WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT VOLUNTEER IN CAMBODIA

This program is ideal for:

Volunteers who are fluent in English, have an open-mind, enjoy flexibility and want to make a meaningful contribution to the lives of women in CAMBODIA. No teaching experience is needed as you’ll have the support of a local coordinator, but you will be lesson planning independently so relevant training would be an added advantage. Due to cultural sensitivities in CAMBODIA, this project is only available to female volunteers.

Project details

Inspired to be a Women’s Empowerment volunteer in CAMBODIA? Flat Volunteer Women’s Empowerment project enables volunteers to teach free classes for local women who tend to live in highly traditional ways. Volunteers can gain teaching experience while giving English lessons and helping women learn about modern social issues. This can help them build the confidence they need to find jobs and have more independent lives aimed at reducing gender-based inequality.

What to expect and how you'll make an impact

Women’s empowerment in CAMBODIA is still a relatively new concept, and many women live very traditionally. By assisting with free classes for local women, volunteers can help to teach English and introduce them to contemporary social issues that can help build independence, confidence and increase their chances of finding employment.

Women in CAMBODIA who can speak English are much more likely to find jobs. However, lessons are often expensive and inaccessible. Women’s Empowerment volunteers provide an alternative by hosting small classes with women aged from 20 to over 70.

It’s important to recognize that the context around women’s equality in CAMBODIA is entirely different as compared to other more advanced parts of the world, so volunteers should have realistic expectations around what they can achieve. The main focus is on educating the women to speak English confidently using contemporary topics.

Women’s Empowerment volunteer duties can vary but generally include:

·         Teaching English to girls and women

·         Discussing contemporary issues

·         Basic health and personal care education

·         Upskilling women through workshops and activities

The local team has started incorporating some more skill building sessions for the local women that is beyond learning English. As such, volunteers have the opportunity to help with embroidery skill building sessions where a local embroidery expert will lead the session. Volunteers will help with documentation, assistance in classes, development of other activities, making certificates, taking photos and creating social media posts to increase the number of women attending these sessions.

Another session that has been added is a computer session using computers that were kindly donated by previous volunteers. Volunteers will follow a basic computer skills textbook to create sessions for the women and will be there to support women to enhance their computer skills.

There is a significant amount of preparation expected from volunteers to plan for their lessons and please also be aware that you will mostly be teaching independently, or with another volunteer. The local team will help you with lesson planning, suggest topics for the lessons and provide ideas for creative ways to teach. However, lesson planning and teaching are ultimately the responsibility of the volunteers. As such, it is highly recommended that volunteers come with their own unique teaching ideas and activities they may like to incorporate into their lessons.

As a Women’s Empowerment volunteer in CAMBODIA you’ll be adding value to the local community, while also developing personally and professionally by:

• Teaching women about contemporary social issues
• Helping women learn English
• Enabling women to develop new skills in a safe place
• Chipping away at conservative inequalities
• Gaining experience in empowering women
• Developing your communication skills
• Immersing yourself in CAMBODIA culture

BENEFITS

Flat Volunteers will provide the following:

1.         All-expense paid travel to the respective destination of volunteering

2.         Visa processing

3.         Return tickets

4.         Full accommodation and meals

5.         Travel and health insurance

6.         A stipend of USD 560 per month (Note: This is not a salary)