In November 2022 volunteer Zara went to Cambodia to volunteer at Treak Community Centre. Zara works in the publishing industry so her placement focused on reading – the activities she did were based on instilling a love of books in the children and she ran a parents’ workshop on helping your child to read at home. On her return to the UK Zara talked to her friend Aimee, who also works in the publishing industry, about what she had been…
This is one of our favourite photos on our website (taken in 2013). The little boy looking at the book is named Robert – he attended Mary’s Little Lambs School until he was 11 years old and those of you who have volunteered there may remember him – I know Yvonne (the volunteer reading the story to him) does. Recently we heard that Robert has tragically died, along with four of his friends. They drowned. Culturally children in The Gambia…
The Education for All boarding houses (where many of our volunteers work) are not just about enabling girls to go to school and get their qualifications. They are also about preparing the girls for life and for work, giving them the skills and confidence to become independent women. Here is a great initiative from the travel industry to support them in this aim. From the Education for All newsletter: Hays Travel Internships start this Summer We are so excited to…
Here’s a great new initiative by Treak Creations, the new social enterprise linked to Treak Community Centre in Cambodia. Treak Creations is run by Salin, the manager of Treak Community Centre – it is a community-based programme which creates work and training opportunities for women from Treak Village. Their first focus has been sewing, making garments to sell both locally and online – take a look at their website to see some of their beautiful creations. One of the things…
My goal in coming to The Gambia was to contribute altruistically to a legitimate cause with a reliable organization. After years of long hours and stressful grafting as a chef and consultant in fast paced kitchens, I felt it was time to step aside for a little while and try to decompress. I’ve always had a keen interest in politics, international development, and travel. In recent years I’ve started volunteering in London and found it extremely rewarding. With those things…
We are proud of the work done by our partners in the Gambia at ITTOG (Institute for Travel and Tourism in the Gambia), by the women of the No Woman Left Behind Association, and by our volunteers – this has led to really substantial progress in this women’s empowerment programme over the last 12 months. One year ago Sallie and I visited the Gambia and saw this programme in its early stages. Our partners had obtained funding to provide training…
We are always keen to add more opportunities for healthcare volunteers to our list of projects we support. So, when I was visiting The Gambia in February, I was very interested to hear from our local partner that Bijilo Medical Center is looking for volunteers to work alongside local staff and help them develop their skills in a variety of areas of healthcare. Bijilo Medical Center (BMC) is a non governmental health facility with the goal of providing comprehensive and…
It’s fantastic that our volunteers can travel again but this doesn’t suit everyone. We set up our e-volunteering programme during COVID – supporting our programmes without travelling. This can be done in the Gambia, Cambodia and Morocco. We can match a range of volunteer skills to local needs for online volunteering, exactly as for volunteering in-country. Watch this short video to hear how Linda used her business and finance skills to support women from No Woman Left Behind, a women’s…
Denise (an artist who creates stunning murals) volunteered at Treak in March – she has certainly left her mark. Working with local staff and children she has created beautiful murals to enhance the surroundings which can also be used to enhance the curriculum. So think outside the box – you don’t have to be a teacher to do valuable work at this school. Read on to see what she says. ‘Spending one glorious month in Cambodia creating murals was one…
An update from Sallie. When I was in Cambodia in November I reported on the launch of a new social enterprise to support Treak community. Wow what Salin has achieved in just 6 months! Volunteers have helped her with product design, website design, costings and marketing. Treak Creations now has a website – and is selling in Cambodia to locals and travellers. My favourite item is the school uniform – for just $15 we can buy a school uniform for…