Cambodia Trip 2013-17

What is at the heart of this trip? Why do we go to Cambodia?

The Cambodia Trip is a 8 day CAS and Service learning experience that gives students the opportunity to give back, care for others and build a Community. The trip integrates real life experiences and internationalism with the IB/MYP Curriculum. For the last 4 years we have taken students from EIS-J to Siem Reap to work with Bunlay and Han the local Camps International ground crew to build facilities in a community school, Beng Mea Lea.

Students will spend 3-4 days working on building projects, while spending the other 4 days travelling around and experiencing the rich Khmer culture and History the region SE Asia has to offer. This trip is fully supervised by experienced staff and we work closely with the Uk based company Camps International. This trip changes lives and we build connections with communities in other parts of the world. There is nothing that can describe the high, and satisfaction of completing this trip.

Trip planning commences March of each year and is offered to year 9-13 students. Information distributed in school notices and assemblies promoted by Ms Dearden and her team.

When: The trip takes place in November each academic year.

Where: Cambodia, SE Asia.

Length: 8-10 DAYS - SERVICE AND ACTION EXPEDITION

So far we have had 134 STUDENTS FROM EIS-J TAKE PART IN THE TRIP 2013-16

Many thanks,

Ms Jess Dearden

SA Coordiantor @ EIS-J/ Cambodia Coordinator

Cambodia Projects 2013-16 EIS-J: -Open to Year 9-13 students

Cambodia is one of the poorest nations in SE Asia and the world, with 80% of its population living in poverty, in very rural small communities. The country has a long and colourful history dating back many thousands of years and was once one of the centre of the powerful Khmer dynasty and its associated temples and cities. More recently Cambodia has suffered many years of civil war and general unrest, including the horrific Khmer Rouge regime of the mid 1970’s.

During this time it is estimated that approximately a quarter of its population (2 million people) were murdered, starved or simply died from exhaustion and treatable illnesses. The country has struggled to try to get back on its feet after this period, but with constant fighting and unrest it has been difficult.

Whilst Cambodia is now at peace, it suffers from crippling corruption at all levels of government, which continue to keep the general populace from rising out of poverty. The majority of the population outside the cities are subsistence farmers, who normally don’t have access to adequate healthcare or education.

Beng Mea lea School

The primary school at Beng Mea lea caters for 900+ children a day with half attending classes in the morning and the remainder in the afternoon. Facilities within the school are extremely poor and as such it is unable to cope with such large numbers, a fact that will continue to worsen as plans to double numbers from further outlying villages are put in place with no planned improvement in the facilities by the state. Obviously all these issues with the facilities at the school affect the ability of the schoolteachers to continue with good education standards in a comfortable and safe environment.

The projects that we are doing at the school aim to improve the basic resources necessary for academic performance and once again instil a sense of pride into the school and all that attend it. This is expected to reduce incidences of illiteracy, disease and poverty in the community as well as improve educational standards and the well being of school students. Due to the widespread problems at the school there are a number of projects that need completing urgently. (sources form Camps international 2015)

Resources and support for ‘Camp Cambodia’: (2013-2016)

Expedition school staff History:

Year 1- Nadeen Laqman and Jon Howarth (2013)

Year 2- Jessica Dearden ,Jon Howarth, Ellie Hobbs, Peter Stoddard (2014)

Year 3- Jessica Dearden, Jon Howarth (2015)

Year 4 - Jessica Dearden and Giles Isbell ( 2016)

http://eiscampscambodia.weebly.com/ - credit to Stuart at Camps International (2015).

Website: Service learning:

http://serviceisj.dudaone.com/ - Personal site built by Ms Dearden to support Service learning.

Sofia Govorusa - Camps International Middle East and school liaison

Expedition Coordinator

W: www.campsinternational.ae