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Volunteer experience
Many volunteers, mainly students, come to HOC every year. They support the children in their daily activities and studies.
A university student volunteer volunteered at HOC for a month and wrote a report about their experiences.
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Yurika ASANO (Tohoku Fukushi University)
In about a month, I prepared for Cafe HOC's 8th anniversary festival, participated in a landmine removal tour conducted by JMAS, participated in the Kizuna Festival in Phnom Penh with several children, and attended a memorial service. , I participated in many events while living with the children in the facility. I was able to meet various people through my activities at HOC. I also remember getting goosebumps when I saw the problems caused by poverty that I had heard about in class, and was moved by the fact that there are people who live happily in such an environment. It was a really wonderful experience to learn about the strength and kindness of the children, as well as the scenery and culture of Cambodia.
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Takuto HANZAWA (Tohoku Fukushi University)
At HOC, my main activities were playing with the children, teaching Japanese, and studying together.
What I personally worked on is always with the children. And it was to talk a lot and play seriously. Little by little, the distance between me and the children narrowed, and I was able to touch their kindness by teaching them various things and letting them eat delicious food.
Through this volunteer activity, I was able to talk with Cambodian children and Japanese people living in Cambodia, and I think I was able to absorb a lot of good things about Cambodia. Even if I didn't speak the language with the children, I could understand what they were saying by living with them, and I could immediately tell if they were energetic or not by looking at their facial expressions. I thought that language would be a barrier, but that was not the case, and I was able to communicate immediately. The time I spent doing volunteer work flew by, and every day was stimulating, and it was a great experience for me.
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Kosuke MIURA (Tohoku Fukushi University)
The main thing I did as a volunteer was to spend time with the HOC children. Specifically, in the morning, I cleaned with my children, prepared breakfast, helped with field work, and even ran. I also taught Japanese to children. I stayed there for about a month, but I was able to participate in many events such as the anniversary festival and Buddhist memorial service of HOC Cafe, and I was able to experience various cultures in a short period of time. There was one thing that was difficult, and that was when I was practicing for the performance to be announced at the anniversary festival, there were so many energetic children that it was difficult to take the lead. I had a hard time leading the group, but I felt a great sense of accomplishment when I was able to successfully announce the performance at the anniversary festival. I also want to visit HOC as a volunteer.