Combine your journey with voluntary work
An increasing number of travellers are no longer content simply with conventional travel experiences. Instead, they see travelling abroad as an opportunity to do work for a good cause. In line with this view, they are willing to volunteer in a charity or aid project as part of their trip to Cambodia.
Committed to social responsibility and sustainable tourism, we are involved in a number of development and aid projects. In cooperation with various organisations, Mekong Adventures can organise your participation in selected local projects for you, in many different areas and all over Cambodia.
Concept
The term voluntourism denotes the increasingly popular activity of travelling while helping others. Combining tourism with charitable work, voluntourism is suitable for all those who want to discover more about the country and its people and make a lasting contribution while travelling.
By doing unpaid work in a project, travellers add an extra dimension to their trip: with their know-how and work they make a direct and meaningful contribution to the development and success of the projects they are involved in. At the same time, they benefit from the experience in that they gain unique insights and establish long-lasting connections.
As the name suggests, our voluntourism programmes are made up of two components: a conventional travelling component and a voluntary work opportunity.
All parties involved, i.e. the supported development aid project, you as the volunteer, and Mekong Adventures, benefit from this working arrangement in different ways. As the organiser of your entire trip, our responsibility includes the travelling part from which – just like other travel companies– we make a profit. One part of this profit is used to improve and extend our projects. In contrast, the organisation and support services provided as part of your project work are not for profit.
Your Contribution
You can select the project you would like to contribute to in accordance with your interests and aptitudes and of course the amount of time you would like spend on voluntary work. Areas where you can make a valuable contribution include: teaching languages or other subjects to disadvantaged youths, working as a caregiver in a children’s home, or contributing to charitable building or environment protection projects.
As a general rule, prospective volunteers do not need any specific qualifications to do charitable work. That said, specialised knowledge is always welcome.
The Travelling Component...
Cambodia Experience
Explore Cambodia in depth
14 Days (13 Nights) from / to Phnom Penh
This varied round trip is a unique opportunity to experience the land and culture of the Khmer first-hand. Various excursions – by bike, bamboo train, boat, on elephant back or simply on foot – and a homestay with a Khmer family provide lasting impressions of the country’s enormous cultural treasures.
Cambodia’s great nature reserves as well as memorable encounters with the inhabitants of a country still largely undiscovered by mass tourism are other highlights of this journey.
...combined with the Voluntary Work Component:
4 weeks as a caregiver in an orphanage in Phnom Penh
The orphanage is situated on the outskirts of Phnom Penh and home to about 45 orphaned or abandoned children, some of them with a physical or mental disability.
Activities: Depending on need, activities include recreational activities for the children, help with homework, childcare, teaching, playing, assisting in building maintenance etc.
Bustling Capital
Cambodia’s bustling capital is situated at the confluence of the Mekong, Bassac and Tonle Sap rivers. Legend has it that Phnom Penh was founded when a woman by the name of Penh found Buddha images washed up on the bank of the Mekong River. In 1373, a temple, Wat Phnom, was built on a hill to house them. With Phnom in Khmer meaning hill, Phnom Penh literally translates as Hill of Penh. Officially the city was founded in 1434 by King Ponhea Yat, following the fall of Angkor.
Today, Phnom Penh is a city of more than 1.5 million people. With continuing urban development it is fast developing into an economic hub of the region, at the same time retaining its distinct atmosphere with its wide tree-lined boulevards, French colonial buildings and an abundance of chic bistros dotted along the riverfront, bustling markets, intriguing boutiques and stylish hotels.
Places of interest include the royal palace including the Silver Pagoda with its spectacular floor made up of 5,000 silver tiles, the National Museum housing treasures from the world’s finest collection of sculptures from the Angkor period, Wat Phnom, the city’s landmark and the notorious Toul Sleng Genocide Museum.
Phnom Penh is also ideal gateway for daytrips to the surrounding countryside. Particularly attractive are boat trips on the Mekong and Tonle Sap combined with a visit to the picturesque Silk Island or a visit of Udong, once the Capital of Cambodia, and the floating villages of Kampong Chhnang.
In this Category
Volunteering
Mekong Adventures can organise your participation in selected local projects for you, in many different areas.
Photogenic Cambodia
A unique opportunity to explore Cambodia while learning the tricks and techniques of travel photography at the same time.
Golfing in Cambodia
This tour offers golfers the possibility of pursuing their hobby while discovering Cambodia’s most famed treasures.
Other Categories
Southern Adventure
Discover the natural beauty of some of Cambodia’s most remote areas first hand.
Cambodia by Bicycle
Cycle along idyllic country roads, explore pristine riverscapes and stay in small villages on this remarkable journey.
The Wild Northeast
Soft adventure components, including an elephant ride, a homestay in a minority village as well as boat and cycling tours.