About Us

Leeds, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Hello! We are a team of volunteers for the University of Leeds. This summer we'll be embarking on a project in Tonle Bati, Cambodia, spending two months in rural Cambodia, volunteering at the Seametrey Bilingual and Residential School, the first of its kind in Cambodia. The trip is the first international volunteering project the University has carried out. We'll be using this blog to follow the trials and tribulations of the coming months, and to give you a taste of our Cambodian experience. If you want to volunteer with the University, visit the new volunteering hub at http://volunteering.leeds.ac.uk, We'd also like to thank all of our supporters; we'd encourage you to take a moment to give them a look by clicking on their logos to the right of this page. Thank you to Santander Universities, TD Travel Group, the University of Leeds and Leeds for Life, who has all offered valuable financial and professional support to this fantastic project. The views expressed in this blog post are not necessarily that of the University of Leeds or the project's supporters, they are the views of the Leeds-Cambodia team.

Friday, 12 July 2013

Grouting, Gritted Teeth and Great News.

Team Leader Sophie here, reporting on what could only be called a ‘messy’ sort of week. After the excitement of week one with all the cultural excursions, kids and beard making, this week has been a little less engaging. Despite caution, some group members found themselves struck by fairly inevitable stomach bugs. You’ve all heard of Delhi Belly… well unfortunately we had a bout of the Phnom Penh P**s. Nothing serious, but equally, not very fun.

So the week saw the group split, with some staying back at our hostel, soaking up the air con and battling their bugs and boredom. Some intense games of scrabble have been played, and the local coffee shop frequented. Not how we’d hoped to start the trip off, but everyone has gritted their teeth and got on with getting better. The weekend is in sight, and everyone is up and nearly well, which is excellent to see! 

The real troopers of the week have been those who have been well. We started volunteering this week, and this meant building. The new school where we will be living and running activities was lacking some essentials (e.g. floor, roof, walls… you know, the little things). To get it ready for our arrival it was all hands on deck, with the healthy volunteers sorting tiles, nailing trellises, and generally pitching in. They've been commuting back and forth from Phnom Penh, and suffering some pretty early starts. The biggest achievement is the tiled floor which has been completed by our wonderful team. First major skill learnt on this trip? Grouting. The group’s enthusiasm and energy has been impressive, and I’ve been very proud. The amount of building they’ve done is more than they expected, but there have been no grumbles. We have even managed to do some English lessons with the Khmer building team. Nothing quite like seeing a group of grown men doing heads, shoulders, knees and toes!  


The positive attitudes have paid off, as the week ended with some great news. Due to the volunteers’ hard work, we’ve finished some of the building ahead of schedule. So, not only will we be moving to the new school on Monday, but so will nine kids. The kids are from the city school, and will be staying with as we run a week long activity camp for them. This is truly what we came here to do, and everyone is excited; the perfect way to end a fairly grim week. Roll on Monday! 
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