When Western people think of Cambodia, we normally think of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge before anything else. When Khmer people think of their history, they normally think of the Khmer Empire and Angkor Wat – a reminder of when they were the major political force in the region and of their warrior heritage. …
When we think of culture, most of us think of the behaviours in culture which we witness. We think of things like food, dress and dance – and they are definitely an important part of culture, but anthropologists (people who study culture) and sociologists (people who study societies) have different ways of understanding culture. We …
In this course we explore the research and look at why some of the common volunteering or service trip models are at best ineffective, and at worst, damaging to local communities. We also look at what the research says about the effect that these trips have on volunteers themselves. We must warn you though – …
Avoiding the Pitfalls of Short-Term Missions or Volunteering [TD] Read More »
Working and volunteering in orphanages is a common story that you may have heard from people in your community or you may have even spent some time working in an orphanage. Over 1.5 million people every year around the globe volunteer in orphanages, pouring $2.6million into orphanages every year. While people may have a very …
From Orphanage Manager to Family-Based Care Advocate: The Cambodian Context [ES] Read More »
What comes to mind when you hear the word orphanage? Is it a room lined with beds where Annie and her friends lived or maybe a line of dirty children asking for more food in a British accent? Our own life experiences shape how we understand the word orphanage – for those of us who …
When in low-income communities, our use of photography and social media can easily become exploitative. We can unintentionally act as tourists, capturing and consuming the materially poor’s images and stories as if they were a show to be observed. Further, we can capture images as a way of getting an emotional reaction from viewers in …
What is poverty? Isn’t it just people who are too poor to buy things? Can’t they get a job or work a bit harder and then they will have enough money? Most people from well-resourced nations such as Australia, America or the United Kingdom may have seen people living in poverty but few have really …
Both charity and justice have an important part to play in poverty alleviation; individual responses (charity) and social and systemic responses (social justice) are equally essential. The Rok Kern program is designed around the dual aims of encouraging participants to think about what big picture actions they can take to make a difference in the …
