Volunteering in Phnom Penh, Cambodia
- Lucy and the lens
- Sep 7, 2018
- 3 min read
In 2011 I joined a volunteer group working as teachers near Phnom Penh, Cambodia. I got the chance to teach English to children at a village school as well as helping to improve their facilities, and got an insight into the turbulent history of the capital under the Khmer Rouge.
Volunteering in Phnom Penh
Before we began our volunteer teaching placement in the rural community just outside of Phnom Penh, we got to visit two city schools supported by the same charity, as well as one of the slums inhabited by children at the schools. At the time, I was intrigued to see how the community living in the slum had made lives for themselves despite their limited facilities, but looking back now I get an uneasy feeling about this aspect of the tour - I don't know how I'd feel about foreigners ogling my home in the name of tourism.
The teaching placement itself, though, was a joy. The rural school offers either morning or afternoon classes to children, to try to tackle the problem of parents keeping their children out of school to help with farm work. By attending intensive half-day classes, the kids could help their parents on the farms while still squeezing some education in.
Unlike my experience teaching in Thailand the year before, which focussed on creative, kinetic learning (games, songs and chalk drawings on the floor), the Head of this Cambodian school asked us to teach by drilling. What that essentially meant was that the children repeated English phrases again and again until they had them memorised. It wasn't the most exciting way to teach, but the kids were used to it, and their enthusiasm whenever I asked them a question was still far beyond anything I've ever seen while teaching in Europe, and couldn't help but make me grin!
The school day was made up of three 45-minute lessons with 15 minute courtyard breaks in between, where I got to get to know the kids a little more - they had a hilarious time trying to teach me to count to 10 in Cambodian! And one afternoon, we all banded together to paint a colourful mural on the drab walls of the school.
Sadly, I had to finish my volunteering a few days early, because of an infected bug bite that made my foot swell up like a balloon in the middle of a lesson. The kids tried to "heal" me by blowing on my foot, of all things, but it wasn't quite as effective as modern medicine so off to hospital I went!
Exploring Phnom Penh
By the time my foot had healed enough to walk on, it was time to explore the city...
1. Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum.
This was the first stop on our tour, and it was quite a shock to find that the place where Pol Pot had so many people imprisoned, tortured and executed used to be a school. The Khmer Rouge targeted intellectuals, including teachers, and their families, who were seen as a threat to its communist regime. It was truly haunting walking through the old school corridors, peering into classrooms turned into torture chambers, but necessary to get a clear understanding of what went on during the regime.
2. The Killing Fields.
Tuol Sleng and the Killing Fields often go hand-in-hand. The Killing Fields are where over a million political prisoners were executed and buried in mass graves. As you walk around them, especially after heavy rain, you can see scraps of clothing poking up through the earth, reminding you of what's buried underneath.
3. Royal Palace
On a less sombre note, we visited the Royal Palace, with its intricate, gold-coloured roof. It's obviously a must-see when in the city. We had a tour guide to tell us about all its past rulers, but it was hard to keep them all straight after a while!
4. Wat Phnom
The city's most popular Buddhist temple. As we were approaching it, we noticed a man with a cage full of small birds. We asked why he had them, and he explained that you have to buy two birds (one for you, one for your current or future love) and release them both to guarantee a long, lasting relationship. I hadn't met my husband at this point, but I bought two just so they wouldn't have to sit in a cage any longer. Although, to be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if the same birds that get released each day keep getting netted and used again and again for this purpose.
It was here that I learnt some important lessons for future trips to Buddhist temples
a) never show the soles of your feet to the Buddha (it's dirty)
b)never photograph yourself with your back to the Buddha (it's rude)
c) and - I learned this one the hard way - if you get violent hiccups while exploring the temple, take them outside (apparently it ruins the peace!)
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