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Chharath took his 12 weeks working for VSO-ICS project in Cambodia as a volunteer in Prasat Sambour district, Kompong Thom province. This project centered on youth employability in local community of Prasat Sambour and areas around it. Chharath was a core member of the team of around 20 people –half UK and another half Khmer volunteers, working and living together in the community. To accomplish the objectives of the project, the whole team was split into 3 sub-teams, namely Youth Volunteering, Youth Employment and Youth Entrepreneurship. Also, the team was divided into separate sub-committees in order to facilitate works within team. With this division, Chharath voluntarily join Youth Voulteering sub-team and Debrief sub-committee. Aside from being the main member is these sub-teams, Chharath also played key role working alongside the whole team to run CADs (Community Action Days), team meeting and ACD (Active Citizenship Day) and so on.

Credit to: Ms. Serena and Mr. Chakriya Volunteering Sub-Team: The volunteering sub-team comprised of five members, two UK and three Khmer. The team worked alongside other two sub-teams to create a sustainable youth clubs and work closely with youth in community either in school or out of school. Chharath team mainly worked with Schools, in collaboration with CDPO, to get students aware of the importance of volunteering, to encourage students to do voluntary work in school and outside school, and to share volunteering opportunities to students. Under Chharath and his team hard work, a great deal of students were interested in and joint his team so as to gain experience, skills and credit for future job opportunities. This team trained students and provided numerous sessions related to soft skills and volunteering courses to students with the purpose to build their capacity. Chharath was the key player in team. He did a lot of research on volunteering opportunities and was one of the great and confident presenters in the team. Chharath was an undeniable drive for the success of the team. Debrief Sub-Committee: The works in Debrief team couldn’t go smoothly and fruitfully without the help from Chharath. Chharath was very active and creative and he came up with lots of interesting sessions and activities for debrief meeting to reflect and summarize the achievements and challenges of each sub-team and those sessions made the whole team extremely involved and enjoyable in the day of meeting. Furthere that, Chharath was very helpful with planning and ensured that all documents need to be submitted are done before the cycle finished. In addition to these arrangement and planning, Chharath was very helpful in organizing the team meal for the last time. He tried to find place and foods that could be affordable for everyone. Describe the main duties undertaken by the volunteer, including volunteer placements, Active Citizenship Days (if relevant) and Community Action Days etc. over the 10 weeks. Chharath took his 12 weeks working for VSO-ICS project in Cambodia as a volunteer in Prasat Sambour district, Kompong Thom province. This project centered on youth employability in local community of Prasat Sambour and areas around it. Chharath was a core member of the team of around 20 people –half UK and another half Khmer volunteers, working and living together in the community. To accomplish the objectives of the project, the whole team was split into 3 sub-teams, namely Youth Volunteering, Youth Employment and Youth Entrepreneurship. Also, the team was divided into separate sub-committees in order to facilitate works within team. With this division, Chharath voluntarily join Youth Voulteering sub-team and Debrief sub-committee. Aside from being the main member is these sub-teams, Chharath also played key role working alongside the whole team to run CADs (Community Action Days), team meeting and ACD (Active Citizenship Day) and so on. Volunteering Sub-Team: The volunteering sub-team comprised of five members, two UK and three Khmer. The team worked alongside other two sub-teams to create a sustainable youth clubs and work closely with youth in community either in school or out of school. Chharath team mainly worked with Schools, in collaboration with CDPO, to get students aware of the importance of volunteering, to encourage students to do voluntary work in school and outside school, and to share volunteering opportunities to students. Under Chharath and his team hard work, a great deal of students were interested in and joint his team so as to gain experience, skills and credit for future job opportunities. This team trained students and provided numerous sessions related to soft skills and volunteering courses to students with the purpose to build their capacity. Chharath was the key player in team. He did a lot of research on volunteering opportunities and was one of the great and confident presenters in the team. Chharath was an undeniable drive for the success of the team. Debrief Sub-Committee: The works in Debrief team couldn’t go smoothly and fruitfully without the help from Chharath. Chharath was very active and creative and he came up with lots of interesting sessions and activities for debrief meeting to reflect and summarize the achievements and challenges of each sub-team and those sessions made the whole team extremely involved and enjoyable in the day of meeting. Furthere that, Chharath was very helpful with planning and ensured that all documents need to be submitted are done before the cycle finished. In addition to these arrangement and planning, Chharath was very helpful in organizing the team meal for the last time. He tried to find place and foods that could be affordable for everyone. Other Activities: Team Meeting: CHHARATH organized a team meeting, which led by him and his UK counterpart. During the team meeting he checked with the sub-teams and sub-committees to update their information on what have been done and what need to do the following week. The agenda the team meeting consisted of doing an energizer, emotional checking, sub-team update, team activity and sub-committee update. Active Citizenship Day (ACD): An important aspect of the ICS programme is ACD’s, to develop planning, facilitation and presentation skills and increase awareness of key topics surrounding International Development. CHHARATH with his counterpart delivered a very strong, informative and engaging ACD on SDG number 3 which is about Good health and well-being. They created an interactive session, which gave space for personal reflection and encouraged people to think about ways we can all help to improve health system and be a more active to help achieve SDG number 3. Community Action Days (CADs): He passionately worked with whole team to raise the awareness on a couple of topics in community and schools related to environmental issue, women rights and the rights of disability people. He was actively involved with discussion on topics by sharing lots of ideas. He was willing to work overtime with planning and organizing to make those events very reachable to attendees. He shared lots of role and responsibilities and managed to get them done in very creative way. On the days of events, respectively, he not just only helped to monitor the process, also was being the energetic presenter and MC.

                                                                                                                                 Credit to: Bong Chandanet

Chharath is very politically aware of issues across the globe with a focus on issues surrounding development work. He is particularly aware of issues surrounding gender and gender-based violence, poverty, hunger, education and the roles of NGOs in humanitarian relief. Chharath always participates in discussions of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals during weekly Active Citizenship Days and enjoys exploring current affairs with his teammates.
Chharath values harmony, equality, inclusivity and fairness in group dynamics. He is always involved in making sure that everyone is treated respectfully, keeping in mind cultural norms and language barrier. It is refreshing to see that he also demands respect and is not afraid to mention when someone is being unfair and disrespectful- he approaches this in a professional manner and gives constructive criticism on how to improve one’s prejudice. He also asks people to tell him if he has been disrespectful to someone or has broken a cultural norm so that he can better himself. These are great qualities for a leader and team player to have as he holds himself and others accountable for their actions which fosters a positive working environment.
In addition, Chharath has developed a keen awareness of the culture and work ethic of UK volunteers and tries to incorporate this into his own way of working. He is always pro-active and enthusiastic about his work.
Chharath’s greatest achievements on the programme was his work with students and the planning and implementation of the CAD. These showed maturity and action orientated thinking whilst also being respectful and inclusive helped to foster a strong team spirit. The work set a positive tone for the programme.
Chharath has shown that he is always committed to learning, and challenging himself to overcome obstacles he may face. He has a very caring nature and quickly became a popular member of the team, both with the Khmer and UK volunteers. 
In summary, we have thoroughly enjoyed working with Chharath. We have no doubt that he will continue to succeed in his future career.