Making 'New Cambodian Friends': Grade 5 Students on Their Service Trip
By Annabel and Kano, Grade 5, UWCSEA Dover
26 May, 2026
On 25 March 2026, 34 Grade 5 UWCSEA Dover students, parents and teachers set off for the first Service trip to Temple Garden Foundation (TGF) in Cambodia—one of our Service partners.
We landed in Siem Reap and had the opportunity to visit the TGF office to meet all of the people behind this incredible organisation. They explained the four areas TGF focuses their support on: Health, Water and Sanitation, Children's Education, Income Generation in communities where the needs are the greatest.
Annabel: It felt very real that we were at the TGF office and very nice to meet everyone who works at TGF in person, and seeing the progress they have made in Cambodia.
They also taught us a few important Khmer phrases too!
Before we left for Cambodia, our TGF Service group had a few sessions at lunch to make a book together, sharing about ourselves and our school. We also learned a variety of games such as card games, jackstones, and origami, so we would know how to play with the school children in Cambodia.
On the trip, we spent two days connecting with the Grade 5 Cambodian students at Tapor Primary School in the Chi Kraeng District (one of the schools supported by TGF).
Kano: One of the most exciting experiences for me was just being at the Tapor school and getting to know the students in general, because I have only seen pictures of what their daily lifestyle was, but actually experiencing it has made me understand what it was like for them. I noticed how we had a few connections but also a vast difference between our school and their school; our life, and their life.
Annabel: At the hand washing station at the school, I saw two siblings on a bicycle with a big pink plastic bag that the little girl was carrying and the bag was full of empty plastic water bottles and then she came and filled up all those empty bottles she had and then she hopped back on the bike with her brother and rode away. And I just thought, they are probably bringing water back to their family in a village that does not have clean water. That moment will always stand out to me from the TGF trip.
We couldn’t speak the same language but that didn’t stop us from getting to know each other, reading books, playing games, doing crafts, playing sports and of course, gardening!
Along with our parents, we worked hard in the hot sun to build and plant a vegetable garden to support the school with their education and food. This made us develop a deep understanding of what it was like to experience the students’ lives.
We had two amazing days where we accomplished a lot and also made new Cambodian friends.
Annabel: My favorite activity was the arts and crafts because we had different projects that connected us all, especially the group project where we all drew a square piece of paper and coloured in a heart and all those hearts every single person made, went into a frame for the Tapor school to keep so they could remember us.
Kano: I will never forget the feeling when I saw the smiles on their faces after we gave them their pictures and their brand new bags, because they probably never got a picture taken for them before, or gotten a new bag in a long time. It made me feel proud and happy that I helped them out. That moment will always stand out as a memory in my heart from the TGF trip.
On our last day in Siem Reap, we also had the opportunity to visit the many projects that TGF supports to help the people and villages in Chi Kraeng. It was wonderful to see how the money we’ve been working to raise at UWCSEA has had such a positive impact on their lives.
Kano: Being given the opportunity to visit TGF in person, after putting work and effort into posters and fundraisers, it gave me a new perspective of seeing how much impact you can make with a small action. People usually think that they can’t help or contribute to changing something, but you do have the power to help them, especially if you go on a Service trip.
Annabel: If you want to go and help people, it is a great experience and it is something you will never regret and it will stick with you forever.
Visiting the APOPO-CMAC Project
As part of the trip, students visited the Cambodian Mine Action Project (CMAC) near Siem Reap, which works with APOPO, an organisation that trains African Giant Pouched Rats to detect landmines and unexploded ordinance. For many, including Annabel and Kano, it was a truly unusual experience.
TGF is one of UWCSEA Dover’s longstanding Service partners through the ‘Global Concerns’ branch of the Service programme. Primary School students actively support a Global Concern which contributes to their real-world learning about culture, sustainability, peace and social challenges. For TGF, Grade 5 students have organised bake sales and walkathons to raise funds and awareness in our community. March 2026 marked the first time students, parents and teachers visited TFG on a Service trip.