Qatari Female Students Visit Cambodia

Doha, March 12 (QNA) -About twenty three female volunteers representing four independent Doha girls secondary schools made a real difference to the lives of local families and students during an 8-day trip to Cambodia . The visit was organized by Reach Out To Asia (ROTA). In collaboration with ROTA s Cambodian partner, the Monithapana Foundation, and under the sponsorship of Vodafone-Qatar, the all-female volunteer group from Al Bayan Independent Secondary School for Girls, Al Sailiyah Independent Secondary School for Girls, the Qatar Independent School and the Amna Bint Wahab Independent Secondary School for Girls hosted workshops for around 200 students at the ROTA-funded Monithapana Kandal General High School. Before presenting four workshops covering sports and healthy living, Arabic language, Qatari culture, art and social media , the ROTA volunteers also visited the Phnom Penh Dubai Islamic School where they spent time practicing Arabic and playing games with the students. "Both students and volunteers had a great time and learnt a lot from each other! It was a wonderful experience for them. The group worked hard but had an exciting time," says Mohammed Abdulla Al Saleh, ROTA National Programs Director. "Visiting Cambodia has given these ROTA volunteers a wonderful opportunity to develop and enhance important life skills such as communication, empathy and interpersonal relationships. In addition they experienced a ROTA project that delivers high quality, modern education in a safe learning environment." The twenty three female volunteers, who had a 4-day orientation session in Doha prior to their departure to Cambodia, held peer-to-peer sessions, enjoyed lunch with the students and prepared interactive and participatory activity-based learning sessions for them. The ROTA volunteers also engaged in various community service visits during their 8-day stay in Cambodia. When they weren t busy visiting the schools, ROTA volunteers grasped the opportunity to learn about Cambodian history, visit cultural sites, travelled to Mekong river, participate in leadership training sessions and even enjoyed the occasional rain storm. "All the students who travelled from Doha are a credit to their parents, their schools and to Qatar. From the moment they arrived in Cambodia they embraced the opportunity to interact with the pupils and engage in meaningful and memorable life-changing experiences," said Noora Al Kubaisi, a teacher from the Al Bayan Educational Complex for Girls. "Everyone connected with the school is determined to make the most of the extraordinary opportunities ROTA has given us." The ROTA Volunteer Program is planning to invite all the volunteers, parents and school officials involved in the Cambodia volunteer trip to a celebration event to reflect about this amazing experience. "The ROTA volunteers visit has boosted my morale and has instilled more confidence in me. I am thankful to them for the valuable service they did during their stay here."(QNA)