We are an entirely charity-supported school with the goal of providing Cambodian students a good education.
The Smiling Hearts Association for Children is a non-government organisation of an English speaking Primary school. The school is located in the city of Siem Reap, Cambodia and we opened our doors for the first time on the 1st of November 2010. We provide classes free of charge for two neighboring villages and we rely solely on the charity of volunteers and sponsors to remain open and operational.
The main industry in Siem Reap is tourism, with the magnificent temples of Angkor in close proximity. The ability to speak English is a key skill for many young people in Siem Reap. This is due to the fact that the majority of the employment opportunities are within the tourism sector, and without English, our children will have very limited employment prospects.
Our aim is to offer children a base for a better future with our English classes. At Smiling Hearts we teach the children in a stable and loving environment. With our on site playground the children experience joy and freedom from misery - at least for a few hours a day.
We have a number of long term goals for our association including the provision of computer classes.
We are always looking for volunteers, so if you can help us in any way, please get in touch.
English Teacher
Recommended duration: 2 weeks +
Follow recommended curriculum with an emphasis on making sure students truly understand the material as well as completing exercises. Lots of independence and scope for extra activities. Lessons should be fun and lively.
Classroom Assistant
Recommended duration: 3 days +
Usually accompanied by a donation of some sort, come and help our teachers in the classroom, giving individual students more attention and helping to organize the lessons.
General Assistant - Administration/Operations/Social Media
Recommended duration: 4 weeks +
Assistant to director, you will have the responsibility to handle day-to-day issues, emails, website and social media updates as well as tackle a longer term project to help improve the general health of the school through increased publicity. May also fill in for teachers in their absence/where needed.
Recommended Projects:
Develop social media content strategy on Facebook/other platforms, profiling education/tourism in Siem Reap and Cambodia.
Create and publish blog on behalf of the school on day-to-day activities, events, student + teacher profiles.
Organise a fundraising event to generate money for the school.
We can host you at our Homestay which is reasonably priced and all proceeds will go directly to the school.
You should be able to support yourself for the duration of your stay, although the cost of living is very reasonable. If you budget for around $25-$30 a day including accommodation then you should enjoy your stay comfortably.
