Why did you decide to volunteer with ROV in Cambodia?
Olivia: For the last couple of years I really wanted to do a volunteer program and I had researched so many different companies, locations and types of programs, however I couldn't choose because I just wanted to do everything! There were just way too many options, which kept me from actually putting my foot down and doing something. I'd never heard of (nor come across in my searches) this ROV company, and one day I was at uni and was handed a flyer in one of my lectures for this volunteering company that were having an information session, so naturally I went along to find out more.
Getting the lowdown from one of the recruiters and team leaders was so inspiring and hearing all about the way they run things and that more of the money invested in the volunteer program goes back to the community than other companies, I was sold. It also majorly helped that they only had about 5 different options for me to choose from which conveniently narrowed it down...and then once I looked at specific dates of when I could go, there was only one viable option - Cambodia! So that was that. And I don't regret it or wish I went elsewhere for a second. There is still plenty of time for me to do more programs and go more places.
Describe your day to day activities as a volunteer
Olivia: Everyday we did something a little different in the village (yet still in the same village community), so it gave us more of an insight on how the Cambodian people lived, worked, played, learned, relaxed, etc. Our daily activities included things like building classrooms, building roads, rice picking, painting, digging and basic English/Khmer lessons. And in the afternoons we got to play games, sing, dance and read to the children at the school we were working at. The second week however we were based out at an elephant refuge in the middle of the Cambodian jungle.
The refuge is a place where the founders have created a "heaven" so to speak for elephants to go to live at (or be rented out to) where they can learn to be elephants again. In Cambodia elephants are often used for laborious duties, logging trees and carrying weighted objects that are too heavy for them and can be treated very horribly. Our duties at the refuge were simply to help build more rooms, clear plantations and create paths to extend the accommodation side of the refuge as they were getting more and more business. We also took half days where we watched the elephants in their natural habitat, fed them and learned more about them and how they interact with each other.
What made this experience unique and special?
Olivia: Well, naturally anyone's first volunteering experience is going to be unique and special because it will often involve many things you have not done, seen or been exposed to before. It was really great to be so immersed in the culture and lifestyle, I thoroughly enjoyed all the opportunities we were given, even down to helping the locals make lunch everyday!
I was largely ignorant about Cambodia and its history prior to my trip there, so I learned a great deal in such a small amount of time and consequently developed a deep appreciation and an emotional connection to the people and what they (or there families) went through. It is a place I now hold very close to my heart and I will forever, and hope to someday return and continue to help them overcome their fears and misfortune.
How has this experience impacted your future?
Olivia: Although I was already a fairly open-minded person when it came to cultures, foods, languages, religions and whatnot, but doing this program forced me to meet new people and share more of myself that I would usually be afraid to. It definitely opened my eyes and my mind to more corners of the world. In professional terms it actually influenced me to change majors at uni and I'm now studying anthropology in the hope to some day live in countries similar to Cambodia and to work for organisations (such as ROV or any other volunteering companies) that help first hand with rural and less developed communities.