Yassine BENJEDDI (Two Months IT teacher)

08/25/2022 |

I am spending my last moments in Volunteer Building Cambodia Community Center, it is time to say goodbye to all the people I have met and to this beautiful country. After 7 weeks here, I have fallen in love with this country and especially with the children at the school.  Before my arrival, I was very nervous about the different culture and it was the opposite of what I expected, especially in Siem Reap, the town where I stayed.

It's hot, no air conditioning, some mosquitoes but somehow, it's still a good place to live. Everyone smiles at you, whether it's the students or the little vendor in front of the school.

My internship started eight weeks ago, where I was welcomed by Mr. Sinn MEANG. He is an example of a typical Cambodian: funny, friendly, and welcome. We had a tour of the city and over an iced coffee we discussed the organization of my job. Then with the head teacher, Ms. Ee, we were able to schedule my role more precisely and visit the school.

My background in computer science enabled me to teach 3 different levels during my 8 weeks, for a total of 7 classes about IT. For my first experience as a teacher, it was quite intensive at first. Because of the necessity to prepare the programs for each class, such as the points to study, the presentation, the exercises, and the exams. But every day was different, and by the end of the first week the local teachers became my friends.

There is always a good mood, and the kids are willing to learn and happy every time. This concept is quite strange from my point of view, because in the countryside where we provide the courses, people are poor and live only on basic needs.

The children are interested in learning English. Some of them can hold a conversation, others repeat what is said. They always try to help each other to find the right answer.

My teaching was quite flexible, the teachers advised me on what would be useful to teach them. Then I was free to do the classes I wanted to do. Overall, I made sure that they would be able to use the basics of a computer (turning on/off a computer, handling the mouse/keyboard, creating a folder...) Then we took a moment to learn how to handle a text editor: LibreOffice Writer.  So that they can create a table, change the style, import an image up to the point of creating their own CV. For the higher levels, we were able to see how to use a table such as LibreOffice Calc.

You must be patient with them on the computer, and understand that for most of them, they have never touched a computer. But the fact that all the kids are nice and cute is the only thing that kept me patient. As time passed, it became like a big family, I knew most of them, and we took advantage of the breaks to play together and improve their English.

In short, it was the best experience of my life! At any moment I never expected to live something of this importance. Humanly speaking, you grow up. The day of goodbye was the most emotional day of my stay. I highly recommend this experience and thank all the people I met.