Beyond World Gallery of Hope – Service Learning Trip to Cambodia (Jan 2013)

Beyond World Gallery of Hope was a service project initiated by a group of students focused on serving impoverished Cambodian children. Continuing the efforts of previous student volunteers, the 4th batch of students went to Cambodia from 9 – 13 January 2013, serving at two orphanages (Wat Opot and Who Will) and Cambodian Children Fund (CCF) by organizing interesting classes and activities for the children.

Before going to Cambodia, our students attended several workshops to learn about Cambodia and the NGOs, the needs of the service recipients and to prepare for teaching content.

At the beginning of the trip, they purchased items for the Cambodian children at the Olympic Market in Phnom Penh. Then, they visited the CCF community centers and stayed there for two days to teach the children. They introduced four topics, including Environmental Protection, Food, World Organizations and Politics to the youth at CCF. After that, the team spent another two days at Who Will Village to have fun interactive activities with the children there. They also helped out with sowing the green bean seeds in the village farm. Then, they went hiking at the Phnom Chiso Mountain with children from Wat Opot Children Community. On the last day, the team had culture exploration activity in Phnom Penh, visiting places such as National Museum, Killing Fields, Royal Palace.

After the trip, the participants submitted reflection journals to consolidate their learning and attended a post-trip workshop to share their experience with other students.