants conducted interactive STEM teaching on “Sound”, “Rotational Force”, “Pressure” and “Work, Energy and Power”. Both the students and the participants had a lot of fun with the experiments.
On the final day, participants visited the Royal Palace and Genocide museum, which deepened their understanding of the Cambodian culture, history, and society. The tour guide also shared his experiences during the Khmer Rouge, which gave the participants further insights into this critical period of Cambodian history.
The trip has been a life-changing experience for participants. For most, this is their first service learning trip and each encounter brought about new discoveries. Although the 7-day trip has ended, participants built lasting friendships with their fellow teammates and the children in Cambodia. Participants showed increased awareness towards issues in Cambodian society, and reflected on their behavior and attitude towards problems in Hong Kong society.
