Testimonials from Our Volunteers
S.C.A.O Save Poor Children in Asia Organisation
By Clare Osborn
...Our next stop was S.C.A.O (Save Poor Children in Asia Organisation) which is a non-profit NGO that provides homecare facilities and English education to orphans and disadvantaged children in Cambodia. The organisation was set up by Sath Samith and is now run by him and his wife. Mr Samith grew up in poverty himself and both him and his wife look after the 20 children who live at SCAO Centre with them. The Centre is in a village called Boeng Chhouk 7km from Phnom Penh. Around 180 children from Boeng Chhouk attend English classes at the Centre each day which are taught mostly by volunteers. Read More
Queenstown reaches out to Cambodia
Queenstowner Will Oswald decided to organise an event – at the Searle Lane and Social restaurant/bar next Thursday – to support an orphanage and nearby school that his partner Vanessa Harwood is volunteering at, sited 6km from the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh.
“We’ve had some extremely generous donations so far which we’re stoked with,” Oswald says,
Harwood reports the money’s being spent building a boys’ bedroom at the 18-child orphanage plus a classroom and shelter at the 190-person school.
Both facilities are run by the Save Poor Children of Asia Organisation, whose director Sath Samith was orphaned during the brutal Khmer Rouge regime in the 1970s.
Harwood, who’s been there since early July, says: “My reasons for choosing Cambodia for my volunteer work are due to the country’s turbulent history and high level of poverty. Read More
Making a world of difference
A few months ago children from an orphanage in Cambodia (S.C.A.O) wrote pen pal letters to children at ELTHAM College. When the children at ELTHAM received their letters they were inspired to do some fundraising for their new friends and their school in Cambodia.
“It was amazing the thoughtfulness and compassion of the students wanting to improve the lives of children across the world much less fortunate than themselves." - Miranda Thorn, teacher at ELTHAM College. Read More
Crafty Cambodia: The Travel Adventures of Jess
Greetings from The Kingdom of Cambodia! I know you all have been missing me pretty hard back in Denver, so I'm checking in! I am currently spreading crafty joy throughout Southeast Asia and I want to share my latest adventure. Us and the kids I spent the last 10 days volunteering at an NGO orphanage/school outside of Phnom Penh. Save Poor Children Of Asia Organization, (SCAO), offers an alternative to children who's families can no longer afford to have them live at home. Read More
Cambodia: A Country Still In Turmoil
by Alison M. Brown
Amidst the bustling streets, dusty roads, whistles, horns, and panic resulting from disorganized traffic lays the multifaceted city of Phnom Penh. The capital of Cambodia integrates an interesting combination of culture, tourism and poverty, along with a strange sense of western influence. At first glimpse, it doesn’t seem that Cambodia escapes the stereotype of being just another backpacker friendly Southeast Asian country, but this facade is easily defeated after visiting the notorious Killing Fields or Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum that brings the grueling images of Cambodia’s recent past to the surface. Over the last thirty years, the country suffered immensely while battling unfathomable atrocities such as mass starvation, genocide, and war. Read more
The Khmer Rouge Aftermath: Volunteering in Cambodia
by Alyse Speyer
Mass grave of 450 people at the Killing Fields in Cambodia Phnom Penh, Cambodia a diverse city with tragic history. To detail my adventures in this wonderful country, I must first shed light on the horrors that have befallen it. The year 1975 marked the end of the Vietnam war, but not the end of war for Cambodia. During the years of this infamous war, Cambodia was victim to U.S. bombings and landmines that were meant to weed out Viet Cong. By 1975, the country was overtaken by an extremist communist group known as the Khmer Rouge. Read more.