Cambodia: 8 Months of ELI

  • Neighborhood Revitalization - Construction

    In Portugal, over two million people are in danger of living in poverty, including 500 thousand children and their families. This program directly helps these families by giving them a decent home. We mobilize national and international volunteers to rebuild and repair their houses so they have a healthier and happier place to live.

    The students will have the opportunity to be integrated into a team of volunteers from all over the world that have a common mission. Painting doors, repairing the rooms’ floor or fixing the bathroom wall will be part of your daily tasks. You don’t have to be an expert in construction as there will always be a supervisor explaining how to perform the tasks and making sure everything you do is correct.The results of your work are tangible and truly meaningful from day one and the smiles on the family faces when moving in again are priceless. Questions? Click here

    • "Had a wonderful time repairing housing for folks who would not otherwise be able to do it themselves. It really is a great way to meet genuine friendly locals, see parts of the country one would probably overlook on the well trodden tourist routes and feel like you are contributing something to improving the quality of life for others. Would highly recommend this for someone who is looking for a wonderful, positive travel experience. " Phil, Australia 
    • "My experience was beyond what words can describe. (...) I learned a lot about the field, about the local culture -since I was working with local students volunteers. I met amazing men and women with whom it turned out that I had a lot in common although we all come from different environments. I made both local and foreign friends, adapted to a totally different city (an amazing one by the way) and made memories that I will keep forever." Tania, France

    Apply Now

    After you fill out the Application Form on our website, our Application Advisor will be in touch to help you with the next steps.

  • Fighting food waste and hunger

    This kind of program is catching on all over the world. Volunteers will actively contribute to fight food waste and hunger in a structured system that feeds over 3000 people every day. You will help the local teams collecting, organizing and distributing the food excess from restaurants and cafés to fight food waste in the city.

    Volunteers will support a network of centers which recover perfectly fine excess food from local restaurants, supermarkets and cafés and re-distribute it among families, elderly and homeless people in need. Tasks will include collecting the food from local providers, assisting with packaging it, assisting with sorting and storage of any food left for the next day, distributing it to the families and clean up at the end of the shift. Questions? Click here

    • "I stayed in this program for about a week. I was able to help a local food redistribution center during my time which did feel like I was doing some good for the locals. Part of that meant helping package up and storing/distributing food as well as going to collect food from the different restaurants involved with the program. Apart from the volunteering aspect, there were some local excursions offered and also plenty of free time to go explore the city. I would recommend this program to anyone who wants to help people and who wants to learn about a great city." Tom, Belgium

    • "The mornings are available for sightseeing in and around Porto and in the evening we would volunteer. Every help in storing, labeling and portioning food is needed there. The local volunteer teams are very dedicated and warmly welcome the foreign volunteers. The work was a lot of fun. (...) The projects were very instructive and are definitely recommended." - Peter Löckelt, Germany

    Apply Now

    After you fill out the Application Form on our website, our Application Advisor will be in touch to help you with the next steps.

  • Education Support for Under-Priviledged Children

    Take it from us, nothing is more fulfilling than working with kids to enhance and enrichen their education. Perhaps you remember visitors to your classes when you were a kid. Maybe a special teacher's aid. Even the best teacher can't make class exciting all the time!

    Even in Europe with its strong support of education, some children are left behind. Although all Portuguese children have access to school, there is no guarantee school will provide the kind of stimulation that will lead to success as adults. Our volunteers help different NGOs promoting several and diversified extra-curricular educational initiatives for underprivileged children and teenagers. As a volunteer, you can propose and implement new extra-curricular activities or work with ones that are already in place. Do you have a skill or passion that you would like to share? Sports? Crafts? Languages? Music? Dance? Here's your opportunity! Questions? Click here

    Apply Now

    After you fill out the Application Form on our website, our Application Advisor will be in touch to help you with the next steps.

  • Internships in Lisbon (overview)

    Lisbon

    Brief explanation of the Internships:

    We work closely with a network of over 250 social and environmental organizations who fight daily for their mission. These organizations want to innovate and improve their ability to have a greater positive impact on the lives of the people they support every day. To achieve that, they are looking for the expertise, technical knowledge, international perspectives and dedication that international interns bring.

    Our role is to help connect students and recent graduates seeking to apply the skills they have learned during their studies, on meaningful projects with organizations who have those problems and would appreciate their support.

    • Business
    • Marketing
    • Graphic Design
    • IT
    • Tourism
    • Hotel management
    • Special Education
    • Veterinary
    • Women

    Questions? Click here

    Apply Now

    After you fill out the Application Form on our website, our Application Advisor will be in touch to help you with the next steps.

  • IT/Technology Internship

    IT developers / Web developer / Web designer / Website programmer

    It’s more and more important to be digitally connected, even for the social sector. The organizations we work with recognize the importance of taking advantage of the digital world and the potential of the technology to maximize the benefits for their beneficiaries, as well as to raise awareness of the public for the cause they are fighting for. There are internship opportunities for Web Developers in coding and optimization of the website of non-profits in Portugal. Some of the projects also require making their website accessible for people with disabilities such as blind or deaf users. Some of the opportunities also involve creating or restructuring databases, which can help the organizations to reach a wider audience in a more systematic manner as well as to improve their internal processes.

