What inspired you to work for AHHA Education?
I wanted to be part of something bigger from the inside. Having previously worked for international NGOs in France, I wanted to experience the field and understand how an organization operates on the ground.
AHHA Education’s long-standing presence and large-scale impact in Cambodia particularly inspired me. I also had previous recruitment experience and wanted to take on a new challenge. Managing international recruitment felt like the perfect opportunity to grow while contributing to a meaningful mission; it is very different from recruiting volunteers on a regional or national scale.
This challenge seemed interesting, and I thought it would also help me grow and gain more experience.
What advice would you tell your pre-travel self?
I have already volunteered internationally before, so I was quite aware of culture shock and the many things you can experience when arriving in a different country and environment. I would still remind myself to stay open-minded and adaptable, as every experience is different.
There is no universal rule because every experience is quite unique, and there is so much you can prepare in advance; sometimes you have to let go and just accept whatever is coming your way, and you'll have an even more special experience. And, on a more practical note, I would definitely tell myself to pack even more sunscreen and mosquito repellent!
Most importantly, I would remind myself to embrace the unexpected, as it is often where you learn the most.
Describe a typical day at work.
I work from 8 AM to 3 PM, and the breaks are pretty flexible; usually, I try to schedule interviews either at 8 AM or at 1 PM. In the morning, I work more on the recruitment part : answering volunteers, planning interviews, preparing contracts, sharing volunteering posts on social media.
In the afternoon, I let my creative side work more; I design brochures and make presentations. I also do a lot of social media monitoring to answer our comments, DMs, etc.
Why do you do what you do?
I do what I do to give back in another way; giving my knowledge, energy, and time is something I've always wanted to do. Aside from this volunteering experience, I've always wanted to focus on working for NGOs; they're doing essential work in so many different ways, and working where you really have an impact has always resonated with me.
Working on a project that can help the environment, women, and people who are struggling is essential, especially nowadays.
What is your favorite part of your job?
My favorite part is definitely interacting with local people and learning from them; it helps me to grow every day, and seeing real impact is very important to me.
How do you use your education and international background in your current role?
I have a Master’s degree in Communication and have gained diverse professional experience in event management, volunteer recruitment, and communications. These experiences have given me strong skills that I can apply directly to my current role, particularly when it comes to communicating with and supporting volunteers.
Having also volunteered internationally, I understand the experience from a volunteer’s perspective, which helps me connect with others, anticipate their needs, and make their experience as smooth and positive as possible.
What challenges do you often face and how do you overcome them?
One of the main challenges I often face is uncertainty. In an international and constantly changing environment, not everything can be anticipated. I find that the best way to manage this is to plan as thoroughly as possible beforehand while remaining flexible.
Things may still go wrong, but having experience, anticipating potential difficulties, and preparing a Plan B makes it much easier to adapt and find solutions when unexpected challenges arise.
What are some current projects you are working on?
I am currently working on recruiting volunteers for the final semester of the year, which is typically a slower recruitment period and can therefore be challenging. To address this, I am developing a new recruitment strategy focused on volunteer-generated content for our social media.
This includes testimonials, “a day in the life of a volunteer” content, and “what’s in my bag” posts. By strengthening our image and creating content specifically tailored to potential volunteers, I hope to build a stronger long-term recruitment strategy and attract more people to our programs.
Why should someone choose AHHA Education over competitors?
This organization has been working for more than 25 years, and what I really appreciate is the trust it places in young people. Volunteers and young people are given the opportunity to take responsibility for projects, share their ideas, and actively contribute to the organization.
This allows them to grow, gain confidence, and develop skills that will be useful for their future projects and professional lives. I think it is a great stepping stone for anyone looking for a meaningful experience where they can both contribute and learn.
You quickly feel that you belong to the community and, most importantly, that your ideas, work, and abilities are genuinely trusted and valued; you come as someone and leave as another person with this kind of experience.
What is AHHA Education's mission and how do you continue to work toward it?
My organization’s mission is to help underprivileged communities in Cambodia access education. It currently runs six schools across the country, providing more than 2,000 students with access to education every day.
The support continues as students grow older, with internship opportunities helping them develop professional skills and improve their chances of finding employment. Some former students even return to the schools as teachers, creating a continuous cycle of shared learning and empowerment, where peers support and help each other grow. In my role, I help the organization recruit international volunteers.
These volunteers come to Cambodia to contribute to the local communities, support educational activities, and share their skills and experiences, while also learning from the local context and culture.
What makes AHHA Education special?
