Green Umbrella
Our mission is to provide a model of holistic and transformational education for Cambodian youth
Volunteering Activities
What We Need
- English speakers to teach English to students and local teachers
- Technology skills (including website design) and practical experience that can be shared with our students and staff
- Librarian skills to help set up a borrowing system for our school. Experience in developing library lessons and promotion of reading to our students.
- Skills in office administration
- Skills in human resources & professional teacher development
- Skills in accounting and finance
- Anyone that is willing to share their knowledge and skills with our students, teaching staff and the wider community.
When & Who
What we Provide
We provide 3 home cooked meals per day. Our boarding house for volunteers is basic but comfortable and includes a tv and dvd player, bedding, towels, fridge/freezer (stocked with cold beverages for a donation), washing machine and regular cleaning.
We can also organise local transfers for you so you can explore Cambodia during your free time.
Our Fees
Volunteers pay just $US15 per day for three home cooked meals and comfortable accommodation.
As we rely almost entirely on donations to operate, we kindly ask volunteers to consider a minimum donation of $US500 to Green Umbrella to support our volunteer program, improvements to our school and progress our social enterprise projects.
Private transportation by tuk tuk or van is an additional cost for around the district, and to/from Phnom Penh & the Airport.
You will also need to purchase a SIM card and data plan for around $2-$4 per week.
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Other Ways to Help
We rely almost entirely on donations from our volunteers. We always need teaching and classroom supplies, educational resources, PE equipment, non prescription medicines, first aid and hygiene supplies as well as any preloved technology including tablets, phones and laptops.
Additional Info about Us
Not all children have the same start in life so Green Umbrella wanted to address these inequalities in rural Cambodia. It was founded in 2008 with the belief that education equals opportunity, and every child, regardless of their social, religious and economic background should have an equal chance.
From small beginnings, Green Umbrella was just a single class based in the Pagoda. Here, local teachers and high school students were taught english and were then empowered to deliver English language to impoverished youth and children from the local villages. These children have now grown into our English teachers of today.
Now Green Umbrella has a purpose built school with a roll of 82 covering kindergarten to grade 4. We have continued to broaden our education across a portfolio that continues to help us achieve our vision and our mission. Every day we create a learning environment that is for life – our education philosophy is based on sustainability and education goals follow the global goals for sustainable development and include:
- Good health and well- being
- Quality education
- Gender equality
Our programmes target the most vulnerable of families, who live in poverty on an average income of less than $2 per day. We invest our efforts in the children who in turn share their knowledge and education within the family unit. Our strengths lie in mobilising the efforts of our communities so we can achieve small things in a great way.
About our Projects
We work alongside our local communities on a variety of projects to provide education in its broadest context.
Our projects include:
- Karuna Kumar School (KKS) located in Putsor community providing education to 83 students from poor families from Kindergarten to Grade 4 based on the national curriculum. The children are taught, Computer, Science, Art, English, football and life skills such as health and hygiene and good environmental practices. All children go through a selection process as each child is selected from a different family to reach as many families as possible.
- Green Umbrella’s English School operates in two communes Putsor and Krang Knung. Over 350 students from primary, middle and high school attend English classes every evening from Monday to Friday to improve their skills. Green Umbrella’s English School is a sustainable project. It is financed by school fees paid by the students. The extra income supplements the teacher’s salaries, and provides much needed income to our student teachers to support their ongoing education.
- Generation Education Period (GEP) a sustainable enterprise where we produce reusable sanitary kits for young woman in the local villages, enabling them to continue with education and employment during their period. GEP provides:
- GEP kits to females in rural Cambodia & Laos
- Workshops on menstruation and how to use the kits
- Employment for 2 women in Cambodia to make the kits
- Employment for 2 women in Laos to make the kits
- Puberty, period and pregnancy education workshops for girls and women
- Social Enterprise at Green Umbrella was designed to employ local people in a supportive, skill-building environment and promote local products. Our sewing centre employs two people full-time and is supporting KKS by making school uniforms and bags for students. We also use the network of our sewing centre to sell products made by women in Chum Preak Phen community under the Khmer Women’s Handicraft Association. We have a commitment to sustainability and ethical work practices providing a safe work environment with fair pay.
- Green Umbrella Football Project aims is to increase the health and physical education of our students. Through sport we help develop self-confidence and establish important life skills such as teamwork, leadership and discipline. Three times a week, our 36 students participate in training sessions on our KKS football field. Since our beginnings in June 2016 our children have played many tournaments and came 2nd in the ISF International Schools Tournament in March 2017 – a very proud moment!
- Our Volunteers Program contributes through the sharing of skills and knowledge across all our projects. Our volunteers come from diverse backgrounds and professions. We align skills to projects so everyone gets the best out of their time at Green Umbrella and many stay connected and involved to Green Umbrella when they return to their home countries.