We started off our day with breakfast at 6:30. The omelettes were gourmet and well crafted. We congregated on the first floor at 7:30 to properly introduce ourselves to the RAW impact team, headed up by our tour leader, Sonya.

After initial greetings, we received our transport in the form of tuk tuks – an exciting way of getting around Cambodia. The drivers were friendly and kind. When we arrived, we were invited into the RAW Impact office. This is where we learnt the three main pillars of RAW; Sustain, Educate, Protect. We learnt about projects that we will be partaking in, being the bamboo farm and the construction of a house in phase two. After purchasing items from the RAW store, we then travelled in tuk tuks to She rescue.

She rescue is an organisation that helps with the protection of girls who are in danger of or experiencing sex trafficking or abuse. To protect them, the organisation offers a new home where they provide an education and teach the girls how to create an income through sewing and other projects.

After, we travelled to S-21 (school repurposed into prison during the Khmer Rouge and now a museum). This is where we learnt about what the prisoners went through who were accused of being CIA and KGB spies. Here we learnt what Pal Pot, (the leader of the regime) did to punish the prisoners there. Many people were captured and imprisoned, with evidence of their fate documented throughout the museum, a confronting sight.

After a stomach filling Cambodian lunch, we then travelled to one of the killing fields used by Khmer Rouge soldiers. This is where Pal Pot executed millions of innocent civilians and put them in mass graves. Through an audio-guided tour, we learnt about the horrific techniques used and consolidated our reason for coming on this tour.

After leaving the killing fields, the group had two hours to relax by the pool on the roof and process our day. After some good R&R, the group converged once more to discuss the history of Cambodia that we saw today and what this means for our work tomorrow. After processing and discussing this heavy topic with Sonya, we then went to a lovely dinner where we are now writing this post.

By Matthew, Daniel and Nic

We have arrived safe and sound in Phnom Pehn after a long day of travel.

An exciting Tuk Tuk ride from the airport and a delicious dinner has us very, very ready for bed.

A big day tomorrow with lots of stories to share.

Miss Glacken, Mr Biddle, Mrs Kirby

Dear students and parents,

We hope you all had a lovely festive period.

This tour has really snuck up on us and now it is only days away!

A few things to keep in mind as you are packing and planning for Friday;

• Meet at Terminal 1 and 4am on Friday. We are flying with Singapore Airlines.
• Please, please, please make sure that you have your passport and are wearing your blue tour shirt
• I will have a print out of your eVisa but please make sure you have a hard copy in your hand luggage, as a backup
• Make sure you have your own sunscreen, insect repellent (we recommend Bushman’s with DEET #notspon) and hand sanitiser
• Gear for on-site; hat, safety glasses, gloves and sensible footwear that you don’t mind getting dirty. Remember that you need to have shoulders and knees covered at all times.
• Clothing for down-time, dinners and travel; make sure you pack light, conservative clothing
• While you will not need any money for the majority of the trip, if you would like some spending money for the final few days in Siem Reap, we recommend American dollars in small denominations. You will be able to get this out at the airport if you need to.
• Cambodia uses different plugs to Australia so make sure you bring an adaptor that will fit one of the plug types listed here; https://www.electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk/guidance/advice-for-you/when-travelling/travel-adaptor-for-cambodia/
• Each teacher will have a first aid kit and travel sickness medication but if you require your own medication, please make sure it is accessible in your hand luggage

We will arrive in Singapore at 11:55am, with a four-hour layover. We arrive in Phnom Penh at 6:05pm, where we will meet our RAW tour leader and be shuttled to our hotel.

Emergency contact number on the ground in Cambodia is 0489 994 307 – however this is emergency only. I will still be contactable by email (eleanor.glacken@ststephens.wa.edu.au) and we will be updating the blog daily with stories and photos.

Please get in touch if you have any other questions or queries 🙂

I know that we are so excited and can’t wait to share this amazing experience with you!

All the best,

Miss Glacken, Mr Biddle, Mrs Kirby

Dear all,

This is just a reminder of the details of our dinner at Tamarind tonight. Our booking is for 6:30pm and we expect to wrap up at 8-8:30pm. Parents and students are both welcome 🙂 There is plenty of parking in the Mezz carpark.

We are getting pretty close to our leaving date, with just over a month to go! Keep those Evisas and immunisation emails coming – can I ask that you send me these by the 6th of December? Thank you to those people who have already sent theirs through.

