Supporters are
welcome to come and visit our work in Cambodia. You will be
able to visit our school and view some of our larger projects, such as
the bridges we have built. Our
school and the village we work in are located outside of Siem Reap
and we travel there by motorbike. It takes approximately 45
minutes to get to the school (depending on the road conditions).
Visits
to the school and village are possible between Monday and Friday and we
require advance notice of several days. We also appreciate your
flexibility in working in with our work schedule (and sometimes with the
inclement weather). Please email Deborah in advance if you wish to
organise a visit to the school (see email address at the bottom of this
page).
In order that your visit can be mutually beneficial and enjoyable for
all concerned, we ask you to take note of the following important
points:
IMPORTANT
INFORMATION ABOUT
VISITING HELPING HANDS IN CAMBODIA
 | You will
be
expected to pay for the
cost of getting yourself to and from the school/village. (We
do not have our own vehicle.)
You will be paying your
motorbike driver directly (the normal cost is $7.50 usd). This
money goes directly to the driver and is the standard amount a
Cambodian would pay.
|
|  Warning!
The road conditions
are bad! It is a 45
minute ride from Siem Reap to the village on the back of a
motorbike. The road is very
bumpy and rough. You may get caught in storms, have to
walk through mud, push the motorbike through mud, drive through
clouds of red dust, etc. Helping
Hands will not be liable if you get injured. It is expected
that you have your own travel insurance.
|
| We are
unable to allow visitors
to hand out gifts, candy, clothing, money, etc to the children or
villagers.
We anticipate and expect that our visitors will naturally
treat people as equals and not recipients of charity, and remind
them to maintain the sense of a partnership rather than offering
hand-outs (which creates beggars).
We are very strict about this and ask you not to bring candy,
small toys, etc. We have a school that has constant needs for
stationery, books, etc so the best thing you can bring, if you want
to come armed with something to donate, is school supplies.
This helps all children. Please ask us what school supplies
we currently need. |
| Don't
forget to bring water (and
food, if required.) Sometimes you can buy water along the way, but
it's better to make sure you get it in Siem Reap before setting out.
|
| We, the Helping Hands staff, are all very busy
doing our day–to-day jobs so we kindly ask you to please be
flexible and try to work in with us. It
is not always possible for village visits to be accompanied by a
westerner from Helping Hands, due to other duties and commitments
both in Siem Reap and in
Phnom Penh
. Please bear in mind
that we are a small aid organization with limited “human
resources” so we ask you to be aware that quite often the staff
member taking you to the village will also have teaching commitments
or other work to do while they are there.
|
| Bring a
good sun screen, insect repellent,
a hat and
a raincoat.
In the dry season you may find a cotton face mask or scarf
useful to keep the dust at bay and in the wet season you should wear
shoes that you don’t mind getting wet as it may be necessary to
walk through water and mud.
|
| Dengue fever is a problem in
Cambodia
.
It is caused by
mosquitoes that bite during the daylight hours so it is important to
protect yourself with insect repellent.
(Anti malaria medicine does not help with dengue fever.)
|
| We
ask you to be conscious that an increasing number of people are
visiting the school and village, and accordingly respect the
villager’s privacy and private space. For this reason it is
a good idea to focus, when taking photo's, on photographing
activities of relevance to the Helping Hands projects. |
| Please
take time to chat informally with out students (those
not in the class) so they
get a chance to practice their English.
|
| In
line with our Child and Vulnerable Persons Protection Policy no visitor or volunteer is permitted to visit the school unless they
are accompanied by Helping Hands staff.
|
| Staying overnight at the village or Helping
Hands’ school is not an option for a number of reasons.
The main two being: 1.
The personal safety of the visitor cannot be guaranteed, and 2. to
ensure the safety of our children (in line with our Child Protection
Policy).
|
|  Visitors and volunteers are expected to cover
all of their own expenses.
|
| It
is a good idea to wear a motorbike
helmet,
although many people do not. However,
this is often a health insurance requirement.
|
____________________________________ |
