WHEN TRAVEL MAKES A DIFFERENCE

BUNAC launches new volunteering programme to Cambodia

South East Asia is the latest destination available to young travellers through BUNAC, the market leader in overseas work and volunteer programmes, following the recent launch of its Volunteer Cambodia programme. This new opportunity offers young people, aged 18 or over, a unique chance to spend up to three months working alongside other international volunteers on a community-based project in the town of Siem Reap, contributing to a local cause at a grass-roots level while living with a local family and experiencing Cambodia’s rich cultural mix.

On Volunteer Cambodia, participants may find themselves teaching disadvantaged children in a local school, educating Cambodians on landmines or learning basic Khmer while, in their free time, sailing up the mighty Mekong River or visiting the mysterious temples of Angkor.

BUNAC’s UK Director, Callum Kennedy says, “We are delighted to add Volunteer Cambodia to our portfolio of work and volunteer abroad programmes. This was in response to a growing demand from our members for a relatively short-term opportunity in South East Asia, which would allow participants to experience life there, not simply as a backpacker or a tourist, but from the inside.”

The registration fee for a three month placement on Volunteer Cambodia is £695. This covers full pre-departure support from BUNAC’s London office with individual screening and placement according to the applicant’s skills, a three-day arrival orientation in Siem Reap, accommodation whilst working and in-country support from ‘Interweave’, BUNAC’s partner organisation in Cambodia, set up by former BUNAC participant and London staff member, Amanda Summerscales. Participants will need to budget for flights and insurance, plus support funds to cover some meals and local travel.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of BUNAC’s first ever volunteer programme to West Africa, Volunteer Ghana, which has enabled hundreds of young people to participate in a community-based or teaching project in or around the Ghanaian capital, Accra. Placements in South Africa, Lima in Peru and the Central American country of Costa Rica are also available through BUNAC.

For further information on Volunteer Cambodia, or BUNAC’s full range of overseas work and travel programmes, please call (020) 7251 0662 or visit www.bunac.org.

Ends

Press: for further information, contact Sarah Leavesley or Haydn Parks at BUNAC, tel. (020) 7251 0662, e-mail sarah.leavesley@bunac.org.uk or haydn.parks@bunac.org.uk Photography is available on request.

Editors’ Questions and Answers

Q. Who is BUNAC?
A. Established in 1962, BUNAC is a not-for-profit, members’ Club and a market leader in the field of overseas work and travel programmes for 18 to 35-year-olds.

Q. What does BUNAC do?
A. BUNAC offers a varied range of affordable work and volunteer programmes worldwide to students and other young people.

Q. What kinds of programmes does BUNAC offer?
A. Programmes range from the camp counselling programme, Summer Camp USA, to flexible work and travel programmes in Canada, the USA, Australia and New Zealand and, volunteering programmes in Africa, Central and South America and South East Asia.

Work America is the longest running summer work and travel programme for UK students.
The Canadian Open Work Authorisation is exclusive to BUNAC.

Q. Who can take part in a BUNAC programme?
A. Programmes are aimed at the 18-35 age group. Specific eligibility criteria apply to each programme.

Q. When can participants travel?
A. Programmes to the USA run between early June and early October. Other programmes allow participants to travel at any time of the year.

Q. How long do the programmes last?
A. US programmes are for the summer. All other programmes last up to a year or longer.

Q. How many young people from the UK take part in a BUNAC programme each year?
A. Approximately 8,000 people in the UK take part in a programme each year. In addition, BUNAC’s offices in London and Edinburgh host over 4,000 overseas students who come to the UK annually on a working holiday.

Q How much does a BUNAC programme cost?
A. Prices range from £250-£2,000 according to destination, programme type and length of trip.

Q. Where is BUNAC based?
A. The main office is in London. It also has full-time offices in Edinburgh, the USA, Australia and New Zealand.

Q. What does BUNAC stand for?
A. Brtish Universities North America Club, reflecting its original (1962) geographical focus. While the USA and Canada remain our key destinations, we continue to look for new programme opportunities to consolidate our core programmes.

Press: for further information, contact Sarah Leavesley or Haydn Parks at BUNAC, tel. (020) 7251 0662, e-mail sarah.leavesley@bunac.org.uk or haydn.parks@bunac.org.uk

Photography is available on request.