Our fundraising due date is also fast approaching, with your funds due into your EDH account by the 10th of December. This is the time to ask your family, friends and work colleagues for a few extra dollars to get you over the line.

If you have any questions about anything, please get in contact.

Looking forward to seeing you all tonight 🙂

Ms Glacken, Mrs Kirby, Mr Biddle

A big shout out to all of the Cambodia students for their epic effort at the sausage sizzle on Saturday. We sold almost 1000 sausages-in-buns and almost 300 drinks, raising close to $1500. It was a terrific team effort. Congratulations.

Remember to let Ms Glacken, Mr Biddle or Mrs Kirby know via email when you have had your vaccinations.

Dear students and parents,

Just a quick reminder about tomorrow night’s meeting.

Who: Cambodia students and parents

Where: Library Community Room, Duncraig Campus

When: 6pm

What to bring: To complete your eVisa application you will need; a device, a credit card for payment and an electronic copy of a portrait-style photo (one where you are facing front on and your whole face is visible).

Andrew from RAW will also be there to answer any questions you might have.

Thank you so much to all those who donated their baked goodies to the bake sale last Friday and a special mention to Bella, Ellen and Charlotte who manned the stall. We are also running a bake sale this Thursday at the Carramar Junior Production, starting at 6:15. If you can donate something to be sold, we would be very appreciative!

Our Bunnings Sausage Sizzle this Saturday at Mindarie Bunnings. If you haven’t let yet Ms Glacken, Mrs Kirby or Mr Biddle know that you would like to be involved, please do so! We will chat more about the proposed roster tomorrow night.

Lastly, our end of year tour dinner is booked in at Tamarind in Mt Hawthorn on the 4th of December at 6:30. See location details below. There is a lot of street parking and the Mezz carpark right next door.

As always, if you have any questions please let us know.

Looking forward to seeing you all tomorrow night!

Ms Glacken, Mrs Kirby and Mr Biddle.

Dear parents and Cambodia Service Tour students

Time has come to get focused and ready!

As we draw closer to the date of departure, 10^th of January, some important dates and events are going to be posted on this blog and it is important that we keep abreast of what is happening and what is required.

We are having a final meeting of all parents and students on the Wednesday 20^th of November in the Community Room adjacent to the library on the Duncraig Campus, starting at 6pm. This meeting we cover all of the travel and departure details and will answer any questions you have about the forthcoming tour. We will also use this meeting to complete our online entry visas for Cambodia so please bring your student devise and a credit card for payment and we will complete this task as a group.  We must have ALL visas completed by this date.

The second date to keep in your diary is the evening of the 4^th of December, as this will be a family Cambodian meal, most likely in the North Perth area. This will be our last meeting before departure on 10^th January. Further details will be provided shortly.

Please keep in touch with the blog as this is the location where all tour information will be posted.

Saum arkoun

Mr Biddle, Mrs Glacken and Mrs Kirby

All passports are now in and we have our flight tickets confirmed. For your information, here are the flight details:

10Jan20 PER/SIN SQ224 0640/1155

10Jan20 SIN/PNH MI608 1635/1805  (PNH is Phnom Penh)

21Jan20 REP/SIN MI613 1040/1415   (REP is Siem Reap )

21Jan20 SIN/PER SQ215 1840/2355

On another important note, please email tour staff with a confirmation that you are satisfied with your child’s immunisation for the Cambodia Service Tour by 25 November 2019.

Only 70 days to go before departure!

Thank you to those families who have made their final payment for the tour, due on 18 October. We now have the final flight and Raw Impact payments to make and so we need all students to complete their tour payments immediately.

Please use the parent portal as described to make the final payment.

Many thanks

Dr Mark Fielding

Dear Year 11s and parents,

I hope you all had a lovely holiday and have had a smooth start to Term 4 🙂

This is just a reminder for those who have not yet sent their passports through to either myself or Mr Biddle. Can you please send a scanned copy of your passport photo page through by the 25th of October.

The end of the year is rapidly approaching so make sure that you are chipping away at your fundraising totals – if you are stuck for ideas, please let us know and we will help you!

There will be a parent meeting later this term – date and time TBC. This meeting will cover Visas, Immunisations and any other questions you may have about preparing for the trip.

As always, if you have any questions, please let one of us know.

Enjoy your first week back!

Ms Glacken, Mr Biddle and Mrs Kirby.