Annual service trips to Cambodia are a long-standing tradition at Ivanhoe Grammar School. The School works with local aid and community organizations and with communities in different villages in the Siem Reap region and Phnom Penh, primarily focusing on various schools. Over the years, the School has been involved in numerous capacity building programs. A group of students engages in the school’s annual Cambodian Service Project, working with local charity agencies in Cambodia. From one senior trip per year to many excursions involving senior, middle school, and primary students, staff, parents, and alumni, the project has grown.
As of 2023, Ivahoe Grammar School Cambodia Service Project 2023 has organized the largest number ever up to over 130 students and teachers under the trip and logistics ground handled mostly by SAM INSPIRE Cambodia.
This is a genuinely exceptional educational opportunity that engages students and supports their development as global citizens in a constantly shifting international context.
To begin with our long journey of blogging about our most recent school service project trip that SAM INSPIRE Cambodia has coordinated with the most successful outcomes. This blogging features the brief itinerary of what the our over 130 students and teachers would do for their 15 days trip from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap, Cambodia.
| Phnom Penh phase begins | |
| 15 June Thur Phnom Penh | Grp 1 (65 pax) Arrive Mel Airport 7am Dep SQ238 9.30am Arr Sing 3.25pm Dep SQ158 4.30pm Arr Phn Penh 5.30pm Grp 2 (64 pax) Arrive Mel Airport 8pm Dep SQ218 11:35pm |
| Day 1 16 Frid | Morning Grp 2 Arr Sing 5:30am Dep 7.40am SQ154 Arr Phnom Penh 8:40am transfer to hotel. Afternoon Return to hotel for swim, dinner at hotel. Prepare for early morning departure and teaching tomorrow. Early night as you are up at 6.30am for breakfast & depart by 7.30am. So put those alarms on. Read the students’ Reflections here |
| Day 2 17 Sat | Day 1 Service 7.30am depart hotels approx. 5pm return. 6-8pm Dinner and sights on Mekong River. Read the Students’ Reflections here |
| Day 3 18 Sun | Touring day with guides to historical sites. Learn about the brutal Khmer Rouge regime at two infamous sites. In the afternoon you will be able to barter at one of two large markets. Depart hotel 7.30am approx. return at 4pm. “Killing Fields” memorial site.Tuol Sleng Genocide MuseumNational MuseumCentral Markets 2pm-4pmRussian Markets 2pm-4pm Settle your hotel account and pack for early morning departure to Siem Reap. Read the Students’ Reflections here |
| Day 4 19 Mon | Depart 8am for 6.5-hour 314km coach trip to Siem Reap. Enroute visit Kamponloung Village the “silver smiths’ village. Break at Skun town look out for spiders. Lunch Prey Pros Village. Hotel check in Siem Reap. Relax, swim in hotel pool, dinner at hotel. Prep & pack 3-night stay at the village for service & teaching tomorrow. Check your pack list for what to take. Read the Students’ Reflections here |
| Siem Reap phase begins | |
| Day 5 20 Tues | Hotel checkout luggage stacked in held rooms. Depart by bus from hotel 8am. Village Life and Teaching Day 1 Teams of staff and students will spend 4 days and 3 nights, experiencing life in a rural village, teaching & participating in various activities designed by each Village. Holding 2 rooms at each hotel for 3 nights as backup for staff/students. Read the Students’ Reflections here |
| Day 6 21 Wed | Village Life and Teaching Day 2 Read the Students’ Reflections here |
| Day 7 22 Thur | Village Life and Teaching Day 3 Read the Students’ Reflections here |
| Day 8 23 Frid | Village Life and Teaching Day 4 Return to Siem Reap & hotel check in. Advise if interested in opt in tour. Read the Students’ Reflections here |
| Day 9 24 Sat | A well-earned day of relaxation and recovery. Your team will decide what to do on this day of rest. Optional tour A morning & afternoon option will be available with limited places. 9am-12pm & 1-4pm Opopo “Mine detecting Rats”. Angkor National Museum 6.30pm Dinner at Amazon Angkor restaurant for all teams. Read the Students’ Reflections here |
| Day 10 25 Sun | Village Soccer tournament “Happy Football” Today an experience of a lifetime for 100 children from poor rural villages. Many live up to 2 hours away and may never have travelled to Siem Reap. Read the Students’ Reflections here |
| Day 11 26 Mon | Touring the sights of Siem Reap 1/ Mountain bike ride around Temples of Angkor Wat early departure to avoid heat. 2/ “Floating Villages” Sightseeing by river boat, to Tonlé Sap. 3/ “Artisans of Angkor” a visit to purchase traditional Cambodian crafted gifts. Evening dinner Siem Reap & markets Read the Students’ Reflections here |
| Day 12 27 Tues | Touring the sights of Siem Reap day 2 Early start for the Temples Bike Tour as you attempt to avoid the heat. Read the Students’ Reflections here |
| Day 13 28 Wed | Project and Celebration Day Revisit villages to complete projects such as painting, landscaping, and building. Pack for outdoor work gloves & hat. Read the Students’ Reflections here |
| Day 14 29 Thur | Return flight arrangements. Grp 1&2 4.10pm dep Siem Reap to Sing SQ165 Grp2 Dep Sing to Melb 10pm SQ227 Grp 1 Dep Sing to Melb 12.25am SQ 237 4 rooms kept for late checkout. |
The next blogging, we will feature most of the reflections that each assigned team will write about their experiences. Stay tune with Sam Inspire blogging series.
Looking to host similar experience to your school trip, let have a chat by finding us at the following contact details: