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If you are planning to visit Siem Reap in 2025, you may have considered volunteering. There are loads of projects where you can help serve vulnerable communities in Cambodia. However, not all of the charity projects in this area are ethical.
Volunteering in an unethical project can actually be detrimental and damaging to the lives of Cambodian families and children. So, it is very important to make sure that you are volunteering in an ethical way. However, if you are not familiar with Cambodian culture, it can be very difficult to work out the best ethical projects in the area. Keep reading…
We have lived in Cambodia (and we also ran a charity in Siem Reap – helping families in rural villages). So we have a lot of experience of charity work and some of the challenges in this area. We hope that our experience and information will help you find the best ways to volunteer ethically in Cambodia. What’s more, we will also share some examples of unethical charity work in Siem Reap to show you what to avoid.
What does ethical volunteering look like in Siem Reap?
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What type of volunteering are you interested in?
If you’re planning a volunteering trip to Siem Reap, the first step is to work out exactly how you want to help. If you have specific training skills or qualifications, you may be able to implement these skills to help people in Siem Reap. For example, if you are a teacher, dentist, nurse, doctor, or you have experience counseling, you may be able to find projects that can put your skills to use. Even if you don’t have professional skills or qualifications like this, there may be opportunities to help with low-skills jobs, such as painting homes (this helps improve the longevity of homes throughout the longer rainy seasons). Alternatively, you can help with delivering food and supplies to rural villages.
How long are you planning to spend in Siem Reap?
If you are only staying in Cambodia for a short amount of time, you may struggle to get an ethical volunteering placement with a charity. Many charities and NGOs in Siem Reap do not accept short-term volunteers. If you have identified a project or charity that is doing good work in Siem Reap but they are not able to accept you as a short-term volunteer, you could still support the charity financially, which will enable them to continue their valuable work in Siem Reap.
How do you find the best ethical projects in Siem Reap?
Some charities and volunteering projects do offer short-term volunteering programs. This will enable you to get your hands mucky and experience local life on the outskirts of Siem Reap. In some cases, these projects are quite expensive and seem to be set up to make a profit rather than really impact the community.
One of the most impressive and impactful projects we have seen in Siem Reap is run by the ICF church (International Christian Fellowship). This innovative and successful project has a deep and consistent commitment to supporting children and families in poor rural communities in the wider Siem Reap province. They carry out a very wide range of humanitarian and aid projects, including fresh water production & distribution, food distribution, clothing distribution, transportation, education, counseling services, and much, much more.
A great way to support this project is to take a visit to the ICF Wake Park, which is situated around 15 minutes from Siem Reap town center by tuk-tuk. They also accept volunteers, so if you want to help, drop them a message.
Helping independently in Siem Reap
If you are only visiting Siem Reap for a short period of time, you could find independent ways to help people (not through a charity or project). For example, you could buy hot street food meals and distribute them to children begging on the streets in Siem Reap. Watch out for families collecting bottles. These families are genuinely very poor, and you could give food and gifts to support them. If you would like to help in some of the villages around Siem Reap town, you could hire a tuk-tuk driver for a day. You don’t need to travel far to encounter a lot of poor communities on the outskirts of Siem Reap town.
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There are many poor villages, especially along the Airport Road and also in the Pouk District (beyond the Airport). Many families in these villages are very poor. We have found that they are very grateful when people bring them donations such as mosquito nets, toilet trees including toothbrushes and toothpaste. You can also bring bags of rice and other food such as meat or fresh fruit which you can buy from local markets. Volunteering in this way may seem intimidating, but it is a very fast and effective way to help people in Cambodia and also experience some authentic Cambodian Village Life. Doing it independently means that all of the money you invest goes directly to helping poor communities living in Cambodia.
Unethical charity work in Siem Reap
If you are trying to work out how to help ethically in Cambodia, it is important to be aware of some unethical charity work.
Firstly, we do not recommend giving money directly to children begging on the streets in Siem Reap. Many children begging in this area have been trafficked (or at least sent there by parents). If you give money directly to these children, they will pass it straight onto the adult, and they are very unlikely to benefit from your gift. Furthermore, giving to children begging in town also perpetuates the begging culture and enables the adults who are keeping them on the streets.
From time to time, you may see kids in Siem Reap collecting bottles with their parents. If they are not hassling tourists – but they are just collecting bottles – they are probably genuinely poor and need help. In cases like this, you can give food, gifts, or money to support the parents.
There are also many fake schools and orphanages situated around Siem Reap. These fake projects have been set up to make profits, and any donations that you may give are unlikely to improve the lives of children at the project. NGOs and charities in Siem Reap are increasingly focusing on supporting families in rural villages so that children can be educated and raised in their home community rather than being sent to a profit-making orphanage. One of the best ways to work out whether an orphanage or school is legitimate is to have a look at the children’s school books. If there is no evidence of meaningful learning, then the children are not receiving an education, and the school is not authentic.
