Down the red dirt road, past the ancient Angkor temple, and through the rice fields. At last I found the house belonging to Sovannarith Sok, a Cambodian man known throughout the village as “Teacher.”
What he’s dedicated his life to needs no more explanation. “Teacher” is perfect.
Sovannarith is head of the Angkor Legacy Academy, a language school that he’s created to benefit his local community. Dozens of school children receive daily language training from International volunteers, who also support a food program run by Sok.
I stayed in his home for eight days with a few other international volunteers, helping teach English during the days, working on building a permanent schoolhouse on the weekend, and learning about Cambodian culture with his family at night.
The opportunity to have this extraordinary travel experience presented itself on one of several websites promoting volunteer jobs designed for travelers. The arrangement is usually based on an exchange of work for board and/or meals.
I found Angkor Legacy Academy on Workaway.info. Other sites offering similar volunteer travel opportunities are WWoof (For Organic Farming), Working Traveller, and World Packers. All of these platforms connect the traveler directly with the volunteer host.
Other programs were intriguing, such as working on an organic rice farm in Malaysia, but ultimately the draw of working with children was the deciding factor. That, and the school happened to be near Siem Reap and the Angkor Wat temples.
Looking back, the week volunteering was the most rewarding of the two months I spent traveling through South East Asia on this particular trip. It was also the cheapest, costing a tiny $5 per day to cover Sovannarith’s meal costs. Seriously, I spent less than $50 for one week of unforgettable travel.
Here’s a description of the Angkor Legacy Academy from its website:
Cambodia remains one of the least developed countries in the world, still recovering from the shadows of a decade-long civil war and genocide. Many people live on the brink of poverty, with little or no access to food, medical services, or even clean water.
At ALA, we see education as an empowering tool to lift Cambodians out of poverty. Founded by Sovannarith in April 2011, ALA has been providing free education to children from poor family backgrounds in Lolei Village, located in the Bakong Commune, just 14 km east of Siem Reap.
In Lolei, there is a primary school teaching only Khmer language and no computer skills. There are only 5 state teachers serving over 500 kindergarten and primary school children. Most people are illiterate and work as farmers or in construction.
Broken families and other effects of the war have led to Cambodia having a hard time trying to rebuild its’ society. Rice, water and salt supplemented by the collection of frogs and red ants is the staple diet for many of the children in the Lolei community. Mothers that are unable to produce milk for their babies are forced to feed them on water from boiled rice. Malnutrition amongst infants and children leads to poor development and in worse cases death. ALA food program aims to provide basic food staples to the most needy in the community and donations are the only source of funding for this project.
ALA is a non-profit charity academy that endeavors to empower the community through education and outreach programs. Through education and basic health and safety standards our goal is to diminish illness and preventable injuries.
The tourism sector in Cambodia is a major source of employment. To work in the sector, English and computer literacy skills are essential. ALA believes that every child has the right to a free, high-quality education to enable them to gain employment in the future. With the support of our volunteers, we provide free English and when we have enough equipment; our aim is to give computer lessons to every child in Lolei. We want to make our academy a place to develop useful skills so the people can break out of poverty.
Needless to say, I support the cause.
Beyond Angkor Legacy Academy, there are many other rewarding volunteer opportunities for travelers out there. I suggest you try it!
