A Little Bit of Cambodia Forever: Nicola’s Volunteer Journey with CCF

Here Nicola, 61, talks about her experience in her own words.

I have been a teacher in the UK for 38 years and I still love teaching! I spent my time working with communities in areas of deprivation and quickly became passionate about supporting children who were not only disadvantaged but who also had challenging and traumatic early childhoods; school was their sanctuary - their safe place.

Throughout my career, I have always focused on the emotional well-being of children because without feeling safe, it is very hard for children to learn. With kindness, love, encouragement and support, they are able to develop the confidence they need to ‘have a go’ - and the difference this makes, has always inspired me to strive to make the best possible difference, not only for the children in my school but also for their families.

In my career, I’ve been subject leader in special needs, art, English, and a deputy headteacher before securing a headship at a large primary school in Somerset (South West England).

As a headteacher, I set up a number of initiatives to support and engage families and worked with a Parent and Family Support Officer (PFSO) to foster and strengthen links with home and school.

I took early retirement in 2020 when my granddaughter was born so that I could spend long periods of time looking after her in Australia. I love being a granny and now travel back and forth between Australia and the UK regularly. I still have a hand in teaching in the UK, as a supply teacher and have also kept up links with some of my pupils I supported who are now grown up. I love hearing about their successes and the progress they have made.

When I’m in Australia, I help out as a volunteer with my granddaughter’s pre-school ‘Bush School’ as I am a trained Forest School Leader. Forest School is about learning outdoors, using the natural environment as a stimulus for learning and encouraging a love of nature, creativity, and resilience. I loved transferring my skills from the UK forest to the Australian bush - wherever you are in the world, children are always fascinated by nature and their curiosity knows no bounds!

After my semi-retirement, I still felt I had something more to give and was looking into becoming a volunteer teacher abroad - something I had dreamt about many years ago and imagined myself doing one day.

It was a friend who mentioned Cambodian Children’s Fund (CCF) to me, out of the blue. He knew I was thinking of volunteering abroad; his biggest regret was not taking up the offer of a volunteer post with CCF years ago because his health wasn’t good at the time. He had read an article in a UK newspaper about Scott Neeson (the founder of CCF) and was inspired by his story so he applied. I had never heard of CCF but as soon as I got home, I looked it up and was hooked! I was so incredibly nervous once I had sent my application in and was on tender-hooks for a week because I was so keen to be accepted.

There was no doubt in my mind that it was the place for me. The way everything was written on the website, the honesty, transparency and respect for human beings, regardless of their gender, age, culture, beliefs and wealth etc just spoke to me; having been a headteacher for years, I recognised that CCF was something that provided just what I knew children needed - a safe place to learn. It was definitely something I wanted to be part of.

In February 2026, I travelled to Phnom Penh and started my three-month volunteer placement with CCF. I had visited Vietnam for three months the year before, but had never been to Cambodia. I researched as much as I could about the country before I left, so that I had an understanding of the culture and people. I also started to learn Khmer, the language they speak in Cambodia.

I was placed in CCF’s Prek Toil primary school as a Buddy Teacher. The school has since relocated to a brand new school close by. As a Buddy Teacher, my role was to work alongside the Khmer teachers who were responsible for delivering the English curriculum.

The school could not be more different than the classrooms I was used to in the UK. I taught barefoot, the classrooms were basic with minimal resources, and the learning was based around the model of ‘chalk and talk’ with the teacher standing at the front. There was also no air-con in the classroom, which was a challenge in the heat and humidity of Cambodia. But I learned to adapt and work with the teachers, respecting their professionalism, with a focus on helping them to develop their skillset. I was keen to share my knowledge and experience - nearly four decades of experience in education.

I loved engaging with the CCF children and watching them flourish in confidence, being able to smile at their mistakes and laugh at my efforts at speaking Khmer! With a focus on role-play, singing and games, I introduced a range of activities that are generic and can be used at any point in the delivery of the English language curriculum. It was a privilege to see my two Khmer teachers soak up my creative ideas and engage in the activities that I introduced. They even started to draw and sing!

What impressed me was how keen the children were to learn and, despite the huge challenges they have faced in their young years, they showed great respect for learning and for each other as well as the staff. Despite having very little, they showed an incredible determination to persevere with their learning and better themselves.

