Rota holds reflection event to celebrate successful volunteer trip to Cambodia

 

Moments from the Reflection Event.

13  May 2013 

http://www.gulf-times.com/qatar

 

Reach Out To Asia (Rota) celebrated the success of its recent volunteer trip to Cambodia by hosting a Reflection Event for volunteers, parents and school officials involved in the visit.

Student volunteers, parents, teachers and school officials took part in the event at the Museum of Islamic Art. Volunteers showed photographs from their trip and recited testimonials, telling the audience how the trip increased their interest in volunteering and helped them better understand the challenges communities in Cambodia faced.

Congratulating the volunteers, Rota chairperson HE Sheikha Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani said: “I would like to thank you for playing a role in fulfilling our goal of ‘education for all’. The impact that you have left on the local community in Cambodia will be felt for many generations to come.”

She continued, “Through trips to Pakistan, Nepal, Indonesia and Cambodia, Rota has created a movement of volunteers and responsible global citizens within Qatar who make a positive impact on the lives of hundreds of communities across Asia.”

“This was Rota’s fourth volunteer trip to Cambodia,” said Essa al-Mannai, Rota director. “This year’s visit was especially rewarding as we were able to send our second all-female group of independent school student volunteers to see Rota’s educational and community development work and experience the realities of young people in Cambodia.”

In collaboration with Rota’s Cambodian partner - the Monithapana Foundation - and under the sponsorship of Vodafone Qatar, the volunteers from Al Bayan Independent Secondary School for Girls, Al Sailiyah Independent Secondary School for Girls, Qatar Independent School and the Amna Bint Wahab Independent Secondary School for Girls travelled to Cambodia in March.

“Vodafone Qatar believes it is important to provide volunteers with opportunities to make an impact on children in Asia and, in this case, a high school in Cambodia,” said Dana Haidan, head of corporate social responsibility at Vodafone Qatar.

During the eight-day visit, the volunteer group hosted workshops for 150 students at the new Rota-funded and supported Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen - Rota - Khsach Kandal General and Technical High School. The volunteers also raised funds to present to Phnom Penh Dubai Islamic School with learning materials and books, and helped distribute basic food supplies to 200 local families.

“By the end, I made many friends and I have remained in touch with them since arriving home. Thank you Rota, the experience was everything I hoped for and more,” Shaikha Shafeea al-Marri, a student volunteer, said at the Reflection Event.

“I must let people know about the important work Rota is doing to create a better future for thousands of Asian children, and how they can get involved in this work,” said Sara Ibrahim al-Housani, another volunteer.

Volunteers and teachers expressed gratitude to Rota for organising the “life-changing experience”. Several volunteers reflected that they were much more appreciative of their material possessions after the visit.