What makes AHHA Education special is its resilience and its ability to grow with the communities it serves. What started as a temporary initiative to help children access education has developed into a long-term project led by Cambodians, for Cambodians. Its impact goes beyond education: students are given the opportunity to grow, build confidence, and become active members of their community.
Some eventually give their own time to support and educate the next generation, creating a meaningful cycle of knowledge and solidarity. This holistic approach, combined with the strong sense of community between students, teachers, and volunteers, is what makes the organization truly special.
What hopes do you have for the future for AHHA Education?
I hope AHHA Education will continue to grow while remaining deeply connected to the local communities it serves. The organization has already started supporting young people beyond education by offering internship opportunities, and I hope these initiatives can develop further into longer-term employment opportunities. Building stronger partnerships with local organizations and businesses could also help create pathways to secure and meaningful jobs for students after their education.
Ultimately, I hope AHHA continues to expand its impact sustainably while empowering young people and creating opportunities for them to build a stable future.
Are there any developments with AHHA Education that you would like to share with us?
As I mentioned earlier, AHHA Education’s support goes beyond providing access to education. After completing their studies, students can benefit from internship opportunities and continued guidance to help them transition into the job market.
The organization also provides accommodation for students who live too far from school, ensuring that distance does not prevent them from accessing education. This is particularly important, as long travel distances can be a major barrier and contribute to students dropping out.
In this way, AHHA seeks to address the different challenges Cambodian youth face in their everyday lives and provide practical, long-term solutions.
What makes AHHA Education easy to market to potential participants?
For volunteers, AHHA Education offers a valuable opportunity to gain experience in both a local and international environment. The range of missions, from teaching to office-based roles, allows volunteers to discover new skills, learn, and grow while also having the freedom to bring their own ideas and creativity to their work.
At the same time, volunteers are supported and guided throughout their experience, so they never feel completely on their own. This balance between guidance and independence creates a supportive environment where volunteers can truly take initiative and make the experience their own.
What do you hope participants take away from your programs?
AHHA Education aims to ensure that everyone involved in its programs, both volunteers and students, takes away something meaningful from the experience.
For students, the goal is to provide not only knowledge and educational opportunities, but also confidence, independence and a strong sense of belonging to their community. For volunteers, the experience offers the opportunity to develop new skills, discover a different culture and gain a deeper understanding of the realities faced by local communities.
Beyond these practical outcomes, the programs create meaningful connections between people from different backgrounds. The hope is that everyone leaves with a broader perspective, new relationships and a lasting sense of having contributed to something meaningful.
Why is it important for people to travel abroad and experience new cultures?
There is no better way to broaden our horizons than by traveling and experiencing different cultures. It allows us to meet people, understand different realities in their local context, and question some of the assumptions we may take for granted.
Coming from a European perspective, with a French and Algerian background, I am aware that the way we see the world is shaped by our own experiences and cultural references. Traveling can help us unlearn some of these assumptions and understand that there is not one single way of doing things.
At the same time, traveling abroad does not mean that we can fully experience life as a local person. As visitors, we will inevitably experience a place differently and may be treated differently. That should not be the objective. The value lies in listening, learning from others, and allowing different perspectives to challenge our own.
Ultimately, traveling and volunteering can be an opportunity to become more open-minded, but the most important part is continuing to reflect on what we have learned and carrying those lessons with us long after returning home.
How do you help support participants?
Participants are supported before, during and throughout their experience. Before their arrival, volunteers receive a detailed Volunteer Guide containing practical information and advice to help them prepare as well as possible, from what to expect during their placement to useful information about daily life and their responsibilities.
Once they arrive, we regularly check in with them to make sure everything is going well and to address any questions or concerns they may have. We also work closely with the local managers to ensure that each volunteer receives a smooth and welcoming onboarding, understands their role, and feels comfortable in their new environment.
This combination of preparation, regular follow-up, and local support helps volunteers feel guided while still giving them the independence to make the experience their own.
If you could participate on one of AHHA Education's programs, where would you go and what would you do?
I am currently a volunteer in the office, and I like my current missions, but I think I would probably try to spend at least 3 weeks in one of the centers before starting the mission at the office because it gives you a better view of the atmosphere in the schools and helps you understand the project better from the inside.
What questions do participants often ask you, and how do you typically respond?
They often ask what a typical day looks like or how classes are organized. I try to give them a realistic overview while also providing different examples of schedules, as each center operates differently depending on its location, students, and specific needs.
