Students from Castle Rushen High School will have a ‘life-changing experience’ when they take part in a youth scheme’s charitable trip to Cambodia.
The Youth Motor Project, run by the Department of Education, Sport and Culture, leads the trip each year in conjunction with the Manx charity Friends of the Cambodian Children’s Refuge Centre.
Fourteen Manx students depart the Island on 6 February and will spend most of the 10-day trip at a school in Kandal Province, teaching English to students aged 12 to 19.
Peter Hodgson, who is leading the trip, said:
‘The school is in a village an hour from the capital, Phnom Penh, and among rice paddy fields. Some of the students are Buddhist monks.
‘The Cambodian students will improve their English by swapping stories with the Manx group and comparing experiences of life in the two countries.’
Due to the climate, schools in Cambodia open in the afternoon and evening.
During the mornings and at the weekend, the Manx group will learn about the history and culture of the once-troubled country, visiting the Genocide Centre and Killing Fields, the Royal palaces, Buddhist temples, incredible markets and stunning embankments of the Mekong and Tonle Sap rivers.
They will travel to the north of the country to walk among the incomparable Temples of Angkor.
Peter added:
‘The expedition gives Isle of Man and Cambodian students valuable cultural experience and education and offers the latter an opportunity to learn English, a prized and cherished skill in the Far East.
‘The trip is a remarkable, life-changing experience for our students.’
The Youth Motor Project teaches motoring and mechanical skills to young people in secondary schools, at University College Isle of Man and at its garages at Hill’s Meadow, Douglas.
For more information about the project or the Cambodia visit, email Peter at youthmotorproject@manx.net or ring him on +44 7624 460601.
