Teach in a floating school

A floating school in Cambodia

For details, visit http://www.realgap.com.au/ or call 1300 844 270.

3rd November 2010
The Ballina Shire Advocate, NSW, Australia

THERE'S volunteering. There's volunteer teaching. Then there's volunteer teaching afloat.

Real Gap is calling for volunteers who like their travel with a twist, with a new project teaching Cambodian kids in a school that floats on Ton Le Sap Lake, moving according to the seasons.

With land in short supply, Cambodians have established floating villages on the lake, collections of houses that move as the lake fills and drains with the monsoon rains.

No previous experience is required, and volunteers have the option of undertaking a TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) course before leaving home.

Half of each day will be spent at the floating school, the other half with a different group of students at a school, housed in a Buddhist pagoda. Traditionally – prior to French colonisation – temples were centres of education. With a lack of government funding to build new schools, communities are reverting to the old ways.

The pagoda school is attended by about 20 children between six and 12 years of age, and volunteers are needed in a similar capacity to the floating school.

The daily routine will see volunteers working from about 8am until 11am at the pagoda school and 2pm to 4.30pm at the floating school. Weekends are free to explore the local Siem Reap area, which is close to the temple complex at Angkor Wat. Further afield, volunteers can visit Phnom Penh or relax on the beaches of Sihanoukville.

The Cambodia Floating School near Angkor Wat project can be undertaken for between two and 12 weeks. Two weeks costs $1529 per person, while 12 weeks costs $4829.