Most importantly, I prioritize clear and open communication, making sure volunteers feel comfortable asking questions or raising any concerns.
Creating that sense of trust from the beginning helps them feel more prepared and supported throughout their experience.
Why do you think learning a new language is important?
I believe that, among all the skills we can develop, learning a new language is one of the most valuable. It does more than simply allow us to communicate with more people; it introduces us to a different way of thinking.
The way grammar is structured and sentences are formed can influence how we express ideas and perceive the world. Language also provides a direct gateway to another culture, allowing us to understand its history, values, and ways of communicating from a different perspective.
Alongside traveling, learning a language can be one of the most powerful ways to broaden our horizons and become more open to the world.
What does meaningful travel mean to you?
To me, meaningful traveling means being willing to step outside of our usual habits and trying things we would not necessarily experience in our home countries. It is not about constantly chasing milestones, visiting as many places as possible, or filling every day with activities just to have something to check off a list.
Meaningful travel is about taking the time to genuinely connect with the place we are staying in, whether through the people we meet, the food we discover, the language we hear, or simply the everyday routines and experiences that make the destination unique.
It also means accepting that not every moment has to be planned or productive. Taking the time to slow down, observe, listen, and be present can lead to a much deeper understanding of a place and its culture.
Ultimately, meaningful travel is less about how much we see and more about how much we learn, experience, and take away from the journey.
What advice do you have for individuals thinking about going abroad?
Reformuler: I would say to do research about the place you're visiting. Learning about the historical background allows you to understand the local context better and to behave in a respectful way.
We are visitors, and it's not our home country; rules and customs are different, and it's important to educate ourselves to make sure we don't overstep while traveling.
It's also important to have an open mind, and I would say to sometimes go with the flow.
What issues do you see in the world of international education that don't line up with your values and expectations for mutually beneficial & educational relationships between providers/programs and the communities in which they are located within?
One issue that can arise in international education is the risk of creating relationships where the benefits are not equally shared between visitors and local communities. International programs should avoid presenting local communities as something to “discover” or as beneficiaries who only receive help, while overlooking their knowledge, skills, and ability to shape their own development. It is important that programs are created with local needs and perspectives at the center, rather than imposing solutions based solely on what outsiders believe is needed.
Another concern is the idea that a short-term experience can automatically create meaningful or lasting change. Sustainable impact requires continuity, local involvement, and long-term commitment. International participants should therefore come with humility, a willingness to learn and an understanding that they are contributing to an existing community rather than arriving to “save” it.
The most meaningful relationships are those where knowledge and experiences are shared in both directions, allowing both participants and communities to learn, grow, and benefit from the exchange.
What does ethical global engagement mean to you?
To me, ethical global engagement means approaching another country and its communities with respect, humility, and a genuine willingness to learn. It means understanding that, as international visitors, we do not automatically know what is best for a community simply because we come from a different background or have certain skills.
Local people should be at the center of the projects that concern them, and their knowledge, culture, and perspectives should be valued. It also means being aware of the impact we can have, even when our intentions are positive. Before acting, it is important to listen, understand the local context, and ask whether our involvement is actually useful and sustainable.
For me, ethical engagement is not about coming somewhere to “help” and feeling like we have changed everything, but about building a relationship where everyone can learn from each other and where the benefits extend beyond the individual experience of the international participant.
What hopes do you have for the future of international education?
I hope international education continues to evolve into something that goes beyond simply sending people abroad. There is so much potential for these experiences to develop confidence, curiosity, intercultural understanding, and a genuine sense of connection between people from different backgrounds.
I would also like to see more emphasis on the quality of an experience rather than the number of people participating. Taking the time to build meaningful relationships, understand local realities and reflect on what has been learned can have a much deeper impact than simply traveling from one place to another.
Ultimately, I hope international education helps create people who are more curious, adaptable and aware of the world around them, while encouraging them to bring what they have learned back into their own communities.
What qualities in program & host community relations are important to you? (And your AHHA Education?)
As a volunteer myself, good relationships between the program and the host community are particularly important to me. I believe they should be based on respect, communication, and trust, with the local community genuinely involved rather than simply being the setting for an international experience.
It is important that volunteers understand the local context and that the organization works closely with local staff and communities to make sure their involvement is appropriate and useful. For the organization, I think strong communication between volunteers, local managers, teachers, and the wider community is essential.
Everyone should feel heard and valued, while volunteers should also understand their responsibilities and the limits of their role. A good relationship should ultimately create a space where both the local community and volunteers can learn from and support each other.
