Rok Kern review: “These experiences allowed me to become the person I am today”

How has working with CIF impacted you personally, professionally (if your career path might have been impacted) in your schooling (i.e done projects on Cambodia) and potential future (types of travel, how you travel, whether or not you are more ethically conscious etc? In September 2017 I applied for a service-learning trip with my school, Tatachilla Lutheran College in …

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Testimonial: Acknowledging that just because we feel like we are making a difference doesn’t mean we are.

The Rok Kern team has been hosting a number of training and development workshops for Tatachilla Lutheran College over the last 3 years. Their year 11 team spent an afternoon with us as part of their wider school Service Learning experience in-country and the school has also participated in our one-day “How do I respond to poverty?” workshops and leadership forums in Australia. In this short testimonial, Chris, one of their staff members, reflects on what attending those workshops has meant for their school.

Rok -Kern-Meal-with-Tatachilla

Testimonial: the new standard for international short-term overseas experiences.

The Rok Kern team has been hosting a number of education and training and development workshops for Tatachilla Lutheran College over the last 3 years. Their year 11 team spend an afternoon with us as part of their wider school Service Learning experience in-country and the school has also participated in our one-day “How do …

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trips that create advocates through family care

Trips that Create Advocates through Family Care

Why read about family-based care when there is an opportunity to see and hear about it firsthand? Children in Families, a local Cambodian NGO, has created a program they call Rok Kern. Rok Kern is a Khmer phrase meaning “to come and see,” and that is exactly what they invite participants to do. Aligning with …

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The Buzzword in Orphan Tourism

The Buzzword in Orphan Tourism

Recently the Rok Kern team was invited to speak at one of the International Schools here in Phnom Penh about volunteering and how we can best serve others. We spent a lesson talking to the year 11s about the issues around volunteering in orphanages and the growth of Family Based Care in Cambodia. After watching …

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Considering volunteering overseas: Read this letter from one student to another

Considering volunteering overseas: Read this letter from one student to another

The Rok Kern project is an education project, aimed at teaching students and church-goers outside of Cambodia, about the harms of volunteering in orphanages and how they can “make a difference” in healthy and sustainable ways. Sometimes, the Rok Kern team has the opportunity to meet with international students within Cambodia and run similar workshops …

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Harmful or helpful: Exploring the ethics of missions and school trips

Harmful or helpful: Exploring the ethics of missions and school trips

Short-term missions or volunteer trips are conducted around the world with the best intentions to care for children and their families and communities. People fundraise, visit, give and serve hoping to make a difference to individuals and to the injustices in our world.  Increasingly, research is suggesting that these trips can be harmful to the …

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