Cambodia Service Tour 2025
Having concluded the 2025 school year, a group of 27 Year 11 students accompanied by Mr Mick Klipin, Mr Glenn McNeil, and Mrs Rachel Watson departed from Brisbane for Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
The first days were incredibly moving and educational. Students learnt about one of history's darkest chapters - the Khmer Rouge genocide of the late 1970s. The students visited Tuol Sleng (S-21), a former high school that was transformed into a brutal interrogation and detention centre, followed by the Choeung Ek Killing Fields. These sobering sites bore witness to a tragedy that claimed the lives of nearly a quarter of Cambodia's population, approximately 2 million people.
Walking through the streets of Phnom Penh today, we could still see the devastating impact of this loss. An entire generation is simply missing, a void that continued to shape Cambodian society decades later.
Our time in Phnom Penh was not only about reflecting on this tragedy. Students also witnessed tremendous hope and resilience. At Krou Yeung School, they saw firsthand how education was lighting the way forward for Cambodia's future. The energy, determination, and dreams of these young Cambodians were truly inspiring and showed us that this nation was rebuilding with strength and purpose.
To cap off our time in Phnom Penh, the students experienced the city's vibrant present with a thrilling tuk-tuk adventure through the bustling streets, followed by some enthusiastic haggling at the night markets. It was a perfect way to engage with the warmth and spirit of the Cambodian people!
Having left Phnom Penh, we spent a day travelling northeast to Mondulkiri. Not a great distance geographically, but single-lane roads with slow traffic made travel a time-consuming process. We were here to visit the Mondulkiri Elephant and Wildlife Sanctuary. Here we trekked through some of the jungle habitat this organisation had retained for the elephants. There had been much clearing surrounding this area, removing habitat for the elephants. As we trekked into the jungle, the appearance of our first elephant emerging from the jungle was an awe-inspiring moment. We then hand-fed the elephants and got to experience them up close. In the afternoon, we again ventured into the jungle and located the elephants near a waterfall. The students enjoyed a cooling swim and were joined again by two of the elephants. Pictures could not do justice to the thrill and excitement of this experience.
Our next stop was Krou Yeung School, Ratanakiri. After a warm welcome where the entire school was in attendance to greet us, our students worked in classrooms alongside the Krou Yeung pupils. They planned English lessons and incorporated movement breaks with favourite classroom games from home. The smiles on the faces of the Krou Yeung students reflected how much they enjoyed spending time with our Year 11 students. It was an exhausting few days, but the latter part of our stay saw students leading workshops including swimming, soccer, basketball, woodwork, chess, dance, and cooking. We were farewelled on our last night with a dinner and concert in our honour. The welcoming nature and hospitality of the staff and students would not be forgotten.
Arriving in Siem Reap, we were amazed at the effect tourism had had on this city. It was a city of bright lights, incredible resorts, and clean streets. We were excited to leave on Monday morning for our first visit to the temples. We picked up our mountain bikes and headed off. We first stopped at Bayon Temple where we saw the temples and the famous 4-faced pillars. There were 37 pillars all adorned with 4 faces believed to mean someone was always watching over the land. Monkeys freely roamed through the temple.
We returned to the bikes and rode for 7km through the temple complex to arrive at Preah Khan Temple where we further explored and observed the intricate carving and constructions of this temple.
Heading off after lunch, we took a boat cruise on Tonle Sap Lake to gain a deeper understanding of the lives and livelihoods of the lake dwellers, who rarely set foot on land. They lived in stilted houses so as to be above the rising water during the wet season.
Tuesday had us heading to a non-governmental organisation called Free to Shine. This highly respected organisation was established to prevent sex trafficking and child exploitation in Southeast Asia, focusing on child protection projects. Students participated in a workshop and role-playing activity where they had to make some tough decisions that were part of daily decision-making by Cambodians living in poverty.
We then returned to the temples of Angkor Wat. We learnt about the construction techniques, which involved the use of elephants, enslaved labour, and river barges. A key element in the city’s prosperity was the mastery of water management. It was an incredible experience, and hard to comprehend how they actually managed to construct this enormous temple complex.
That evening we attended a performance by the Phare Circus. It was an hour of laughter, dance, music, and pure enjoyment. Definitely a highlight of the tour!
Thursday had us leaving bright and early for a day on the tools. We visited a rural Kindergarten where we toiled to move around 8 cubic metres of sand and mixed and poured concrete to provide a solution to water inundation of the Kindergarten. It was an exhausting and fulfilling day where we left this Kindergarten in a much better position.
Our final night saw us learn how to prepare some Cambodian dishes in a cooking class. Students returned home with the knowledge of how to prepare some of the many dishes we had sampled during our time here. A final tuk-tuk ride had us returning to our hotel for a final night before departure.
This trip was a wonderful experience for staff and students who left Cambodia with a lasting impression of the beautiful people and culture. It was a history that, despite its tragic circumstances, was met with hope for the future by the people of Cambodia. Our students were outstanding ambassadors for BDC and, on all occasions, wholeheartedly engaged in the experiences we shared.
As we all gather and stand upon Country, may we acknowledge and respect Gumbaynggirr Land and the thousands of years’ worth of both physical and spiritual connection to Country, culture and teachings embedded forever within these Lands.