Some of the children were shy initially but I learned I could engage them through the ‘side door’ strategy, encouraging them to take part through drama, role play, singing, drawing, and fun and active games. They began to flourish and gain confidence to speak in English, challenging themselves and each other to do more. And have fun!!!

I discovered that good teaching is not necessarily about having lots of resources but being creative with what you have. The saying ‘necessity is the mother of invention’ is so true in Cambodia. Even though they had very little, the children shared what they had and were so creative with their resources.

Being part of the wider CCF community was amazing too. I worked with the Kindergarten staff, supporting them with their English language learning and helping them to develop the confidence to speak English. I know CCF have many visitors and I wanted to empower the staff to have the confidence to welcome guests in English, and talk about the wonderful work they do. I also taught them songs which they could then teach the children.

On an organised ‘Evening Community Walk’ with some of the CCF staff, I was able to see first-hand the communities where CCF works and where some of the children I taught live. One child ran out from one of the makeshift homes - bits of wood and a tarpaulin roof - shouting ‘Teacher Nic, Teacher Nic’!!

Parts of the area were shocking to see. It was filthy, there was litter everywhere; there were rags hung across a doorway, one woman had a month old baby that had been born in the area. It was difficult to walk around with the waste on the ground. There were dogs, bits of fabric hung up, and no privacy. This was the worst part of the area, where people who are not in CCF housing or communities live.

It was challenging and very sad to see. However, it consolidated my understanding of the importance of the work that CCF does, to not just educate children, but provide safe accommodation for them and their families. The CCF housing projects are a far cry from the extremely difficult living conditions that I witnessed that evening.

During my time at CCF I came to realise the importance of sponsorship and the impact that sponsoring can have on the child, the family, and their future. It was very personal to me too because I was spending time with CCF children every day and could see how they benefit, not just from an education, but by having someone who believes in them.

I decided that I would like to sponsor one of the children in my class and encouraged my son and his partner, who live in Australia, to also sponsor one of my students. So before I left Cambodia, I began sponsoring Danita, a nine year old girl. When I first met Danita, she was very shy and was struggling with her school work. During the time I was there, she developed greater confidence and her teachers were very proud of the progress she had made. She was so happy when I told her that I was going to sponsor her and it was priceless to actually be there to share the news with her! Both of us couldn’t stop smiling!

My son, Will, who has recently turned 30 and his partner Taige, have also sponsored one of my pupils - an 11-year-old boy called Phearakboth. When I first met him, I immediately knew there was a connection between us - he was like a little shadow, following me around wherever I went and always wanting to be close to me! I already knew that I wanted to sponsor Danita so it made perfect sense to ask my son to sponsor Phearkaboth so that I could still keep a connection with both children. Getting to know both children so well and being able to bond with them means we have a very special and unique relationship.

I love communicating via email with both children - I am writing on behalf of my son, who has a busy career in the racehorse industry as a jockey but my son and his partner, Taige, hope to visit Cambodia in the near future. Taige spent some time in Cambodia as part of a school project, so she has a connection with the country already and she’s very keen to go back one day.

My five-year-old granddaughter, who lives in Australia, is very excited to have Danita as an extended part of our family, and is already telling people that she has a big sister now in Cambodia! My 85-year-old mum, Annie, is also involved with Danita’s sponsorship and is looking forward to getting to know her through emails. It feels like our family has grown; Danita and Phearakboth are now very much part of our family.

By sponsoring, I’m also maintaining a connection with CCF, which is very special to me. I am hoping to return in the future and continue my work to support the teachers there.

My three month volunteer placement went very quickly. It was so rewarding to see the children I worked with develop their confidence and enthusiasm for learning. Hopefully I left them with memories of my love, my positivity, my sense of humour, my endless enthusiasm and some songs! It would be lovely to know that the songs I taught them, will be sung to their own children one day.

I left CCF with memories of the children's smiling faces, their gratitude (every child made me a beautiful thank you card when I left, which must have taken so much time and effort) and the amazing staff who welcomed me into their classrooms. They all touched my heart and I hope I touched theirs.

Despite the challenges, it was such a special experience and something that I will never forget. It certainly helps you put your own problems and life into perspective. Once you’ve volunteered with CCF, you’ll always carry a little bit of Cambodia and CCF with you for the rest of your life.