< Part of Visit a Project (DEEP Exposure Experiences)
Come see for yourself!
A special opportunity for existing TEAR supporters, volunteers and partner churches to come and see up close the amazing work of TEAR’s partners in Cambodia.
As a TEAR supporter or volunteer, you are an integral part of work to bring good news to the poor through our local partner organisations. We invite you to go DEEPer in your journey of faith and justice by spending 2 weeks with our Christian partners in Cambodia.
Note: Next trip dates have not been set as at June 2019. Please express your interest and we will be in touch.
Travel as part of a small group of TEAR supporters, experience the amazing hospitality of TEAR's partners and project communities, hear stories first-hand from inspiring agents of change and be empowered to respond to issues of poverty, oppression and inequality on returning to Australia.
Numbers are limited and priority will be given to those connected to TEAR and able to demonstrate an ongoing capacity to champion the work of our Christian partners.
Express your interestHeir to the ancient Khmer Empire, Cambodia endured decades of civil war from the late 1960s through to the early 1990’s. The years between 1975 and 1978 were perhaps Cambodia’s darkest days, when the country was under the murderous rule of the radical communist ‘Khmer Rouge’. Two million people died in the Khmer Rouge’s brutal pursuit of a rural utopia.
Today, Cambodia is relatively stable. The economy is growing on the back of an expanding garment-making industry and increasing tourism. However, as the country has developed economically the gap between rich and poor has grown. Cambodia is still one of the world's poorest countries, with most of the population living in rural villages employed in subsistence farming. In recent years, life for Cambodians living in rural villages has become increasingly difficult as climate change is contributing to increasingly erratic rainfall and associated crop failure.
Cambodia’s forests and the Indigenous communities dependent on these forests are also under pressure. Agribusiness plantations and mining operations are cutting away at the forest, including sensitive core areas. Illegal logging for timber, including luxury wood, is rampant, depriving indigenous communities of many of the forest resources they depend on.
Applicants for Cambodia DEEP should be:
TEAR Australia’s recruitment and selection procedures and checks reflect our commitment to the well-being and protection of children. All participants will be required to undergo an Australian Federal Police check as part of the selection process.
$1500 - $1990 this cost includes accommodation, meals, local travel, briefing materials and coordination costs.
NOT including flights from Australia, travel insurance, vaccinations, visa and spending money.
Participation in TEAR’s DEEP trips is a great privilege and opportunity and in return TEAR requests that participants fundraise for TEAR’s projects prior to departure and make tangible commitments to be involved in TEAR’s work on return to Australia.
This trip is an active program that involves rough and ready excursions in difficult conditions. This trip will involve several hours of travel on bumpy roads and so participants should not have any pre-existing back or neck conditions.
NB. A pre-trip medical clearance by your GP will be required for all successful applicants.
"It's been a privilege to be part of Cambodia DEEP and to see and hear first hand stories of change as partner organisations walk alongside poor communities in humility and servanthood. The experience is proving to be a paradigm shift for me; it invites change and compels me to explore further how I can join with others to support the poor to find their own possibilities for hope and fullness of life." – Previous participant.
The Cambodia DEEP experience has been truly humbling for me; I have realised just how complex a country is, and that to endeavour to transform it is a huge and brave undertaking. My respect for social workers, NGO’s, community development workers and volunteers has become admiration as i see person after person committing to a country in a way that seems small compared to the need there is, but they won’t give up until their work is finished. One word to describe this trip: Eye-opening!