    Duration: 1 to 6 month

    Type of internship: Part-time or full-time

    Responsibilities: Some tasks can be but are not limited to:

    • Write well designed, testable, efficient code by using best software development practices
    • Create a user-friendly website layout/user interface
    • Design stable, reliable and effective databases
    • Optimize and maintain legacy systems
    • Modify databases according to requests and perform tests
    • Solve database usage issues and malfunctions
    • Decide on the best technologies and languages for the project
    • Gather and refine specifications and requirements based on technical needs
    • Create and maintain software documentation
    • Cooperate with web designers to match visual design intent
    • Fixe bugs in existing projects
    • Run performance benchmarking tests

    Questions? Click here

    Apply Now

    After you fill out the Application Form on our website, our Application Advisor will be in touch to help you with the next steps.

  • Veterinary Internship

    Veterinary

    We currently partner with 2 non-profits that give medical care to abandoned and mistreated animals. Interns and professionals in the field of veterinary medicine are welcome. In this program interns can practice in real clinic cases the skills they have acquired during their studies. The program is open to both current veterinary and vet-tech students as well as licensed veterinarians. Pre-vet students will be considered based on previous experience. You will be working side by side with English speaking staff, and overseen by licensed veterinarians.

    Duration: 1 to 6 month

    Type of internship: Part-time or full-time

    Responsibilities: Typical tasks are (but not limited to):

    • Monitoring and discussion of clinical cases
    • Monitoring and support in the consultations
    • Monitoring surgeries
    • Support in treatments (blood samples, treatment of wounds, administering IVs , etc.)

    Questions? Click here

    Apply Now

    After you fill out the Application Form on our website, our Application Advisor will be in touch to help you with the next steps.

  • Tourism/Hospitality Internship

    Tourism/Hospitality Internship

    It’s more and more important to be integrated into one of the most dynamic sectors in Portugal: the tourism sector. The social and environmental organizations we work with recognize the importance of taking advantage of their resources, know-how and infrastructures to maximize the benefits for their beneficiaries, as well as to raise awareness of the public for the cause they are fighting for. There are opportunities for tourism students to be responsible for helping our partners to develop their tourism business plan, improve their operational processes, create new programs based on the local reality of the partner, among many other tasks that aim at improving the financial sustainability of the institution.

    Duration: 1 to 6 month

    Type of internship: Part-time or full-time

    Responsibilities: Some tasks can be but are not limited to:

    • Develop completely new programs
    • Develop tourism business plans
    • Contact potential commercial partners
    • Conduct surveys
    • Implement training programs
    • Develop new itineraries
    • Improve the existing tours
    • Learn how to behave as a tour guide
    • Gain experience as a tour guide
    • Manage Hotel reservations in a real context
    • Learn and manage the processes and the operations of a Hotel/hostel
    • Give improvements suggestions

    Questions? Click here

    Apply Now

    After you fill out the Application Form on our website, our Application Advisor will be in touch to help you with the next steps.

Last fall, ELI Abroad launched a new program in Cambodia. We’ve been sending volunteers and interns to neighboring Vietnam and Thailand for years, but Cambodia was a new territory for us.

Well...  no more! Since November, more than a dozen international travelers -- from the U.S., Canada, Spain, France, Mexico, Germany and other nations -- joined ELI Abroad’s partners in the capital city, Phnom Penh, and Siem Reap, the gateway to the fabled temples of Angkor Wat and Cambodia’s top tourist attraction.

ELI-ers teach in Buddhist monasteries, intern in microfinance organizations, and help out in daycare, schools and orphanages. They live in local guest houses and work alongside Cambodia’s warm and welcoming natives. Because Cambodia is inexpensive, even modest budgets allow volunteers and interns to explore this beautiful nation, relax in Phnom Penh’s restaurants and cafes, venture into the jungles outside of Siem Reap, or hit the beautiful beaches and secluded islands of the southern coast.

Traditionally, Thailand has been the biggest draw in this region. But if you’re looking for an affordable, exotic destination where you can share your skills while expanding your horizons, add Cambodia to your list of possible journeys. It is less expensive than Thailand, less overwhelmed by tourists, and English is more commonly spoken. And hey, the food is almost as good! So why not volunteer or intern in Cambodia. You can still make a sidetrip to Thailand. To whet your appetite, here are two articles that feature tips and ideas for the Cambodia-bound traveler.

36 Hours in Siem Reap - New York Times

Cambodia in Two Weeks - The Guardian

Or, check out our Cambodia programs to learn more about the opportunities and adventures that await ELI Abroad volunteers. Past participants say, this may be your trip of a lifetime.

By Kevin O'Neill

 

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